I put a set of Michelin's Premiers on my hhr ls panel a few months ago 215/55/16, and these things stick to the road,I don't know much about other tires as I get my tires, well, lets not say,,, we also own Uniroyal, and BFGoodrich companies .
I like the BFGoodrich tires, they just don't seem to get the mileage the Michelins do, at least from my experience. I am sure the other companies tires are good too, I just have experience with the ones from were I work. < spoken with a real down hone southern drawl

 

As Aradmahogany said, I really loved my Sumitomos. They fit the bill of your top three things to have. I have about 60000 in them right now, but they're coming off for my Riken Raptors. Yes I buy cheaper, well less expensive tires, but the Sumitomo provided a stable, quiet, and comfortable ride at highway speeds for a daily driver. My are 215/55 16, I'm not sure exactly how much of a difference it makes with a slightly shorter sidewall on a 17

 

Yes; and I am running them on my American Racing rims which are half an inch wider than stock at 7 inches wide, so they help a little bit.

 

I just put a set of Yokohama Avid Ascend on my 09 HHR and love them. They are very quiet and very smooth. I put these same tires on my wife's '11 Dodge Journey a coupel years ago and they do quite well in the conditions you mentioned. The 17" tires for my HHR cost me $530 shipped form Tire Rack, and I am getting a $60 rebate.

 

The OP ended up grabbing a set of Goodyears back on page one of the thread.

We can close this thread now.