Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Review: a Solid All-Season Tire for the Winter

Drivers around the world seem to love all-season tires. And why wouldn’t they? These products promise safe year-round traction and braking, extra-long treadlife, and exceptional comfort. Nonetheless, even though many drivers seem to believe that all-season tires aren’t the best choice for harsh wintry conditions.

And, I think that most owners can live with slightly worse dry and wet traction, as even some budget tires seem to work fine there. Performance on snow is a different story altogether. Most all-season tires suffer there and, more importantly, aren’t very safe in those conditions. Fortunately, some premium manufacturers today produce all-weather tires, and one of the best-selling ones is the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady.

But what is an all-weather tire? Well, these products still belong to the all-season category. However, instead of focusing on the best possible performance in dry and wet conditions, these tires tend to focus on wintry conditions. Naturally, this means that they lose the edge on dry roads, but that’s a difference that most drivers will never notice.

So, back to the Assurance WeatherReady. This is Goodyear’s newest addition to its grand-touring all-season category. However, unlike other “Assurance” tires, the WeatherReady has the 3PMSF certification, which translates to Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake. This means that the tire is certified for driving in severe wintry conditions, including packed and unpacked snow.

And, if we go by the features built into the Assurance WeatherReady, Goodyear really tried to improve snow traction. A lot. The question is – does that make the tire worse in other areas? Well, I can’t answer that question right away – it’s a pretty detailed one. So detailed that I wrote a complete Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady review.

Down below, I’ll cover the marketed snow traction of the tire, but also dry and wet performance, comfort, and durability. Moreover, I’ll talk about how the Assurance WeatherReady compares to other grand-touring all-season tires.

Comparing the Assurance WeatherReady to other products is important since Goodyear offers the tire in a lot of sizes. You can find this all-weather tire in 15-inch wheel diameter and up to 20-inch wheel diameter.

With those dimensions, Goodyear covers a large variety of cars. These include compact cars, such as Corolla and Civic, mid-size sedans, such as Accord and Camry, minivans, and even some crossovers and coupes.

With that said, let’s see what are the features of the Assurance WeatherReady and then jump onto my thoughts of the tire.

What are the features of the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady?

According to Goodyear, the Assurance WeatherReady is a tire that’s “ready for anything.” Moreover, they claim superior performance in the harshest weather conditions.

To achieve those claims, Goodyear utilized a special soy-based tread compound on the Assurance WeatherReady. This rubber compound stays pliable at very low temperatures, which improves grip and traction over snow and ice.

The specialized tread compound is molded into an asymmetric tread pattern. Goodyear utilized several of its technologies on the tread pattern. One important technology is the Evolving Traction Grooves, which widen as the tire wears down. Thanks to that, the tire continues to work well on wet roads, but also in snowy conditions.

Meanwhile, the tread consists of sweeping traction grooves and four circumferential grooves. These openings on the tread improve traction on wet surfaces by limiting hydroplaning. Moreover, the grooves can also help when driving in slush.

Furthermore, the Assurance WeatherReady features Goodyear’s Weather Reactive Technology, which utilizes 3D TredLock Technology Blades to provide the driver with stable cornering on dry and wet surfaces. In addition, the Tredlock Technology locks the tread blocks together during cornering for better grip and opens them when it rains for better traction.

The single thing that differentiates Assurance WeatherReady from other all-season tires is the Zigzag Biting Edges. These are essentially zig-zag sipes similar to those on winter tires, which create more biting edges for better snow traction.

The internal construction of the Assurance WeatherReady is pretty standard for a grand-touring all-season tire, though. It consists of two wide steel belts, aided by polyamide reinforcement aids for better high-speed stability and responsiveness, and a single-ply polyester casing for better ride quality.

What are the maintenance indicators?

Goodyear utilized the regular TWI’s (tread wear indicators) in the Assurance WeatherReady. This tire doesn’t feature the more comprehensive Wear Gauge indicators from the Assurance MaxLife. That’s expected, though, given the fact that the MaxLife is a newer product.

Still, the regular tread wear indicators are industry standard and used for a very long time. Essentially, these are narrow rubber bars built into the grooves of the tread, which are recessed when the tire is new. As the tread wears down, the rubber bars will become more visible. When the tread depth reaches 2/32-inch, the TWI’s will be completely flush with the surface.

When that happens, you should immediately replace your tires. If not, you risk your safety. Tires without sufficient tread depth have much worse wet traction and almost unusable traction on snow. Moreover, the 2/32-inch tread depth is recognized as legally the lowest possible value. So, driving on tires without sufficient depth might also get you in trouble with authorities.

Fortunately, the Assurance WeatherReady is a very durable tire. Owners of the tire are very satisfied with the treadlife, and Consumer Reports even rated it at 75,000-miles. That’s impressive for an all-weather tire, even though normal all-season tires might last a tad longer.

Goodyear provides a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty on all sizes. That’s excellent for an all-weather tire and only slightly shorter than what you’d get on regular grand-touring all-season tires.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

From the get-go, the Assurance WeatherReady feels very responsive and communicates well via the steering wheel. This came as a surprise, as most tires focused on better snow traction tend to be cumbersome to drive.

The traction is also fine for a tire in this category. The cornering grip isn’t exceptional, but I think that it will work for most people. More importantly, the Assurance WeatherReady provides the driver with short braking distances and proves to be very stable on the highway.

Overall, the Assurance WeatherReady might not be able to beat the class-leading grand-touring tires on dry roads, but it works fine for most people. For daily driving, it will satisfy every passenger-car driver.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

I was surprised at how bad the Assurance WeatherReady handled wet roads, especially given the wide tread grooves on the tire. The hydroplaning resistance seems to be fine, but overall, the traction is far from impressive.

The tire simply lacks enough bite in heavy rain and exhibits understeer much sooner than the best grand-touring tires. The braking distances are not very impressive, either.

Now, again, you need to drive faster than normal to skid with these tires in the rain. However, I won’t trust them in panic braking or evasive maneuvers. In simple terms, the competition is better.

With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?

Fortunately, the Assurance WeatherReady redeems itself in wintry conditions. While it certainly won’t replace a proper winter tire, Goodyear’s all-weather model is very capable of driving on snow, slush, and ice.

Longitudinal traction is excellent – you certainly won’t get stuck anywhere. Moreover, the tire handles fine and provides the driver with short braking distances on snow and slush. There is even some traction when driving over ice, something that can’t be said for regular all-season tires.

Is it suitable for off-road driving?

The Assurance WeatherReady does have a slightly more prominent tread pattern, which might provide you with slightly better traction for off-roading. However, the traction levels will still be far from what you’d get on an all-terrain tire.

Moreover, the tire doesn’t have protection from cuts, chips, and punctures, so that it can be easily damaged if you drive on hardpacked surfaces with sharp rocks.

Is it comfortable and refined?

The Assurance WeatherReady provides less cushion than the most comfortable grand-touring tires. Crucially, Goodyear’s all-weather tire suffers both over smaller and larger impacts. On top of that, the tire exhibits more road noise, which can be easily heard at higher speeds. So, if you care about daily comfort, this is not the tire for you.

You can see more Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Review here: Video created by Elvis Car Reviews

Should I buy the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady?

Well, if you need an all-season tire that can work well in the winter, the Assurance WeatherReady is one of the few good choices on the market. The tire works well in the summer and has an excellent treadlife. So, for people in the northern areas, I think it will work just fine.

However, if you only need a capable grand-touring all-season tire for spring, summer, and fall, I can think of numerous better products. The Assurance WeatherReady simply lacks enough traction on wet surfaces and doesn’t provide the passengers with a comfortable ride.