[WingsofWar]

Originally Posted by MotoChris98

It's all about the tires, and the balance of the car. My current winter car here in Colorado is a Miata with Continental ExtremeWinterContact tires on it, in a size narrower and with taller sidewall than stock (rally style). In the type of snow I encounter, the all around driving characteristics in this setup are better than the WRX I had with all season tires (they were Continental ExtremeContact DWS, which are supposed to have some of the best snow capability of current all seasons). The WRX would've been an amazing machine in the snow with snow tires, but the Miata has been excellent with snows, and that's on a 2nd gen Miata with no traction control, no lsd, no abs. With snow tires, the Miata has outstanding braking and great cornering, but in the icier patches you do have to be gentler with the throttle to help the rear tires hook up off the line (something that the lsd and traction control will help with in the BRZ/FR-S). The main limiting factor is the ground clearance, there's only so much snow that the Miata can plow with the bumper. The kind of depth that would get it stuck would probably cause them to close I-70 anyways, though. Lots of people in Europe got by with RWD in snow for a long time. I think a lot of the AWD craze in the US is a marketing thing.

I agree i faired very well in my 300zx and rx7 in the snow. and while AWD does provide additional traction, its spoiled peoples view of real safety during ill weather transport. AWD can be just as effective AND non-effective in ill weather as any 2wd vehicle.