Much like most folks drive on all seasons all year in many parts of the country.
Summer tires aren't meant for snow, but does that mean they can only be driven during summer temperatures?
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33-34° on the way in to work today, I put my summers on last weekend. I managed to make it in without dying 
When I lived in a snowy climate I used full on winter tires and high performance all seasons to avoid the "when to change over" question. I left the all seasons on as late as possible in the fall and took the snow tires off as early in the spring as made sense.
The all seasons manage the shoulder seasons quite well and you don't get caught out away from home with tires that can't manage an unexpected snow fall.
I have the factory installed Yokohama Advan summer tires on my Spider that I regularly use down to about 25F without issue. My coworker has a Miata with the same and he hasnt had any cold weather issues either. Colder than 25F, I use one of our other cars. Even in the mid-30's on wet pavement the Advans do remarkably well, at least on par with various all season tires I've used in the past. I havent (and wouldnt dare) use them in snow. I made that dumb, I mean seriously dumb, mistake on a Vette I had when I got caught at the office during an unpredicted and unexpected brief snow squall about 10 years ago. We got about an inch of snow in about an hour while I was just leaving work. They were Goodyear summer tires, I forget which ones, but that was the most horrific drive home I ever had, if I had a brain I would have pulled over and waited for the salt trucks or just had the wife come get me. But I was only going a few miles and figured I would be ok. I made it, but I was all over the road, and I do mean all over. How I didnt end up in a ditch or dead underneath a pickup truck, I'll never know. First, last, and only time I ever made that stupid decision.
33-34° on the way in to work today, I put my summers on last weekend. I managed to make it in without dying
The testing videos show it over and over...a summer in cold/dry/wet (not snow) will out perform a winter tire but as you found out, summers in the snow are almost undriveable. That's why here in VA where I am you will see some folks drive year round on summers b/c we may get a few dustings it seems at most anymore and you just leave it home that day.
That's what folks do that I know that live where you need winter tires - many just use UHP all seasons to handle the rest of the year. Smart choice.
f355spider
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Very true. Summer tires in general are superior both in dry and wet, over all season. Compromises are made to get the snow rating. Only in the last few years, have some all seasons, like the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 and AS4 been able to match a good summer tire in the wet.
I pay attention to wet performace, since I live in the pacific nw. I went through a few sets of AS3s and liked them, but back to Conti ECS as they just have a better overall feel and grip in dry and wet over the AS3s. I really don't need or use the snow or cold weather aspect, as I try not to venture in the snow and simply slow down when it is cold out.
Personally the thought of using an all season on a performance car gives me the willies. Summers just feel and perform so much better. The way the car responds to steering input, the way it feels loaded in a corner, it's a night and day difference. Not to mention the dry grip is miles better.
I live in a wet place and I don't mind sacrificing some wet traction really, because I just don't drive aggressively in the wet. Too much can go wrong whereas in the dry you really have to mess something up to lose control.
I just took some ECS off which I wore out after three summers and replaced them with Advan V601's. Only used them for a few days but I am happy thus far. They feel good on center and steering tip in and they ride slightly better than the Contis did.
Not sure what I'll get next; these ECSs will last this year and that's it. Conti has a revised ECS (ECS 2) or maybe I'll finally try the mythical PS4S!
I imagine there will be a 5S soon. I just don't like the direction Michelin has gone since the Pilot Super Sport. That tire was awesome. They've made the newer ones more comfortable, better in the wet, quieter etc but at the expense of feel, and they are less durable when driven hard, which doesn't sit well with me. Those are all things all-seasons do better than summers and not really traits I want in a summer tire.
I did consider the ECS2 but the front tire size was on backorder when I needed them. The Yokos are way cheaper too although I expect to lose some treadlife.
Define "modern". I was able to find that the i3's I bought was in 2009. Looks like I put on in May and I still remember sweating bullets, finally pulling off around Thanksgiving, as I did not want to drive in snow whatsoever with them. I did not keep the logbook for that car (shame on me) but I am guessing I only had for 2 or so years. Not more than 3 for sure. [I think it was only 2 as I was fed up with them and their poor wet traction. They would spin on any wet painted surface.]
