You know, it's funny how people think that big SUVs are the perfect thing to drive in winter conditions, but they really aren't. They are usually rear wheel drive with very little weight on the back end.When the weather gets bad down here, I drive my wife's corolla. Vehicles with most of the weight (i.e. engine) over the drive/steering axle do the best in snow/ice.
A 4x4 truck or SUV can be a good thing, if they have the right tires. Most SUVs end up off the side of the road because 99.9% of them leave the factory set up for a nice(er) ride on a paved road. Only Jeep and maybe a few others offer a dirt and mud tire (they generally have great snow ratings too) and not too many owners are going to order the true Jeep off road package, or the off road TRD package. So most SUV with 4x4 have street tires that are for the most part useless on snow and ice. Add to that the moron factor because the mighty SUV thing that 4x4 also helps steering and stopping.
Now, for the last two days, I wish I had a Jeep with proper off road tires that can eat through snow too because between actual snow fall and snow drifting, ground clearance becomes a problem on a sedan. We have two cars with snow tires. The Corolla, that went out while the snow was still falling and it barely made it back home and a AWD sedan that for the first tine since I bought it, I was afraid to take it out because I didn't want to damage the the front bumper and a rather expensive IC core against the snow that was way taller then the axles on the car.
The only people I've seen truly able to make it are vehicles built on truck frames. Bash them all you want, when it comes down the grunt, ground clearance, and proper 4x4, trucks have them and they have the upper hand with the right tires and driver right now. My arse is stuck at home today.. Again. We won't make it out till tomorrow. We live off of a secondary road, in the city and it was just plowed a few hours ago for the school bus. The city was still pretty much shut down, but they are working hard to get everything moving for tomorrow. I can't remember when snow has caused this much problems. I've seen over 2' of snow in the Boston area before, but they clear that stuff right away, and it melted in three days. This foot of snow we've gotten is a nightmare. It has about 1.5" of ice in it. When I shovel it, I can see 4 different types of layers in it. It is extremely heavy and it pretty much all ice and powder snow. It has been so cold, we've had the same snow on the ground for well over a month now. It looks like it might go above freezing Monday, so hopefully stuff will melt for once. I have a Siberian husky and she has trouble getting through the snow. I mean, she's a freaken snow dog!