Michelin Defender vs Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All Season
Two of the top performing tires in the basic all-season class are the Michelin Defender and the Assurance TripleTred All Season from Goodyear. Both of these tires have been ranked highly since they came out over the past couple of years. So that leads to the question… which tire is the better choice?
Michelin Defender Goodyear Assurance TripleTred AS
Traction/Cornering/Steering
Both of these tires deliver excellent dry traction and handling as you might expect. The Defender provides a bit more responsive steering and feel than the TripleTred in our opinion. It simply gives you a little extra confidence behind the wheel when driving at higher speeds and during more aggressive cornering.
Cornering grip goes to the TripleTred. It has more grip due in part to its aggressive tread pattern. You’ll also find it delivers very good stability throughout the speed range.
Wet traction sees the TripleTred showing its strength again. It provides exceptional grip and hydroplane resistance on wet roads, which is at the top of the charts among any all-season tire. Whether around town or on the highway, you’ll feel in complete control driving on wet road surfaces. Meanwhile, the Defender does a better than average job itself, but falls a bit short of the TripleTred, especially at higher speeds.
Braking performance is toss-up between the two on dry pavement. Wet braking is where there is some separation in favor of the TripleTred, but the differences are minimal.
Ride Comfort/Road Noise
Ride comfort and road noise is an area where we feel the Defender wins out over the TripleTred AS. Yes, the difference is not that pronounced on smoother surfaces, but on bumps and small potholes the Defender is more comfortable.
The Defender also rides much quieter on the road as well. The more aggressive tread pattern of the Goodyear adds a little extra noise. Of course, the trade off is the added traction you get.
Treadlife
Treadlife on both tires is long lasting, but we give the edge to Michelin over Goodyear. The Defender carries an 820 UTQG rating and an 80,000 mile warranty, while the TripleTred has a 740 UTQ Grating and an 80,000 mile tread guarantee. We base our preference on our own experience with the tire and that of many other drivers of these two tires.
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Which Tire Wins?
Make no mistake, either one of these tires will make an excellent choice for your coupe, sedan or minivan. It really comes down to your needs. If you’re looking for higher all-season traction and braking, especially on wet roads, then the Goodyear is the top pick.
If ride comfort and less road noise, as well as a little better treadlife is what you’re after, the Defender would be our recommendation.
Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All Season Review
Michelin defender ride quality is significantly superior over any tire in its class, but all brand mileage expectations are inflated inc Michelin and rarely would any tire provide 80k miles, mostly depending on ownership with care of rotation, air pressure, alignment etc.
for the ride comfort and quietness of Michelin it’s worth twice the money in my opinion as tires are usually on your car for approx 2-4 years. That’s a lot of sacrifice driving for a couple of hundred bucks!!! Just my two sense….
Good luck
I only got 26K miles out of the Michelin Defenders on my Toyota Highlander.
3 sets of Defenders all went 100,000+
I have set of defender tire 37k ready to replace, very disappointed in these expensive tires. Rotated every 3500 miles.
Where did you purchase your tires?
Also have Michelin Defenders. Hitting 70k miles and the tires need to be changed ASAP. Was expecting another 10k miles out of the tires. Now looking at Goodyears.
Yep I got about 38,000 on my 2500 truck as well
I have had 2 sets of Michelin Defenders and I have had similar experiences with both sets. Going to try Goodyear Assurance this time.
I bought michelin defenders that were supposed to last 80,000 miles and I only have around 38,000 and I am to the wear line. I am very disappointed because those tires were expensive and I had to make payments on them. Don’t know if I want anymore of these! So disappointed! Sincerely, Tammy Barton
Exact same results in Birmingham Alabama. Changing to another brand.
Only got 37,000 out of the defenders. Highly disappointed..Went to Goodyear assurance this time.So far nice quiet ride. Hoping they last longer.