When I bought my current GTI it came with a pair of half-worn Bridgestones on the rear, which I assumed were the originals, and a pair of almost new Kumhos on the front.
Within a month I had improved the ride, handling and wet grip by replacing them all with Michelin PS4's at Costco.
My son recently bought his first GTI, a Polo. Which came with a pair of Bridgestones on the rear, a Landsail on the offside front, and something round and black on the nearside front. This afternoon we spent an hour or so at Costco having a set of Michelin PS4's fitted.
Mine lasted for 23,000 miles on the front, and I had them replaced a couple of months ago. Costco policy is to put the new tyres on the rear, and they won't be persuaded otherwise. So the rears, which are probably half worn, are now on the front, and will probably be replaced next year.
My (part time) job is in the motoring media, and I have access to just about every car magazine worth reading from around the world, many of which run tyre tests, and the best of these is Auto Motor und Sport in Germany. The Germans take their tyres very seriously, and they rate the Michelins, along with Continental and Uniroyal highly. The late, great Brian Ricketts, whose knowledge of, and advice on GTI's was worth listening to, always rated Uniroyals highly - his view was that they weren't a "fashionable" tyre, but they were very good in the wet, and therefore ideal for use in the UK.
Each to their own, but take advice from those who actually know what they're talking about. There's nothing to be gained from buying the latest super-sticky track day specials and then finding yourself understeering towards what Martin Brundle refers to as "the scene of the accident" when you encounter a tricky right-hander on a cold, wet winter morning.
