Here's one that you never really hear about, but I put Yokohama Avid V4 in 225/50R16 on my Contour (within a week of getting the BAT suspension kit installed) and I've been nothing but happy with them. Since getting them around the end of November, I've done lots of DC-area city driving, a trip to TN and back over Xmas, rain & snow, and some pretty hard cornering at times, and they haven't lost grip, howled, felt too soft (or too hard, compared to my KDWs), and general ride noise level is pretty low, enough so that I enjoy my exhaust note a lot more. Factor in the cost of about $75 per tire from Tire Rack, and you really might want to look at these.
