Sfax, we may have similar weather here in the DC area. Winters are cold, dipping well below freezing, bumping up to 8C Autumn-like days, with occasional snow storms that drop 1-8 inches and produce icy roads for a bit through daytime melt and nighttime freeze.
Your focus on the status of the tread makes a lot of sense to me for all but those storm/ice periods. I've driven a 330i (not xDrive, so there's a difference) in those conditions and an AWD with snow tires. For most of the Winter the All Weather tires and smart driving worked fine on the 330i, but it drove like a sled and in some of the more slippery conditions (icy or that really slick snow -- however that happens) wasn't even drivable. There was an incline of about 40 ft over 400 ft that I couldn't get up, turns, any lateral angles, and stopping were a real problem. The tires had about 3k miles on them. Based on that experience, I've gone with the Winter tires as I generally have to go to work when the weather is bad.
Agree with you that our roads would likely be far safer if folks kept up with their tires and kept them inflated (and paid attention to driving).
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