August 16, 2021
Tire manufacturers are continually advancing their products with the latest developments in technology and designs. Most often, they showcase their cutting-edge breakthroughs in their flagship tire models, which are designed to represent the company’s highest levels of innovation. The Grand Touring All-Season category has served as one of the most prevalent spaces for these flagship products and has become a hotbed for the best to show off their capabilities.
The Assurance ComfortDrive is Goodyear’s latest addition to the category in 2021, featuring an updated, all-season compound and TreadLock Technology for enhanced grip and good handling characteristics. The tire is focused on increasing traction in wet conditions while proving a comfortable, quiet ride worthy of its name. Pirelli’s P7 AS Plus 3 is the other newcomer to the group, designed to deliver the category’s trademark luxurious ride along with increased traction in inclement weather.
With these two new entries into this competitive landscape, our team set out to compare each tire’s advances, and perhaps compromises, in the pursuit to develop a satisfying well-rounded Grand Touring All-Season tire. Two familiar and well-regarded competitors, the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack and the Michelin CrossClimate2, will serve as excellent benchmark competition for the newcomers. The two established performers both enjoy spots at the top of our tire ranking charts and have historically performed well in our tests, so both will, no doubt, hold the latest additions to the group to a high standard. Our evaluation used 2020 BMW F36 430i Gran Coupes fitted with new, full tread depth 225/50R17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
Premier Grand Touring All-Season tires start with a foundation of good on-road performance, with drivers looking for a smooth, quiet ride that will complement their car and daily drive. To compete with the best, the Assurance ComfortDrive and the Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3 needed to match or at least make minimal compromises in ride and noise quality compared to our two benchmarks to lay the groundwork for their success. The Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3 not only met, but exceeded its competition in just about every subjective metric. The Pirelli delivered an exceptional on-road performance with impressive subjective noise scores our team couldn’t help but anecdotally compare to standouts from previous testing. Over smooth pavement, the tire’s interaction with the road was almost imperceptible with coarser surfaces only creating low-volume, medium-pitched, consistent tones. Ride quality from the Pirelli also proved to lead the group by a solid margin with good motion control and excellent impact isolation over small, medium and even larger imperfections. Steering feel rounded out the well-executed, on-road performance with a mostly precise and responsive feel that could have used a little more firmness and off-axis resistance, but overall was well-liked by our team. The CrossClimate2 also performed well on our mix of local roads and highways. After consistently good scores in each on-road metric, the Michelin ended up with a nicely balanced performance. Our team enjoyed the tire’s ability to soak up smaller impacts while still providing good damping over large bumps and imperfections. Attention-grabbing impact noises have the tendency to emphasize rough roads, but even though the Michelin’s ride could be described as firm, it muted the impacts well, which helped maintain a luxurious feel. Over smoother pavement, the road noise was pleasant and well-blended with only a hint of pattern growl over some grooved concrete and ultra-smooth asphalt. Steering feel was well-weighted and natural and felt appropriate, whether through the sweeping off-ramps or tight, city corners. The Turanza QuietTrack, however, received the highest subjective on-road handling scores from our drivers thanks to its firm and alert steering. The Bridgestone felt well-weighted through the corners and maintained its precision from initial turn-in through release as the driver unwound the steering wheel. The ride was nice, with impacts generating a concise thump for an overall taut ride. The tire did seem to generate some distinctive pattern tones at speed and on different road surfaces, but while it stood out in this group of tight competition, it was never objectionable or unreasonable for even a top tier touring product. The Assurance ComfortDrive proved to be the most compliant over large impacts, but transmitted the smaller and medium-sized bumps with a little more regularity. The tire could have used a little more motion control to complete the package, but our drivers still found it to be appropriate for the category. Impact noise was also slightly more noticeable, which stood out on the rougher sections of our route, but once the road smoothed out, the tire had a very consistent, medium-volume tone that would fade into the drive. The Goodyear could have benefited from some additional on-center response at both low and high speeds, but exhibited good mid-corner feel after initial turn-in.
Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling, and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.
