[brucepick]

I'm not sure how much off roading you want to do.

I'm a huge fan of winter tires. I drove rear-drive Volvos in New England for 13 years. I NEVER had to play second fiddle to any 4WD on the road. I always had 4 winter tires on the car. I put some weight in the back over the drive wheels and passed most other vehicles on the snowed-over interstate.

Its NOT a matter of how many tires are grasping at the slippery snow. It's a matter of whether they can grab it. Modern winter tires do an amazing job. And a few of them are also excellent in icy conditions. I've had excellent ice traction from Michelin X-Ice 2's and 3's. I've just ordered Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's for my Honda Insight, similar technology to the X-ice series. AND those are all LRR tires. Nice bonus.