I am on my second set of SP5000's also on my Passat. They are a great UHP all-season tire. The big knock on them is quick wear, even with a 340 treadwear rating.
I'll second the continentals. I have them on my car for 2000 miles now and I think they are a great tire, good traction in all conditions. I had 205/50's on my car before and to me, they look too small in the wheel well. Just my opinion.
I have a 5 speed GLX and use Blizzaks. Everyone will chime in on how they don't handle well in dry conditions but they're not as bad as they're made out to be. To me the whole point of a "snow" tire is to sacrifice some dry road handling for ice & snow performance. I make that comprimise for a few months per year to have great ice & snow traction and I'd think up in your area that would be more of a priority.
I'm a firm believer in Nokians. I have 3 year old 16" Nokian NRWs on my Passat Wagon 1.8T 5 speed, and my wife's Passat Wagon 1.8T Tip is riding on brand new 16" Nokian WRs. With the ESP and the Nokians, my wife's car feels invincible in snow - which is exactly how I want it to be. Both sets are rated for extreme conditions AND provide excellent dry-road performance with minimal noise.
These are good tires. I have 225/50/16's on my 2000 Passat GLS Wagon. I have about 8,000 miles so far - Wear is good, Grip is very good, Feel is good, Wet Grip is very good, breakaway has not happened so I can't comment on that. They do make some noise - if you listen you will start hearing the whine about 40-45 MPH, but it does not increase linearly from there, just kinda levels off. If you have your tunes playing you'll probably never hear them. My wife did not notice until I brought it to her attention. I had Dunlop SP8000 on for the first 38K and these tires are very good also. So far I like the FM901 just a little better, they are a little more firm on ride and feel through the steering and easily better in the wet. Turn in is more crisp with the SP8000's, but with the Passat Wagon the ratio is quite fast (probably for the lame stock tires) so I actually like the FM901's better. I can be more precise. I recommend them.
My vote is for RE950. I have just replaced my Passat's 195 OEMs with BS RE950 215/60/15. So glad I made the switch, the difference is like day and night. No sidewall flex, the wheels now look much better too.
The car still has the stock Michelin MXV4 Plus 205/55 16H tires. I do not dispute that true snow tires outperform them. These tires suffice for both good and bad weather until one obtains more specialized sets for the seasons one encounters in their area. I plan on getting 17x8 wheels with Kumho 712s for the summer, and going with these for the winter until they wear out. Regardless, 4Mo provides superior safety and handling in any situation.
We've got a FWD model Passat, and we use Nokian Hakkapeliitas in the winter We went out on closed (snowed out) roads in southern Oregon We were passing snow plows and SUVs left and right Not even a bit of wheelspin, it was just like being on dry ground, only quieter 4motion is probably worth it in the northeast
I'll be putting on my Dunlop Winter Sport M2's in the next few weeks for the 3rd snow season and would echo INDIGO's points. I've been slightly disappointed on the snow performance as I've found quite a bit of understeer with these tires in snow.
After this mornings hellish commute in this monsoon, I am having second thoughts about the Bridgestone RE950's. This is coming upon the end of my first summer with these tires and they are getting scary in the rain. I drove the hell out of the OEM Michelins until they would hydroplane at 40mph. These Bridgestones are wearing much faster than I thought. The dry road handling is still terrific, but wet weather leaves a bit to be desired.
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