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Goodyear has updated the legendary Assurance MaxLife tire model. The new name is Assurance MaxLife2. A lot has changed, and it’s all for the better from our standpoint. This is a very important all-season touring tire for Goodyear. When Goodyear offered us a chance to test the Assurance MaxLife2 prior to its July 23 launch, we jumped at the chance.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – What Is It? What’s the Life Expectancy and Warranty?
The Assurance MaxLife2 is Goodyear’s longest-lasting all-season touring/commuter tire. The 85,000-mile treadwear warranty may get a lot of the attention, but this tire has much more to offer any driver. In addition to the treadwear limited warranty, Goodyear also offers a 60-day “buy-and-try” type of satisfaction guarantee. You can return to your Goodyear retailer within two months if you are not fully satisfied. In that rare event, Goodyear will offer to swap them for a different Goodyear model tire.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Test Vehicle, Mileage, and Time In Service
We had a 2011 Lexus RX350 SUV with over 100,000 miles on the odometer to use as our test vehicle. This vehicle had been riding on some well-worn winter tires just prior to the mounting of the new Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 tires. Prior to winter, it was wearing some fully worn all-season tires of another brand.
Swapping to the new Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 was a revelation. Noise levels dropped dramatically. This is not unusual when new tires are fitted, but the noise reduction seemed very impressive. These tires are very quiet in all situations, and on the highway are whisper-quiet.
More impressive was the way the Lexus’s handling changed. The new tires sharpened turning and steering quite noticeably. The tires “made the aging Lexus feel young again,” is how we’d put it.
The tires were mounted on April 1st, 2025, and we’ve since added about 3,500 miles to them.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Fuel Economy Changes
Our Lexus RX350 has offered us very repeatable fuel economy all of its many years with us. We’ve owned it since new, and it has had many sets of tires. During its time with us, it has returned about 22 MPG season after season, and tire after tire. We are pleased to report that switching to the new Assurance MaxLife2 tires did not change the mileage. We’ve recorded a slight increase to 22.1 MPG since we mounted them. Prior to that, the long-term MPG had been 21.9 MPG.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Cost Examples
The new Assurance MaxLife2 will start at just $147 in some sizes. We searched Tire Rack to find prices for the new Assurance MaxLife2 in our size 235/60R18. Here is a quick rundown of the price of the tire we are testing, along with some competitive tire models in this same size and segment:
–Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 $231
-Goodyear Assurance MaxLife (Outgoing generation) $243
-Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady2 $260
-Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season – $251
-Continental Crosscontact LX Sport $225
-Michelin Defender2 $233
As you can see, the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 is very competitively priced.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Dry Weather Testing – Highway and Twisty Road Handling
On dry warm pavement, the Assurance MaxLife2 is a quiet tire that offers very secure and predictable handling. It grips the road in turns and offers sharp steering response. One aspect we liked on the highway is that the tires track straight ahead and don’t require a lot of small steering inputs to stay pointed down the road.
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Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Cold Weather and Rain Testing
New England had a long-running winter season this year, and we had light snow in April. The Assurance MaxLife2 tires performed very well in slushy mixes of snow and water. In heavy rain, we sensed no hydroplaning. Wet-weather grip proved impressive.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Sand and Off-Pavement Results
We’ve had ample opportunity to drive off-pavement on New Hampshire’s many dirt roads. The MaxLife2 is a tire that is intended primarily for on-pavement commuting, but it felt right at home on rural unpaved roads.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Built-In Wear Gauge
One unique feature of the Assurance MaxLife2 tire is a built-in tread depth indicator. Not the usual treadwear bars. Rather, a step-down indicator with numbers indicating the life remaining. This is a great feature, particularly on a tire intended to go the distance.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – What Type of Driver Would Like This Tire?
Goodyear has tires for every driving style and every type of vehicle. The Assurance MaxLife2 tire is intended for daily use in routine commuting and for highway driving. If you want a tire that is optimized for winter duty, check out the Assurance WeatherReady2 tire. We’ve also tested that model, and it is superb in winter conditions.
Many shoppers will be drawn to the MaxLife2 for its long life, quiet ride, and wet-weather competence. If you value these attributes, this is a tire that will make you happy.
Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 – Our Overall Impression Thus Far
We will watch for other testers’ reports and compare them to our own after the MaxLife2 has been on the market for a few months. In the past, our tire review conclusions and observations have matched those of other professional testers very closely.
Having spent four months on the new Goodyear Assurance MaxLife2 tires, we can confidently say it is a tire that will work well for a wide variety of sedan, coupe, crossover, SUV, and even light truck owners. Goodyear has a strong reputation as a quality tire manufacturer, and the long 85K-mile warranty and 60-day trial guarantee provide peace of mind for any shopper who is hoping for a positive experience. If you are shopping for a moderately priced, premium all-season tire and longevity is one of your top priorities, this is a tire to put at the top of your list.
Top of Page Assurance MaxLife2 Tire Image Courtesy of Goodyear. All other images by John Goreham.
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John Goreham is a long-standing member of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John’s by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.
Test Note: The tires in this test were provided by Goodyear. The author paid for mounting and balancing.
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Source: torquenews.com
