I just got rid of my Falken 512s. They were not good (loud, hard, wore out fast), but for that price pretty much nothing is. I ended up going with Kumho ASX's and I'm pretty happy with them. They have a 30k mile warranty and ride much better than the Falken 512s, are quieter, and offer just as much grip. I think they run around $110/tire.
Personally I had Kumhos before and they were pretty good, I had no issues.
I have some decent Kumhos on mine (used to have Gislaved Nordfrost 5 on my MKIV, but they wore very quickly) and my Golf is perfectly fine in the snow.
Saw a Subaru and two Jeep Liberties in ditches today. My lowered, traction control-less and ABS-less Mk.III on studded Hankooks did just fine.
I will say that the Hankook iPike W409 is a great tire. They're very similar to the old Nokian RSi tire, which is a good thing. I'm on my third set of them, studded this time. They'll go through anything.
I used these tires / steel wheels on my 2008 Jetta for one winter. If you've never used winter tires you need to try it. All wheel drive is nice to get moving but they can't help you turn or stop. Winter tires do everything better - more grip for turning, stopping, and starting. The winter rubber compound and tread gives much better grip in all cold weather conditions - dry, wet, sleet, slush, or snow.
I have Ventus V12 Evos in 205/40/17 on my MX-5 and I really like them. As as street tire/occasional autocross tire they have not let me down. I've run them to temps as low as the low 40's Fahrenheit and have been pleased with their performance.
I have a set of the Ventus V12 Evos on my R53, and they see auto-x and daily driving. I think they are great tires for the money, they are quiet, precise, and have some pretty incredible grip.
I had 245/40-17's Kumho MX's on my WRX and they were okay, but didn't have the ultimate grip of the Falkens.
I have the Kumhos and I don't like them. They are quiet, and seem to last forever, to my chagrin. Personally, I'd rather trade a little tread life for more performance, but they might be what you are looking for. A word of warning, though: they break loose pretty easily when it's wet.
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