I ran Hankook Winter i*cept evo W310 on my Zed last winter and also on my previous FWD car the year before, both my only car and daily driver. Despite being at the milder end of the country I used to live somewhere with plenty of steep hills that had to be negotiated to get anywhere and having also tried Autosock with some success I can tell you that having winter tyres is a revelation in the snow and ice.
I switched from RE050A and back, standard sizes on Rays and yes they do feel a bit soft in the sidewalls initially and turn-in isn't so sharp but then when you're dealing with potholes, puddles, reduced visibility, idiots and just want to get to your destination you can forgive them. I also found that because they require no warm up the initial grip off the line and braking in the colder months was much better even in the dry and gives you a lot of confidence should an emergency arise.
If I didn't have to drive them in snow and ice then I think they may be hard to justify just for the cold weather benefits. However, second-hand wheels aren't that expensive and if you use them for two or three years then the tread saving on your summer tyres will obviously reduce your overall costs.