Tests – · 1 test Owners 69 · 1 review
Best test result: #1 of 8 in 2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires (tested tread life (miles))
Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Head-to-head
Updated
Michelin Defender T+H vs Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 0 road tests and 1 + 5 owner reviews. How we score
Too close to call: Defender T+H 71, Eagle UltraGrip 72.
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Tests – · none yet Owners 74 · 5 reviews
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
-
70
Dry
Eagle UltraGrip +171Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 69 (est.) ≈ 70 (est.) Reviews found online 71 73 Defender T+H: 60% × 69.3 (est.) + 40% × 70.9 = 70
Eagle UltraGrip: 60% × 70 (est.) + 40% × 72.6 = 71
No road tests of dry for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
No road tests of dry for Eagle UltraGrip. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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73
Wet
Eagle UltraGrip +376Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 72 (est.) ≈ 75 (est.) Reviews found online 73 78 Defender T+H: 60% × 72.2 (est.) + 40% × 73.4 = 73
Eagle UltraGrip: 60% × 74.5 (est.) + 40% × 77.6 = 76
No road tests of wet for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
No road tests of wet for Eagle UltraGrip. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
-
65
Snow
No comparison–Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 68 (est.) – Reviews found online 62 – Defender T+H: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 62.1 = 65
No road tests of snow for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).
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68
Comfort
Level68Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 69 (est.) ≈ 69 (est.) Reviews found online 67 67 Defender T+H: 40% × 68.7 (est.) + 60% × 67 = 68
Eagle UltraGrip: 40% × 68.8 (est.) + 60% × 67.4 = 68
No road tests of comfort for Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
73
Treadwear
Defender T+H +370Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests 76 ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 68 72 Defender T+H: 60% × 76.1 + 40% × 68 = 73
Eagle UltraGrip: 60% × 68.3 (est.) + 40% × 72.4 = 70
No road tests of treadwear for Eagle UltraGrip. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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–
Handling (owners)
No comparison74Why this score
Source Defender T+H Eagle UltraGrip Reviews found online – 74
Scores at a glance
| Category | Michelin Defender T+H | Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 71 | 72 |
| Dry | 70 | 71 |
| Wet | 73 | 76 |
| Snow | 65 | – |
| Comfort | 68 | 68 |
| Treadwear | 73 | 70 |
| Handling (owners) | – | 74 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
71
/ 100
Defender T+H
72
/ 100
Eagle UltraGrip
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A Defender T+H
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
Tire B Eagle UltraGrip
Pros
- Exceptional tread life and durability even on high-torque vehicles
- Significant improvement in winter traction for rear-wheel drive cars
- Quiet operation comparable to premium summer tires
Cons
- Performance in deep snow is considered average compared to modern winter tire designs
- Older tread pattern design compared to current market offerings
- Run-flat variants may have specific handling characteristics that some drivers find less refined
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Michelin Defender T+H | B · Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Premium Touring All Season tire | Winter |
| Vehicle type | SUV and 4x4 | Passenger Car / Crossover |
Which one should you actually buy?
71
/ 100
Michelin Defender T+H
72
/ 100
Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip
Too close to call: Michelin Defender T+H and Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip are within 2 points overall. Michelin Defender T+H is stronger on treadwear. Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip is stronger on wet. Michelin Defender T+H rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 1 review), so read this result as provisional. Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 5 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire A
You want the longest tread life
Michelin Defender T+H scores 73 vs 70 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip scores 76 vs 73 on wet.
Tire A · Michelin Defender T+H
Tire B · Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip
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Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip?
Which is better in the wet, Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip?
Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip, 76 vs 73 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip?
Neither, by our numbers: 70 vs 71 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Which is more comfortable, Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip?
Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 68 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
Which lasts longer, Defender T+H or Eagle UltraGrip?
Michelin Defender T+H, 73 vs 70 on our treadwear score.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology