I know most people won't believe me, and that's OK, but still I'll mention it as I have in other threads before. Unless you live somewhere where you need to crawl over rock covered off road snowy terrain, when comparing one AWD or 4WD to another, tires are far, far more important than vehicle type. Pretty much all FWD and AWD vehicles are fully capable of getting up hilly driveways in snow when equipped with the right tires. Think of it this way. Getting traction in the snow is about the contact patch between the roadway and your vehicle. What's the only thing touching the ground? Right, the tires. The snowy road doesn't know or care what type of vehicle is sitting on those tires. Yes, vehicles have some differences in how they apportion the power between the wheels, but modern AWD systems are sophisticated enough to send power where it needs to be, regardless of manufacturer. Other things do come into play, so I'm not saying tires are the ONLY thing...weight distribution matters. A pick up truck has nearly all the weight in the front, so it won't do nearly as well as an AWD SUV, presuming all else is equal.
As I said, I know a lot of people would disagree and that's fine. There are tons of choices out there, which is a great thing. But doing what I do, I hate to see the myth continually perpetuated about driving in snow and what people think they need vs what they really need.
