New front tyres - what to go for?

Hi,

I think I will need some new front tyres to get through the MOT, as mine are cracked all around on the sidewall.

I am completely torn on what tyres to go for. I basically want the best handling tyre I can that isn't going to kill me in the wet, so I'm happy to pay a bit more for a better tyre, essentially.

There doesn't seem to be much choice out there and most reviews seem to be a fair number of years old.

At the moment, the toss up is between the Toyo TR1 and the Conti Sportcontact 2.

Does anyone have any recommendations out of the 2 above tyres, or of any other ones?

I have the 1.8VVC with the standard Freestyle 16" wheels

Cheers

Everybody will have an opinion so it is up to you. I found half worn Continentals FXXXXXg dangerous in the wet and couldn't wait to get rid of them on a 15" wheeled VVC. The Toyo Proxes do not have brilliant ultimate grip cold but they are predictable in all conditions and get grippier when they have a few quick miles on them. They seem well suited to the car.

I found this article interesting and informative; http://mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/tyres/index.htm
Obviously the second half is irrelevant since none of those tyres are available anymore. If you read carefully you will see that the MR2 and TF like stiff sidewall tyres that commonly have the highest speed ratings