[ConservativeMind]

If your concern is ice or snow, get the best winter tires you can afford. Consumer Reports two months ago found that their best winter tires stopped cars in up to half the distance of standard tires, while helping on cornering. This was true for non-AWD cars.

AWD does nothing to help with stopping.

[PA Engineer]

AWD does nothing to help with stopping.

I'll have to take issue with that. With a standard transmission, you can down shift and let the AWD slow the vehicle. I've done numerous times.

[eggman]

I'll second the recommendation of ice and snow tires. I ski so I drive a lot in the winter. I've used the Pirelli Scorpion tires for several winters of driving through some nasty conditions in Ohio, NY, PA, and VT. They wear quicker than regular tires but save you the cost of having an accident or needing to be pulled out of a ditch, snowbank, or median. I90 has some very crowded medians when the snow squalls start puking snow from lake Erie and Ontario. No need for studs and they will perform exceptionally well regardless of the conditions. The all season tires don't come close.

BTW, my AWD vehicle is a Porsche Cayenne.