While in the Army in Germany it was my dubious pleasure to drive a VW van — an OD hippiemobile — on a regular basis.
I developed what I called a “kick turn” when driving on beaten snow; on approaching a 90-degree turn I would goose the gas while turning the wheel hard over. The back end (with the engine!) would slew around and I ended up pointed in my desired direction.
Got a new troop from CA once who was scared of driving over the stuff he never saw but on the tops of mountains, and took him for a ride to show him how Michiganders handle it. After the basics, I said “and by the way, the rear-mounted engine makes this possible” and executed a “kick turn” onto the company street. Boy just about peed hisself.
I've gotten a little more time in behind the wheel on snow than your typical southerner due to being on National Ski Patrol for several years before blowing out a knee. There's a surprising amount of natural snowfall down here on west facing slopes above 4,000 feet or so. Subies are the best snow cars, imho. Not overpowered to the point of being able to get yourself into major trouble unless you're talking turbo, very controllable, excellent awd system that just goes about its business to keep the car moving.
Rear engine rwd cars are a lot of fun in snow but demand much more attention and much more skill.