Thanks very much for the insights on the AWD - very interesting, and just the right level of detail to satisfy my curiosity.

 

In case anyone is interested, I ended up going with Avon Tech ST tires based on the customer reviews (including many LR owners) and tests posted on TireRack. http://tinyurl.com/5en3jg

I'll post my impressions of the tires when I get them installed in a few weeks.

 

I've been running Cooper Zeon XST (stock size 18") for about a year now. I'm extremely pleased with them. Very little wear after a year, quite running, and handle standing water very well. Haven't had any snow or ice to try them on, down here in south, so I can't comment on the winter aspects. No problem with the plentiful mudholes around here. They are currently rated at 4.5 stars out of 5 on reviews. Selling for about $150 apiece, nationally.

 

I'm telling you, Nexen Roadians 255/55/18 for $90 each, you can't go wrong with these tires for summer use.

 

That's what I'm running now and I'm EXTREMELY pleased. These tires are rated high in every category. I've had them about 1 1/2 years and they're holding up great. Awesome value unless you're doing heavy off-roading. They run quiet and look great.

 

FYI, I've now been through 7 months of driving with these tires (including some great snow here in NH), and I've been very happy with them in dry and rain. They're not bad in snow either (not great, but then my standard for snow is based on years of driving cars with much narrower real snow tires, so it's unfair to expect wide all seasons to compete on that front).