Not sure about some, but driving Canadian winters, I find no real compromise driving balanced RWD cars with good snow tires vs 4wd with snow tires.
I’ve had an x5 and a WRX STI, and Outside of 1-2 exceptional days per year, there’s never any issue driving RWD with snow tires safety wise. Indeed, the lower overall adhesion in winter with snow tires makes the car more playful
