If you can dedicate your tire choices to Winter Tires I would put on a set of 205/60R/16 or 215/60R/16 WS90 Blizzaks.
This is Bridgestone's latest version of this tire and just happens to be available in the best size for the HHR winter driving.

If you want a another compounded tire that will deliver more mileage on dry pavement go for the Michelin X-Ice I3.
I have run this tire and it is noticeably quieter then the Blizzak however, the Blizzak is a little more aggressive in the snow and ice.

I am assuming that your HHR has Stock 16" wheels.

We had 24" of snow here last winter and after the main streets were plowed and I got my driveway shoveled I had no problems getting around.

I run my Michelin X-Ice I3 tires year around. They run smooth and quiet on dry pavement as well as they handle very good indeed.
I run the 215/60R/16's @ 30psi cold. These are doing Very well on Wear so far.

I hate studded tires as they destroy our roads and hiways.
As soon as you get enough miles on them to wear the studs down they do not function for beans,
I was in the tire business when they first came out many years ago and quickly developed my personal opinion.
I have never run them in all my years of driving.

Silverfox

 

Hit a patch of ice last winter in Quebec City and BAM! First fender bender with my 2007 since new. Incredibly, she was driveable and the rad did not leak

replacement hood and grill from scrap yard cost $65: don't care about the colour

found another donor HHR for most of the other parts plus a cool rear spoiler!

Disassembly was straight forward...

reassembly was simple...

Voila! Ready for the road again. Cost of all repairs including A/C recharge was $450. She's over 325,000 kms and going strong. A/C holding pressure and blowing cold. Compression test showed 200-210 psi.

 

my son likes the gold colour so he got matching stripes lol

 

This is why Wisconsin banned them back in the mid-70s.

 

I use narrower than stock winter tires. p205/60 r16 on my stock rims. I have wider ones on aftermarket mags for the summer. Narrower tires will give you better traction and control. More pounds per square inch at the ground contact point. The car is okay in the winter. Yes, it is a bit low for deep snow and you have to be aware, but it's as confident as most front drive vehicles. I've driven mine as a daily driver for 12 years. I think I got stuck once on a mound left at the end of a driveway where the snow plow went by. Driving the car is not my biggest issue with winter driving.

Now, the way the snow piles up around the divots where the windsheild wiper are and ices up. The way it drips and freezes between the door and front fender, ice on the front of the running board contacting the front corner of the door, it was just generally poorly designed in those areas and is a constant frustration. Sometimes it's so bad that I think I may bend the door when opening it.

 

My two LS’s got identical P205/60R-16’s.

The rolling diameter is virtually the same, just a hair bigger, than the stock P215/55-16’s but they’re a bit narrower, which is the opposite of what most people want, but it’s better for snow. My wife loves them, and what else matters?

EDIT - Also, if you leave the plastic wheel covers off the stock 18-hole steelies, the skinnier tires just enhance the free retro style. Whitewalls, anyone?

 

Down here where I am, when the temperature drops into the double digits, I just have to remember to turn the AC off>

 

That second paragraph has good things to know.

Wren

 

I notice everyone is saying that their tires are 16s. My wife's car has 17s and the rims have the Chevy emblem on that little center plug. The car doesn't have the door sticker that has the tire info. (There aren't any engine tags, or any other tag, under the hood. No jack info sticker in the back, either. Dunno why that is.)

One of those things I've learned over the years is that wide tires aren't the greatest thing in snow. On my 4WDs I always keep the thinner stock tires on 'em. Now my wife's '08 Escape 4WD came stock with big feet on the ground and it would often climb on top of the snow rather than driving through it. That kinda bit.

Wren

 

The 2LT HHR is the model that came with 17's. Look at the RPO sticker in the glovebox (if that sticker is still there) then you can look at this link to decode your cars options= link- post #10 -https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...options-12674/

If your's has no sticker here's part of the RPO list that shows the wheel/ tire options.
N85 Wheel - 17 X 6.5, Aluminum
PZ4 Wheel - 18 X 7.5 Aluminum, Polished
QBV Tire All - P215/50R17-90S BW ST TL AL2
QB5 Wheel - 16 X 6.5, Steel
QDB Tire All - P215/55R16-91S BW R/PE ST TL AL2
QDJ Tire All - P215/55R16-91H BW R/PE ST TL AL3
QP2 Wheel - 17 X 6.5, Aluminum Polished
Q8H Mud Flaps - FRT and RR, Formed
SAL Plant Code - Ramos Arizpe, Mexico
TBD Tire All - P225/45R18 AL3 All Season