Had a FWD Pontiac Vibe and now have an AWD Pontiac Vibe. Both are amazing in snow. AWD is a lot more controllable and super tail happy! Both were on all seasons. We don't get much snow here in Greensboro/Charlotte, but I do go up north quite often just to enjoy snow in mountains and visit friends. Like I said - both FWD and AWD perform amazing in snow! Now I would have no problem going to FWD because when there is no snow - it gets 3mpg better than AWD on average. Highway mileage per gallon is the same on both. So there you go. But I also have a RWD and I drove that thing in snow in mountains with all-seasons. And that thing was a beast as well because Lexus did a great job on traction systems. Once I press the "snow" button on the shifter - it starts from a stop in second gear which gives bunch of traction by itself, and it constantly "catches" the rear before I could even realize that the rear is drifting. Love it. Between three - AWD is the funnest and most stable in snow, FWD is very capable, but boring, and RWD is surprisingly good, especially when I was passing 4x4s going up a 30-35ish-degree incline from a dead stop.