Some good thoughts here from different points of view. Gas mileage would definitely be a disadvantage if I went with AWD, as is the fact that an AWD vehicle would be more expensive so I would probably end up with something older/higher mileage than if I went with, say, another Corolla. I do agree with those who said the most important thing is knowing how to drive in the snow and not doing anything stupid like going too fast, and that sometimes it's best just to stay home (believe me, that's what I do if I know it's going to be really bad and I don't HAVE to go somewhere...in the situation this weekend the road conditions were a lot worse than I expected them to be and if I had known they would be that bad I would not have gone out). On the other hand, the times I had to drive in the snow with the Corolla (granted, no snow tires) it was nerve-racking sometimes because it was hard to get up hills from a stop (which is a problem here in central MA given how hilly the area is and all the stoplights on some of the roads) and seemed to slide around easily even with slowing way down and braking/steering gently. Never had a really bad skid in snow, just felt like the car did not have a good grip on the road and it wouldn't take much to get into trouble. That was the only thing I didn't like about that car. With snow tires it would probably be a lot better (I'm sure neither snow tires nor AWD would have helped much in my black ice situation...black ice is just bad news no matter what and is completely different from snow). I really wish I knew for sure where I will be relocating...that might make the decision easier. I know I definitely want another compact car, just need to figure out which one.