I've fitted Good Year Vector 4 Seasons on a number of cars over the years, including my current one. (Think I'm on Gen 2 at the minute but Gen 3 is the current version.) They always seem to rate highly in tests/reviews but I've never had a different 4 season or winter tyre to compare them too. But IMHO, they feel better than the Toyo Proxes I replaced when it comes to slimy cold wet winter roads in England, and definitely if there's snow on the roads. (I only replaced the Toyos 'cos they were worn out though, still a very good UK 3 season tyre.)
The Vector 4s are allegedly a bit more snow-biased than the Michelin Cross Climate that Sir Trev mentions (which also generally score very highly on tests/reviews) but opinions and test results are not totally conclusive.
Similar to Sir Trev, I also find my 4-season tyres fine for regular all year driving (I guess I'm not that sporty a driver and I have a bike for summer fun!
) so perhaps a bit depends on if you're going to wet-winter Germany or snowy-winter Germany. (I have family & friends in northern England and Scotland so the alleged snow capability was appealing to me when I bought my first set (which was before Cross Climates were available) - But it's only a minor 'just in case' consideration: I'm nowhere near a need case for full winter-snow tyres)
I pay very little attention to fuel economy rating - mainly because I drive an old Subaru and fuel efficiency is shocking at the best of times
. So I can't really help you on that score. I tend to agree with Sir Trev that the difference is probably quite marginal, and when it comes to tyres I value good grip/handling and road noise above the economy metrics. But there's a huge amount of subjectivity when it comes to tyres.
The review below, and channel, seems decent & sensible.
Just to add even more into the mix, I recall a friend previously highly rating Continentals (that unfortunately couldn't be included in this review) that she ran on her Alfa.
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