Along with the objective metrics, testing these road-focused touring tires on our track helped the team find and experience the handling characteristics under more aggressive maneuvers and at the limit of grip. In the wet, the CrossClimate2’s authoritative braking helped it tie for the shortest 50-0 mph distance, which delivered confidence at the end of the course’s long straights. The Michelin impressed our team with its locked-down approach around our handling course. It felt precise and predictable through the slalom and corners and never caught the driver off-guard or on unplanned trajectories. Even if the CrossClimate2 didn’t turn the quickest wet laps in our test, its strong subjective scores from our drivers indicate the tire’s well-planted feel would be appreciated on wet, public streets and highways. The Assurance ComfortDrive managed to provide lateral traction and 50-0 mph braking distances that came in just behind the leaders. The Goodyear, however, managed to turn the quickest laps around our wet handling course by a significant margin. While not scoring the highest subjectively, the Goodyear was able to utilize every bit of traction for deceptively quick corners that could blend together without sacrificing precious speed. Get it wrong, and understeer would set in quickly, which frustrated our team on the track, but ultimately that understeer is the preferable result on the street. The P7 AS Plus 3 also displayed satisfying balance and personality in the wet, although, objectively it rounded out the group in braking and had the lowest lateral traction levels. The step back in ultimate wet traction unavoidably found it behind the rest in lap times, however the team was impressed with its good communication and energetic personality. If driven inside the tire’s well-defined window of capabilities, the Pirelli would turn pleasantly drama-free laps with plenty of traction to satisfy drivers. The Turanza QuietTrack rounded out the group in subjective scores but managed to provide the best objective traction levels around the skidpad and tied the leader in average braking distance from 50 mph. Our team found it difficult to utilize any increase in traction, with significant understeer setting in quickly and suddenly for lap times that fell behind the Goodyear and Michelin. Although the tough competition might have highlighted some shortcomings in lapping ability in the wet, our team and, more importantly, drivers have found its abilities on the road to be more than up to the task.
With dry track handling being even further outside the usual duty of our Grand Touring All-Season tires, it was still a useful tool to find out how the tires react when pushed to the limit in controlled conditions. Our team found the Assurance ComfortDrive to be particularly satisfying around the course and offered the best handling traits of the group. The Goodyear seemed to allow just enough rear end movement for a nice, neutral feel without it becoming wasted motion. Even though the tire didn’t capture best-in-test dry objective metrics, its excellent balance and composure around the track found favor with our drivers and made it certainly seem up to the task for the occasional winding back road. The P7 AS Plus 3 managed to combine solid objective figures with a very capable and sporty feel at the limit of dry traction. The increase in grip combined with its easy to drive personality for deceptively quick laps around our test course and earned the best subjective handling and balance feel from our drivers. The CrossClimate2 maximized its test-leading 50-0 mph braking distances and let our drivers dive into corners noticeably quicker thanks to its reassuring ability to knock speed off in a hurry. Even though its braking ability was a strong trait in the test, the tire’s more clinical handling around the test track, while the second quickest on average, felt somewhat digital when compared to the others. While limit handling in the dry isn’t the highest design priority, there is certainly an element of sporty finesse in Grand Touring, which at times felt missed. The Turanza QuietTrack delivered traction levels within the noise of the others in the group, but found itself behind the competition in lateral traction and 50-0 mph stopping distances. Combined with a little more reluctance from the rear end to sync up with the front, the Bridgestone came in a slight step behind the rest in average lap times.
In our test, the CrossClimate2 was branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol, and the other three tires were not. We always find it interesting to compare tires with and without the brand, because the 3PMSF does not always guarantee a superior winter performance. The test required to earn the 3PMSF measures longitudinal acceleration traction only, which means there is no braking or cornering component, and it doesn’t evaluate ice traction in any way.
