back to the original post, 'Winter tyres... do you bother?'
It's a yes for myself & Mrs T. (we live in NE Lincs.)
We bought a spare set of wheels fitted with Winter Tyres about 3 years ago for our Focus,
Mrs T. does approx 26K miles per year and I thought the cost and peace of mind of having better tyres for the winter months was justified
The Focus on winter Tyres was/is significantly better to drive in cold/wet/icy conditions than on the summer tyres and on another level compared to what I put up with in my MGF
So much so I've decided to garage the MG this winter, I've taken the Focus and Mrs T. took delivery of a Golf a couple of months ago, a set of Winter wheels and tyres were purchased before the car!
We have Dunlop wintersport 4 on the Focus and 5 on the golf and both have been spot on, decent fuel economy and good wear, we usually fit end of October > March.
I can honestly say they are a vast improvement when its cold/frosty over the Goodyear efficient grip 'summer' tyres we run
I personally feel it is worth an hour or so changing wheels over twice a year for the difference it makes,
that said, I only do approx 5k per year so when my tyres are shot I'm going to try some Michelin Crossclimate and maybe sell the spare set of wheels