@allmango: It should be interesting to see how the Contis perform. I've had Hakka NR-09, 10, 1, 2, NRV, NRH, SUV, and RSis over the years so have sipped from the Nokia (now Nokian) koolaid big time. I've also had good experience with the original Michelin X-Ice, terrible experience with others, and have always come back to the Nokians. I find the Nokians to be very expensive and while I've been willing to pay the premium up to now because of a demonstrable (to me) difference in performance, I think that not only has the performance gap been closed, but some of the other players have tires that might even be technically superior to the Nokians.
So....expect a reasonably objective test series from me, starting with first impressions and then some thoughts about the tires mid- and late-season. I think the very fact that I'm switching from the Nokians underlines objectivity on my part. While I am an engineer, I'm not a tire engineer so we'll see how it goes! The experience of a couple of forum members have boosted my confidence in my purchase but only experience will tell. This is uncharted territory for me, going from that famous Finnish brand to a German brand. ;-)
FWIW, here's my mini-review on the Hakks on both our Hyundai and the Mazda:
http://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php/topic,56705.0.html It should be noted that the Hakka RSis easily lasted 4 winters and the Hakka SUVs might very well have lasted 5 or 6 but I'll never know since I've sold the vehicle and they likely won't fit (they're 16") on the new Q5 unless 16" rims will fit on it.
