We bought a 1995 E420 in May 2000. When it is wet on the street, the power of this car makes it very easy to spin the wheels. Our car does not have ASR on it. Last winter we put four Michelin Arctic Alpins on the car. My wife drove it daily for work and it got around very well in snow and ice with those tires. You just need to accelerate slowly to avoid wheel spin. I never felt worried about traction with these tires and we had a very bad winter last year. The Arctic Alpins also handle well in normal driving conditions. Prior to that she drove a 1983 300D with four Bridgestone Blizzaks and the W123 car probably got around better because of the diesel engine and less power. If you do a search for snow tires on this site you should find additional reports from E420 owners and driving in winter conditions.