I realize that was 14 years ago, but... I found they didn't work for me. At least that set certainly didn't! I don't feel a need to own 3 sets of tires: summer, spring/fall and winter. Summer, all season and true winter. In these parts we can have a freak snow storm in April--and also in October. Drive 6 months on snow tires? Ergo my comment: summer tires don't work for me. All season works for 9 months of the year for me, with a good winter tire for maybe 3. If I moved more south, it'd be a different story.
[Just took off my winter tires. At 6 years of age I was able to determine that the new a/s I have are actually softer! didn't wear out those snows fast enough I guess.]
Did i3's change in the last 10 years? I'll retract my dislike for that tire if so.
Maybe I'm confused but a Nokian I3 is an all season tire, not a summer performance tire as far as I can find.
Maybe I'm confused? I remember buying it as a summer tire, and from what I can find, it's still indicated as such? Link. I remember trying to be "smart" and buy a summer tire for summer, and run winter tires for winter. Rather than a "do nothing well" all season.
I think the i3 was just a mediocre tire, which debuted in 2005. Most UHP summer tires are now quite impressive in the wet, the sport comp 2 is rated AA traction and many tires test better than it.
I suspect now there are a few UHP all seasons that work as well or better on the street, in the wet and dry but I wouldn't count on them in the snow either!
For your driving I'd get a good 3 season tire with good wet performance, and winter tire with good clear hwy manners that lasts, something like the old Xice3, Xice2. I love the Xice2's we have on the Outback as most of the time it is driving on mostly clear or wet highways and they are like an all-season for noise and wear.
The thing is in Europe there aren't really all-season tires... There are summer tires and winter tires, basically anything without the mountain symbol is considered a summer tire. So for them to call this tire a summer is not surprising. Looking at pictures it is definitely what we would consider an all-season over here.
The nice thing about being retired is not having to go to work. By the time I retired, I hated to drive. Especially the E 150superduty. The Transit Connects were a pain to work out of but fun to drive. When they decided to put GPS monitors on them, that killed that buzz. These days, I let the errands pile up to at least 3 before I venture downtown
Well, I wasn't impressed.
I wasn't impressed with the WR G series either, not after having full winter tires, the WR seasons I didn't "love" either.Today I like my RT43's for 3 seasons, although I will push them a bit into winter, depending on my mood and if I have a vehicle with snow tires on it (like when I had my truck). I don't want to make them into something better than sliced bread, but I found them a great compromise, something that did all I wanted. At least back then, now they seem similar priced and not quite the same deal.
And after putting an old set of snows onto my car for this last winter... I also found I missed driving on "real" snow tires. The difference in grip in snow is for real.
Ok...that makes sense and yes, I've heard this before. I really like this guy's tire (or should I say tyre?) reviews/channel on YouTube. He mentions in this video that he really can't believe they don't get the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 over there b/c it's so good. His review videos are very good. Folks that talk smack about all seasons "no seasons" etc.....I really think most folks would be pretty happy with the PS4 all season as a single tire weapon in many parts of the U.S....heck...I tracked it and it isn't really that bad, just doesn't handle lap after lap heat that well but I had a blast on it when I first started doing some track days before I was commited to a second (and third!) set of wheels/tires (summers and 200s). If you can't send it hard on a public road hard on these I'm not sure what to say - it comes on the base C8 Vette. Does that mean it's as good as a summer for dry grip? No. Does that mean it's a great tire if you live in North Dakota with a real winter? No. But for the middle ground it's killer. I could ditch my summer setup and just use this and be happy if needed. We don't really get much snow here in the Richmond, VA area but I've had them in a light snow/snow on the road with no issues as well.
Not true anymore.
What is marketed as 'all weather' in the USA is now 'all season' is Europe.
Krzyś
Alright, but those tires still have mountain snowflake symbols. A tire considered all-season in North America like the Pilot Sport 4 A/S would still be considered a summer tire in Europe.