Originally Posted By: Rand
If you want a tire that acts like a normal tire only really good in the winter.. that is the michelin xice xi3.
The general arctic 12 is brand new so not much data on it.
The ws80 is better for the most severe winter conditions but worse handling, wear, MPG, noise.
you might also consider the continential wintercontact si.. its a top tier winter tire.
I have the Xi3's on my Cruze, this is my 4th season with them. I agree they are slightly closer to feeling like an all season on dry roads compared to a Blizzak, but I have not been happy with their performance in slush. When there is packed snow that has salt on or under it and it starts to melt and is all mushy, but not yet plowed (or needs to be plowed again), the Xi3's just ride on top and slide around. Can hardly go, steer or brake. I do appreciate how they behave the rest of the time, but I hate the slush performance enough that I will not buy them again.
I had some Goodyear performance winters that I really loved on my Grand Prix a few years back. I will consider a performance winter again. They handle very nice in the wet and dry, do great in the snow, and not bad on ice. I felt it was a better compromise for me.