4 wheel drive, AWD, doesn’t really matter, I’ve just been out in my front wheel drive with all season tyres on in the same thick snow and no problems at all, it’s all about the tyres.
Not entirely. Whilst it is indeed the case that tyres make a massive difference (at the first sign of snowfall people always trot out the videos of stopping distances in a 4WD with summer tyres and a 2WD with winter tyres), having traction on all 4 wheels does make a difference. Having had front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and four wheel drive cars I know which I would rather have in winter conditions.
Rear wheel drive cars are hopeless in snow, especially on inclines. Scary in fact. Front wheel drive is certainly better with the weight of the engine over the driven wheels, but can still struggle in certain conditions and you have to be very careful with the throttle. Four wheel drive, whilst not foolproof, does give you an extra degree of sure-footedness. You still need to have your wits about you, but you get far less scrabble when pulling away and better traction cornering and manoeuvring.
Our previous Tiguan (which, I should stress, I didn’t like) was great in the snow. In the work car park where every other car (FWD and RWD) was struggling to get moving I was able to park, manoeuvre and pull away with no fuss at all (other than the shouts of ‘show off’ from colleagues ? )