Tires BRIDGESTONE or OEM Volkswagen

I'm a mechanic in Canada, I see all sorts of winter tires. Having driven on many different brands and styles, I recommend bridgestone blizzak over all others if you can afford it.

Nokian Hakkas, Toyo Observe GSi-5 and 6, Blizzaks have been the go-tos on all of our vehicles and among my family.

RE71R’s or full Hoosier slicky boys if I’m feeling spicy and really wanna set a PB.

Canadian here, winter tires are good enough for most driving on ice and snow. I've got a set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires on my Ford Edge FWD and it goes through all conditions just fine.

+1 for the Bridgestone Weatherpeaks. They are also symmetrical / non - directional so you can have a full size spare and do 5 tire rotation. I run them on my 09 STI in the northeast.

I use Bridgestone RE71Rs for both track/street and they are great!

you can look into Bridgestone RE-71R(S) for good grip with better longevity than a052

If you are getting a decent set, like say Bridgestone Blizzak WS90, you will be in the \~$125-180/tire range depending on size, plus mount and balance.

The Bridgestone RE780 AS is another excellent tire- I'd say it's nearly as good as the Michelin, definitely better than the BFG. Where it falls down is cost- it's about the same price as the Michelin PS A/S line of all seasons and does not have the same performance. Great in the dry, great in the wet- the dry grip is not as good as the Michelin.

I was unfortunate to receive my GTI with a set of the RE97AS's. Rough surfaces are the worst - makes everything in the car rattle or vibrate. Dry grip is quite poor (as others have mentioned), bad breakaway even at low throttle inputs. At cruising speeds on newer highways (rubberized asphalt) everything seems fine.