I am a bit crazy about cars and tires, but I will not buy any car that cannot take a Bridgestone Turanza rated H or better.
Its not the only good tire out there but the only one I like.
Quiet, comfortable, and compliant, and real real grippy. Not racer boy nervous quick handling, more like autobahn fast. They add needed compliance for horrible pavement in Northeast. They transform any car. Deceptive, you drive faster with them because you lose the sensation of noise and jerkiness of average performance tires with their built in speed-feel.
Rated AA/A which is the highest, you should accept no tire that does not get this. Do not listen to the person at the local tire store or gas station about ratings or consider their gas station brand tire.
They are great in snow, I have mounted wintersport M3s but leave them in the NH garage all winter, they are a bit better in real snow, but the Turanzas get me through anything and the noise of the M3s is a hassle. Same with any snow tire. In alaska I might feel different.
You pay about 2-3 times as cheap tires but they are less than OEM Michelins. Also you lose a very few % mpg.
Read reviews at tire rack. Ignore all written by drivers of Detroit iron, minivans or trucks. Volvo and Accord drivers seem to not get it either. Surprised about that.
For cheap way out buy Kumhos.
Finally do not forget the maxim that "all cars need an alignment". They do. All 4 wheels. Tell them to zero out the error, not just get within the green zone, it takes an extra few moments. Make them give you a printout of before and after. If you want to handle in snow you need correctly aligned wheels.