Originally Posted by gsxr750

For serious off roading the rear wench is essential, there are often times you can't go forwards anymore and the front mounted wench is useless, if you need to be pulled out from the rear and turn around and go back the way you came.

Here is a link on front and rear wench discussion

Front vs Rear mounting winch - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

My point is that if all you want is a vehicle that is capable of handling a up to 5-10 inches of light snow or just a drive up ice or snow covered drive way , then any AWD car or SUV should cover that.

But when your talking driving off road its a completely different beast, I grew up in western new York, where you have a lot of snow and a lot of muddy trails early in the season and have talked and experienced enough tough trails on my own, where even the winch wouldn't get you out and you had to pay a farmer with a tractor or even a contractor with a bulldozer to pull the 4 x 4 out.

What I have learned and many other friends is that if you can't get to a simple location by a normal car, then its time to get out the snowshoes, horse, atv or snowmobile. Simply leave the car at the main road and use another source of transport.