Tires BRIDGESTONE or DUNLOP

I went from Q3+ to Q4 for similar reasons. Instantly a success.

Wife and son drive Blizzaks - she on her 4Runner here in New England; son who lives in Denver and does a ton of snowboarding (Jetta). Both very happy with them.

We have Blizzaks WS90s on our CX5. They were on our Highlander before that. This will be season four on them and they will be replaced because of age, not wear. I love the Blizzaks and will buy them again for sure. Great ride, great grip in all conditions, and surprising longevity.

My Mazda3's all have had Blizzak WS60's, 80's and my 3rd gen is on WS90's. Love them!

I had a set on my Explorer last winter and was seriously impressed. They actually ended up being just about perfect - more compliant than my 21" Pirellis, but far firmer, quieter, and enjoyable than I could have ever hoped for. Performance in the snow was incredible

I had WS80s on my Mazda 6 for 6 years and they still had lots of tread left when I traded the car in. I had WS90s on my ATS and they were excellent too.

Continental 860+ I think has been the best reviewed winter tire in EU for several years now. I drive Dunlop, because the Continentals were out of stock.

You will never get the q4 hot enough and will be more prone to low side, the exact thing you are trying to avoid.

40f is like ice skates . I drove in 4 inches on dunlops in my 18 wrx , wow , that was a challenge

Below 40F the tires get hard and lose grip. Add a little bit of snow and they are slick as fuck. The awd helps but the overall loss of traction makes driving sketch as fuck.