This time around, the tire with the 3PMSF symbol delivered superior winter performance in all regards. The CrossClimate2 swept all of our tests, some by a somewhat narrow margin, others by considerably more. In 0-12 mph acceleration, the CrossClimate2 required around three feet less distance than the second place tire, and 13.3 feet less than the longest in the test. 25-0 mph braking distances were about two feet shorter than the second and third place entries and a significant 18 feet shorter than the longest. Around the handling track, the CrossClimate2 delivered very satisfying traits. It was balanced and easy to control, with strong acceleration and braking at high speeds. Our team did want a little more response to steering inputs and slightly stronger grip at the front end, but it nonetheless stood out well above the competition, setting lap times that were more than three seconds faster than the next-fastest tire. The P7 AS Plus 3 was satisfying in its own right, setting close, second-place results in acceleration and braking. Even though its traction was a step down from the Michelin, it was very nice to drive and capable on the track. While it moved around somewhat at both the front and rear axles, it was always controllable and easy to drive, providing usable grip and setting the third-fastest laps. The Turanza QuietTrack was just a step behind the Pirelli in acceleration and braking distances, and it had a small lead in average lap times. Similar to the Pirelli, the Turanza QuietTrack was nice to drive, with a complete package that seemed to be more than its individual components would suggest. It communicated very clearly with the driver, making it easy to remain within its window of grip and utilize every bit of the available traction. When the limits were exceeded, its default nature was to understeer, which made it seem a bit less willing and ultimately hurt its subjective score slightly. The Assurance ComfortDrive was a large step removed from the rest of the competitive set, trailing the other members of the group significantly in every measurement. Subjectively, our drivers liked the initial turn-in and steering feel, but the weak front end traction meant the tires were overwhelmed somewhat easily. It was also difficult to interpret and predict the balance between oversteer and understeer, which was frustrating. While it never felt out of control, our team would have liked better communication and more predictable behavior.
On the ice, the CrossClimate2 again impressed our team and led the test. Its 60’ acceleration time of 4.91 seconds was strong in general and .4 seconds ahead of the next-closest competitor. The 39.8-foot stopping distance from 12 mph represented an 8-foot advantage over second place, as well. The P7 AS Plus 3 and Turanza QuietTrack were again very closely matched, with the P7 AS Plus 3 holding a minuscule advantage in acceleration and the Turanza QuietTrack with a slightly more significant, 2.3-foot lead in braking. The Assurance ComfortDrive trailed the group again, but on the ice, it was much closer than in the snow. Even so, its winter capabilities certainly left our team wanting more.
While our team focused to find differences relative to each product in this test, it’s clear each tire serves as an excellent example of a top-tier Grand Touring All-Season tire in its own right. The tight objective results and subjective scores reflect the give and take in tire design and highlight the importance of finding the right tire for where, how and what the consumer drives. The P7 AS Plus 3’s strong on-road performance elevates the brand’s luxurious pedigree with their flagship touring tires. Not only does it soothe on the street, but it provides acceptable traction and handling in wintry conditions, as well. Plus, it has the ability to satisfy when the roads start to curve, which arguably is exactly what a Grand Touring tire is meant to do. The CrossClimate2 packs its cutting-edge technology into an elegant package. The Michelin was never caught off guard or out of sorts in any of our tests and feels like a well-thought out, polished product every step of the way. The tire’s impressive braking and traction in all "winter" aspects of our testing differentiate it without much perceived sacrifice in other traits. While it may have felt like the digital product in a set of analog competitors, our team found its personality unapologetically true to itself. The Assurance ComfortDrive’s solid around town driving characteristics and objective traction metrics seem to hit dead-center of the tire’s main benchmarks. The Goodyear brings an impressive amount of refinement when pushed to its limit, whether in the dry or wet. In the snow and on ice, however, it could use a significant improvement to keep pace with the rest of the premium products in our test. The Turanza QuietTrack’s precise, well-weighted steering is a benchmark that no other tire was able to match. Its test-leading wet traction is hard to argue with, and its capabilities in the snow would be satisfying on the street.
Need help choosing the right products for your vehicle? Our team of highly trained experts has the knowledge and passion to help. Just pick up the phone and give us a ring. Or let's chat via email. We love solving problems and lending a hand (or an ear).
Contact Us