I also live in the SE and put Cooper CSS grand touring tires on my '99 ES300 last year, and they are definitely smoother than the Michelin exaltos(?) that were on it. They handle well and have done well in rain. They're also very quite on my car. There's not much third party information out there on them though. I got them on the high recommendation from my local independent tire shop owner that I also know personally, and I'm happy with them.