Here is a few tips. As far as size, go with 235-255/50/18, it's approximately an inch taller than OE OD and it allows rotation to optimize treadlife. This is the time to buy as large tire stores like Discount Tire is having a Black Friday sale. Regarding looks, just take a deep breath, car would look like a body builder with chopsticks for legs.
My preference is single-compound winter tires (most Dunlop and Bridgestone models are dual compound) and I look for the cheapest one because the snow and ice precipitation in the area where I live can be considered fair. This way, the overall cost is minimized since the very-soft first layer in dual-compound wears very fast in the dry and wet.
Last thing. Winter tires offers markedly different driving characteristics. While they provide excellent traction in snow and ice, dry and wet are a different story. Their compounds are very soft and so are their inner structures meaning sidewall is prone to rolling; taking a ramp at a speed a tad too high in the dry and the car would "walk" sideways (not sliding). I maintain a higher tire pressure to reduce the sidewall rolling, try 38-40 psi.
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