I normally use Nokian Hakkapeliittas on my Golf and while they still have more than enough legal tread, I don't believe they're optimum for hardpacked snow. Unfortunately, there's a waitlist for new Nokians, so I'm going with Continental Wintercontacts, which have a sterling rating.
I have the Conti, corners well, good traction, pretty loud.
After i got a bit of use out of them i got a set of bridgestones. I cant remember what ones exactly but they really didn't cost all that more than the cheapest tires i could find. The difference was night and day. Car was much quieter at motorway speeds, felt a lot more planted to the road and more importantly felt much less skiddish in the rain. Made the car feel completely different.
Continental or Michelin, all season or summer tires. Bridgestone Blizzak for winters. Never had anything else.
For snow tires Blizzaks are remarkable but they are soft/squishy. Since Denver gets warm and sunny frequently during the winter, if it's only car I wouldn't get these if the intent is to leave them on for the season - performance and handling aren't, and wear is
Continental DSW06, might be able to find older model (not the + I think) for cheaper.
I like Bridgestone. Never had Goodyears, but I would only get them for specialty purposes (racing, off-roading), not all-year regular passenger car tires.
I like my Blizzaks. They've gotten me through some dicey whiteouts and snow storms.
I swapped out at 36k to Continental EXtremeContact DWS06 (50,000 mile warranty). They were $1000 installed at my tire place. It looked like the stock Primacy's would have been $200-300 more. The Continentals are less efficient (\~5% or so), but the extra money I will spend on electricity over the life of the tire doesn't make up the cost difference. Currently have about 10k miles on the new tires. Can't tell any real difference in noise or ride comfort level.
They are very squirmy tires, a poor choice for a sporty car IMO. I have a set of Michelin PA4 snows that are definitely better dry performers than the DWS. I purchased the DWS once for an Audi A4, but I returned them in less than a week.
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