rabbit i thought the same thing until i tried a set of yokohama avs winter tires, they are for sure not cheap, which is what i usually go for with tires, but i found them for sale second hand by a local.. they were so much better that i've kept them on all summer to 'see how the soft rubber' grips and still they were awesome.. still running them now, and its time for me to shop around too i'm thinking of just going for winter tires all year round again.. i paid 190 bucks for the set, but not installed, so if its a do it yourself you can get around same budget
so my two cents camopaint is to look into the option of finding a set of performance winter tires... i am not a brand person btw all i care about is function