I'm continually amazed at how many people squander money and gasoline
driving their huge 4wd SUVs around, 12 months out of the years, and when
winter rolls around, they just keep sliding around on their "all season
radials." Get a clue folks -- the term "where the rubber meets the road"
isn't just a myth.
Every year I put 4 steel-studded snow tires on all of my vehicles. I
have regularly gone places with my Ford Taurus Station Wagon, or my
2-wheel-drive van (limited slip) where SUVs were sliding off the road.
In fact, I have even pulled a Blazer out of a drift with my van.
The thing that amazes me is that, basically, it costs nothing to have
the right kinds of tires on your vehicles. You get 'X' number of miles
from "Y" inches of rubber, whether that rubber is distributed among 4
tires or 8. The only added expense is that associated with the change,
and if you invest in an extra set of rims, even that is negligible.
Also, don't think you can get away with just 2 winter tires. If you
put them on the front of a Front-Wheel Drive car, you'll steer yourself
into situations that will cause your rear end to slide out from under
you (no fun). If you just put them on the rear of a rear-wheel drive
car, you'll sacrifice your steering. Tires are not the place to skimp!
And let's talk about those big swollen SUVs -- they're STATION WAGONS for goodness sake! Yeah, I know the term "station wagon" doesn't sound as cool as "SUV", but a station wagon or van will carry all the cargo of an SUV, will use less gas, and, like I said, if you invest in good tires, you really don't need that all wheel drive!