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Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
Ya, 4WD/AWD (aka, turns four wheels) is ideal for snow and ice. But the thing is it's so much more expensive right now, at least on new cars. And the older ones get worse fuel mileage with it. Plus it's another part to wear out.
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Surprisingly, there were times when a Jeep CJ-5 was cheaper than a VW Beetle in Brazil, yet in the long run the operating costs favored the Beetle with nearly negligible disadvantages going through some harsh terrain. No wonder Beetle-based Jeep-type utility vehiches such as the Gurgel X-10 and X-12 were favored by corporative and governmental fleets in Brazil during the '70s. And nowadays, even though it could be quite tempting to get a Suzuki Jimny as it has a convenient size to serve for all-around commuting and 4WD for some occasional serious off-roading, I used to have fun while learning to drive off-road on front-engined FWD econoboxes when I was a teen.
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Who's driving has a lot to do with what's "best". I'm assuming @JSH is a professional commercial driver, so I completely understand why he'd want a rear biased RWD vehicle. He knows how to drive one.
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Maybe this also explain why some older taxi drivers have been more prone to agree with me while talking about rear-engined RWD cars. Whenever they see a modern Porsche 911, they become quite filled with nostalgia for the VW Beetle and derivatives such as the Brasília.
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You got to first, not drive so fast in the first place. If the tail starts to swing out you need to make smooth changes in throttle, brake and steering. That way you don't suddenly have the tail flying out in front of you. And when it does start to slide you still have enough leeway to control it.
But take any modern day teenager (with few exceptions) and they don't know squat about how to drive slow in the snow. All these TV commercials, excuse me... Google ads, have them thinking they can drive in the snow as fast as you can on dry pavement. If the tail starts to slide then they think they can be Lightning McKing and drift like maniacs. Next thing you know they're spinning down the road or over correct and spinning down the road again. FWD helps thwart those expectations.
One time a kid passed me in a Jeep along the rim of the Black Canyon. He then lost control on the ice and flipped it right in the middle of the road and killed himself. He didn't even leave the road, not even hitting a guardrail. That probably wouldn't have happened in a FWD sedan.
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Doesn't even need to go that far. Just look at those Brazilian agroboys who drive a Toyota Hilux as if it was a VW Golf, then it rolls over and the folks say on the internet a Hilux is inherently unstable.