I did see the evo article, and i think i saw a test that clarkeson did with the 172 around bedford.
I agree the results between the different tyres are varied, and i assure you that the standard continental did not come out top ;-)
It all depends on the type of driving you do, motorway, a road/b-road, track, what pressures you run, if you want to put new tyres on every 8000 miles or every 14,000 miles, if you can cope with a tyre that is great in the dry and average in the wet etc.. etc..
I have run my cup on:
Standard Contisports - 195/45/16 v & 205/45/16 v
Uniroyal RainSports - 195/45/16 v
GoodYear GSD3 - 205/45/16 V XL
Yokie A539 - 195/45/16 & 205/45/15
as well as Michelin Full Slicks & Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on a 15" profile.
and having supplied lots of people on here with tyres also, the various feedback adds up.
the differences between all of these have been immense. The one bit of advice that I would give you is to try new things, you can always revert back to what you had on before, rather than sticking with the standard rubber. the yokies suit the car very well IMO.
/y0z