My 190D, with aggressive all seasons on the front, snows on the rear and 150 lbs of sand over the rear wheels is as stable as any car half again its weight and will climb hills in the snow better than most front wheel drives with all seasons.

With over 40 years experience driving in snow country (averaging over 40K miles a year) I would caution all not to make the common mistake of running half worn all season tires in combination with snows on the drive wheels. All four tires should be close to equal. I have seen the results of this many many times, most recently last Friday, when a close friend spun 4 times and ended up upside down against a tree; needless to say that it totaled his car. He had just put new snows on the drive wheels and left the half whipped all seasons on the rear.

Jim

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2005 C240 4matic wagon (daily driver)
87 190D - 225K (on loan)
85 190D - 312K (on loan)
2011 Subaru Legacy AWD (Wife's)