Snow tire question for Mazda MPV

Question about snow tires: I live in Alaska and this will be my first winter in 10 yrs. not to have either 4 wheel drive or AWD. I have a Mazda MPV, so I'm wondering if anyone that has this type of van in a lot of winter weather does? Would you get tires w/ studs or just put some good snow tires like Blizaks on it? Any advise would be great!

Thanks

DH used to work at a Mazda dealership and he really likes the Blizak's. He says: If you are just going to be on snowy roads the Blizak's are great. If you are going to cross icy roads you will want studded tires and he can't remeber 100% but does think you can get studs on the Blizak's, which would be awesome.

Hope this helps!

there are many different brands and levels of snow tires on the market, from cheap snow tires that buzz and make your car feel disconnected, to expensive snow tires that you wouldn't know the difference from your regular high quality tires, except that they stick incredibly well to snowy roads and are stable and quiet on dry roads at speeds well in excess of legal limits.

we've been happy with two different snow tires: michelin pilot alpin II and dunlop wintersport M3. both are considered high-performance snows, which means they perform great in dry, wet and snow, and are quiet and smooth. they cost about $100 a piece. i've heard the blizzaks, which are made by bridgestone, are good as well.

only use studs if you will be driving on ice, and regularly. studs wear out quickly on pavement, and don't last more than a season or two. to use studs, you must buy stud-compatible snows (neither of the ones we had are stud-compatible). studs also cause damage to pavement, which is why in some states they are illegal during the warmer months.

the best place to find a snow tire to fit your budget and quality range is to check out tirerack.com. enter your vehicle info or tire size, and check the box for snow tires. you can read user reviews and ratings on all the tires. then call your local tire center and ask if they can order you the tires YOU want based on your research. ask if they'll match tirerack's price. that's what we've done with our local tire shop with both sets of snows we've had recently, and it's worked out great!