I've had the continental DWS tires on a few cars, I live in AZ, so not a lot of snow, but I've driven to utah, and a few other places where snow was, and they performed flawlessly. Love them, they lasted forever, and will be my next tires once the ones that came on my car wear out.

 

I have them on my X, but AWD vs RWD is a hell of a difference when it comes to running all-seasons. I would really recommend considering snow tires with RWD if you plan on driving in the snow. The DWS are a great tire, but are not the same as snow tires in terms of being able to corner, or brake.


I have the Continental Contiprocontact on my Benz...and they suck. They spin, slide and brake poorly compared to the Extremecontact DWS. Even though the benz is a garage quees, i've been out in the snow with it and it's not that reassuring. The DWS definitely are more reassuring in the snow, but I have AWD, so turning and plowing through snow is a little better with 4 wheels turning. My first set did last me almost 70K miles...kinda why i bought a 2nd set

With my RWD cars, i've always gone snow tires.

 

Go for the Nokians for winter tires the WRG3 is wicked for those who Daily Drive. It's really stupid in our cars to run all seasons if you have snowy conditions (coming from a Northern Canadian). I work at a tire shop in my town and have had 275/40R19 Nitto NeoGens (summer tire) had amazing cornering grip and loads of traction for the summer season. If you're looking for a dedicated winter tire I'd go with Nitto SN2 or the Nokians Hakkapellita R2 (rated best winter tire for cars) in many many magazine shoot outs. Currently running Blizzaks- don't like them.

 

I live in a climate where winter tires are not required for winter or rarely required. And when they are required it's only for 2 to 5 days out of the entire winter. So for me it makes no sense what so ever to buy winter tires.
But for you since you live NE I would not go any other way but dedicated winter tires.
You cant really substitute winter tires with all season tire. Winter tires have soft rubber compounds and if used on pavement will wear out quickly. So it is really not economical to run them in the summer. It will be cheaper to go to a separate set of tires and wheels. Dedicated winter tires will last you for several seasons as will the summer tires.
Just my 02

 

The Quattro has an ad system that's the best! I loved it in my a6! Wish Infiniti was as good awd!

 

Facts are facts. Winter tires will serve the purpose of getting you though snow and summer tires will grip the road like bubblegum. But at the end of the day we drive midrange horsepower, rear wheel drive cars, most of which are manual, so taking a G in snowy conditions isn't the most practical route. If you live in an area that has cold winters with snow and the G is your only car, get a rear set of devoted winter tire like Pirelli Zottozeros. Go on the wheel classified page and get some stock wheels that you can beat up during the winter months to go with them.