I have these as well. They are great in the snow!!!!
I had them on my last car, 2000 Grand Prix, and it would drive through snow up past the bumber no problem.

 

I generally buy the 'best' non UHP tire. When you get an ultra high performance tire you are usually sacrificing tire life and noise/comfort for that extra edge which is never realized on the street.
If I were you, I would look for the quietest tire first as those are generally the newest designs which are of course the grippiest anyway even if they are 'all season' which you would never use in the snow or not 'summer only' which may not work well in the cold.
The grip levels of these tires, even with a tall sidewall, is impressive enough that you are exceeding OEM capabilities and are only marginally 'off the pace' of an ultimate no holds barred performance tire (r-compounds excluded). The fact that you generally get an improved ride quality is just a positive bonus.
Jury's out on steering feel as that is purely subjective and generally a quiet comfortable tire will have a more 'smooth' feel not a jittery (some call that sporty) feel.
I've had good luck with michelin (both pilot and primacy) and the now are running bridgestone turanza serenity. The goodyear assurance are supposed to be top notch but they were out of stock when I was last shopping.

Seth

 

We had our first snow on Thursday night. The Versados passed the test of a few inches of snow really well. I also had to stop very quickly while it was raining before the snow started. They do really well in the rain also. No hydro plane like the Firestones that were on it. Thank God! I would hate to have the wife crash because of bad tires. Now here driving skills are another issue.

 

I sold my OE Firestones at 3700 miles and replaced them with Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season tires. They went 29400 miles and the fronts corded because the toe-in was off and I didn't know it--probably was like that since new. Had the front end not been out of whack, those tires probably would have gone 35,000 miles...pretty good for an ultra performance radial and the way I drive.

I replaced the F1 ASes with Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds and had the front end alignment redone. Typically, Assurance gets better tread life so, with the front end now working right, I'll bet I'll see 40,000+ miles out of this set of tires.

In retrospect, I think that, while the F1 AS had really good dry handing, I like the Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds better because they're a more logical choice for tires on a car like an standard (ie: non-SS) HHR.

I've posted more elsewhere about my HHR tire experiences. See:
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/tires-wheels-49/i-tried-new-goodyear-f1-all-season-10290/
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/tires-wheels-49/now-im-testing-assurance-tripletred-26541/

 

I wanted to go to a 225/55/16, but Michelin doesn't make the Hydroedge in that size. I could go to a 215/60/16 in the Hydroedge, or go to the Michelin Pilot which does come in a 225/55/16. Anyone have any experience with the Pilot?