I think I agree with you. The author mentions AWD in snow as a minor passing thing in a way you can tell they haven't lived somewhere with it.

But that said I haven't driven an EV and I'd be worried about the extra direct torque they can provide making starting on ice or snowpack more difficult and dangerous.

I've driven an EV for five years and made a 50km daily one way commute over rural, highway and city streets for 15 years. I live in Canada and we get snow , freezing rain and more weather. In my experience good driving habits > AWD all day everyday.

Pay attention to the road conditions, don't drive faster than the weather will allow, get winter tires, keep your brakes maintained, drive a safe speed even when others are impatient, leave room to stop, if the weather is bad enough don't leave at all, if you must leave plan to leave early enough that you aren't tempted to make bad driving decisions such as speeding. This isn't rocket science, but over the last 15 years and 540,000 km I have seen several impatient people pass me in the winter weather just to end up seeing them again in the ditch within 10 minutes. That includes 1 4x4 truck, 1 AWD SUV and at least 2 sedans.

The Bros in the truck all had to climb out the passenger side since it landed on its drivers side, the lady in the SUV was stuck down in the gutter and told me not to worry, she'd call a tow, and in the case of one sedan I ended up driving this small family home, car seat and all. Will AWD help you get yourself out of a slick parking spot, or start up at a red light? Sure, maybe, it depends. But it isn't really going to help with much else and doesn't come close to just learning to drive to the conditions.

I'd think AWD is for traction, not 'the track'.

I've owned several FWD EVs in what I'd consider the wintery parts of BC (snowfall of 8+ meters anually) and the amount of times I got stuck as a result of not having AWD can be counted on one hand. Good driving habits and high-end winter tires are much, much more important than having AWD or not.

That said, the times I did get stuck were mostly a bit annoying if not embarassing (due to holding up traffic). Only once (while climbing a steep hill) did it actually get a bit sketchy due to backsliding, but that happened to every vehicle that had to come to a stop on that hill.

AWD is awesome. I love my subie. But don't delude yourself. In ski resort parking lots I've seen FWD shitboxes drive around stuck 4WD pickups because they just slammed the gas and their shitty tires couldn't make it up a hill. Good driving habits > good tires > all wheel drive. All three is awesome, but you should worry about winter driving in that order

This article makes two points that I wish every driver was aware of.

No matter how fast you’d like to go (or how fast the manufacturer says you can go), there’s only so much power you can deploy safely (and legally) on public roads.

Yes. Spending thousands extra on an 800 hp monster is NOT worth it for the vast majority of car buyers.

All-wheel-drive is a significant reason buyers flock to dual-motor EVs. But AWD is overrated. It can help you start in the winter. But it doesn’t help you stop.

Inertia does not care if your car has two or four wheel drive. Stopping distance depends mostly on the mass of your vehicle, the condition of your brakes, and the road surface. The number of wheels connected to the engine doesn’t matter at all. It’s purely a physics problem, and physics doesn’t fuck around. Of course, you should still make the best choice for your needs… just be sure you understand what AWD can and cannot do.

I live in Minnesota. While AWD isn't a necessity, it is really great to have. My AWD ID.4 is amazing in the snow and ice. I didn't read great things about the RWD winter handling. The extra acceleration/speed is fun, but I bought AWD for winter driving

AWD helps, but knowing your vehicle and how it performs in the snow, will get you further than fancy devices. Now having the skills AND the fancy devices will take you almost anywhere.

when I was a kid, living on the prairies, the first winter I had my driver's licence I went out to this big huge and very empty parking lot and started off having fun doing doughnuts. but then I started getting a feel for how it responds when it's on the edge of control. and was practicing skid turns, regaining control etc. A RCMP car eventually came by, and just sat there for a min or two. I was thinking Uh oh.. but he flicked on his lights, and I came to a stop, he walked over and asked what I was doing. I guess I gave the correct answer "learning how to drive in the snow". He told me he got a "stunting complaint", but he could clearly see that I wasn't doing it entirely for thrills, or I would have been just burning those doughnuts. He gave me a few tips, on how to recover from a skid better, and told me to knock it off at that location but told me about another lot I could try and practice a bit more.

That interaction has literally saved my life a number of times, by giving me the skills early on how to recover when the vehicle is at the edge of control. I worked a career driving, never ended up in the ditch (touch wood) and have driven through the hairiest storms you can imagine.

Learn your vehicle, learn how to push it to the edge, and how to come back. (but do so in a safe place)

I'd guess better tires would help more than AWD. I owned a Suburu Legacy with stock tires and it wasn't too good in the snow. I have a Volt now (still stock tires) and it's scary in rain, so you have to watch your acceleration.

TLDR Invest in good tires

I live in south-west Ontario and drive a RWD sports car all year round.

There's nowhere I need to be that I can't get to in the winter with the right tires and attitude. I've also driven it across to New Brunswick 3 times now over Christmas and through some gnarly snowstorms.

As long as the snow's not building up on the road and bottoming me out, I'm good.