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First, there ARE tires that fit your need. I know, I've been driving on them for ~90k miles now. They are Nokian M&S rated "winter" tires that just so happen to be phenomenal summer tires (best wet tire I've driven on). Of course, there's always a tradeoff and that is in fuel economy (I saw an ~8% hit in fuel economy) and longevity (I got 55k out fo the first set before they were trash, and they weren't all that great in the snow for the last 8~10k miles). Oh, and price, they're a touch more expensive than crappy all-seasons.
Curious yet? Nokian WR and WR2 (looks like the Newest version is the WR G2)
I put them through the paces while living in central Wyoming, Denver, CO and traveling all up and down the Rockies for work and skiing. I managed to find one situation that I wouldn't want to repeat where I managed to get stuck, but it was my own damn fault and bad decision to drive up a mile worth of unplowed dirt road to my folks ski cabin in Montana. 5~6" of powder and a car with 4~5" of ground clearance don't mix very well. I was astonished at how well the tires held in the corners and when stopping on icy roads.
Love the tires. Absolutely worthless for where I'm living in Georgia, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again for my year-round use if I lived somewhere that Had a winter.
Get something like the BFG A/T tire (all terrain), and have one of the tire shops sipe the tires. It's still not as good as a true winter tire, but it's a decent compromise. The other option that I did for a while while living in northern Michigan was to run snow tires year-round. In that case I was running Nokian Hakkapelittas, and actually really liked them as they did excellent on wet pavement as well as dirt roads. Yes, they wore faster than an all season tire, but was worth it to me.
i had an old Jeep Wrangler (YJ) that i put a set of sipped BFG A/T on and it felt like it would go thru any amount snow. Sipping also keeps the tire cooler which helps longevity.
Winter tires are mandatory here from December to April and studded tires are allowed. If possible, I do recommend using studded tires instead of M/S ones, especially when driving on ice. In the winter it's all about safety. You don't want to end up wrapped around a tree because you didn't have a square meter to store tires.
I installed Continental ContiPro DWS on my Saab and I survived a harsh New Hampshire winter with a lot of snow. Never got stuck.
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