I've lived in New England all my life . I am retired age, mind you and I've never purchased a vehicle with winter in mind for myself. (my wife gets 4-wheel drive and winter tires). I've also never owned more than one car at a time in any shape, form or garbage heap.
I have always had cars towards the performance side. .. That's performance, not just Horsepower. Most have been 4 cylinder engines. And I've never had a car that couldn't travel ok in winter .. when properly equipped. That means WINTER TIRES! It's surprising how well my TR4, 5 Porsches, many rear drive Chevy, Pontiac, Plymouth and now Infinity with 330 HP just go through the snow with little problem.
Yes, my wife's Audi is probably the BEST winter car ... it moves when the bottom is being scraped!