Good vehicle(s) for snow, ice and wet driving

As soon as I get my tax refund back I'll be adding it to some money I'm working to save and I'll need to get a new(er) vehicle.  Although it's tempting to get something for the gas mileage, I'm curious if any of you have recommendations for vehicles that simply perform better than others in bad weather.  We really don't get a lot of bad weather days but, when we do, people don't know how to drive in it!  I'd like to feel a bit more in control out there (and I'm tired of hydro-planing on one of our freeways!).
 
So what do you think are good options?  Subaru's with all-wheel drive?  Trucks, SUV's or cars?  Do studded tires really work in snow and ice?  Certain makes and/or models?
 
Note that this vehicle will have to be something I drive in Summer too so no snow mobiles! 

I've got a Ford Explorer and a Nissan Pathfinder, and they're both great in bad weather. Nothing beats four wheel drive. Studded snow tires are great, too. The problem with those is, when you get on patches of dry pavement, it feels like your vehicle is going to vibrate into pieces. I vote for four wheel drive, without studded snow tires, just fairly aggressive all-terrain tires.

I've got a friend that lives a few hours from civilization, up here in the Great White North.  She swears by her AWD Subaru.  Good gas mileage as well as traction.
From my experience, any good solid 4WD SUV should be enough.  Then it's just down to mileage.  I used to have a GMC Yukon that was solid as a rock, but unaffordable to gas up!

Another Subaru fan here.

I'm a big fan of survivability which is one reason I'm thinking SUV.  When my Camry got hit in the front at only 5 mph, it bent the frame and radiator, and buckled the hood pretty severely!  Right now I'm leaning towards Toyota or Subaru.
 
That Shogun looks pretty cool too, but I'm wondering if they even sell them in the U.S.; I've never seen one that I can remember!

+1 for Subaru. I'm on my second. It's the unofficial car of Flagstaff.
 
The upper trim levels of the Forester and Outback have a feature called X-Mode, which provides forward drive when only one wheel has traction. I have a sloped driveway, and I've USED that feature!
 
I had a 2011 Outback, and now a 2014 Forester, which I prefer. Excellent sight lines, very easy to drive any time of the year and really usable space (you should see it loaded up for tailgating!).
 
As has been noted, Subies retain their value. They don't go on sale. They do have a "Share the Love" event each holiday season where they donate something like $250 to one from your choice of several non-profits. I have every intention of getting 20 years out of my Forester.
 
Beware the 4-wheel drive in vehicles like the Honda CRV and Toyota RAV-4. You pay a lot extra for the "feature" but it's not full time. It's automatic. Once the front wheels slip more than 10%, the back wheel drive kicks in. Almost always too late. Or they don't kick in at all if the slippage sensor has failed.
 
Here's the development video (chopped into 4 pieces) for the 2014 Forester. [The guy who sold it to me also sold Dodge/Jeep. He told me that the ball joints in the Forester were bigger than the ones in the RAM 1500.]
 

They seem to like subbies up here and Cherokees too.
It is as challenging as it gets in Summit County.
 
 

Land Rover Defender, Freelander or Discovery.
Suzuki Jimny and maybe Vitara.
Jeep
Land Cruiser

All can go pretty much anywhere and aren't phased by much so long as you know how to handle driving in ice, mud, whatever. Though any vehicle can slide on ice, I one had my Defender 110 skid it's two tons about 30 feet when I gently touched the brakes - the culprit was black ice that was almost undetectable until I stood on it. Wasn't doing more than about 15mph at the time either.

One important thing with four wheel drive is to ensure there is a differential lock in the gearbox at least, or traction control that can handle having wheels spinning and re-direct the torque to the wheels that are gripping. You can actually be worse off with four wheel drive if that's absent.

In a two-wheel drive vehicle, if either of the driven wheels starts just spinning because it's lost grip then that spinning wheel is going to be getting almost all of the power from the engine and you're stationary. Four-wheel drive means that if any wheel loses grip and spins, that spinning wheel gets the power.

But if there's either good traction control or a lock in the transfer gearbox that goes a very long way towards sorting that problem out. There's always the risk you'll lose grip to every wheel of course, but when that happens it's time to get out the recovery gear.

Studded tyres do work to an extent, but aren't a cure-all. Snow-chains work better, but will chew up tyres and the road even faster than the studs will unless only used while on snow or ice you can't otherwise get a grip on. Either or both may or may not be legal to use depending on where you are.

Winter driving depends on 3 major things. In order of importance:
 
1. Tires
 
2. Driver's driving ability
 
3. Car type - all wheel or front wheel
 
If the 1st 2 are rated excellent then the last one won't matter so much.
 

Just make sure you plug it in for a while before starting.
 

 And keep the windows closed during snow storms.
 
 
Base model:

 
Luxury edition:

UbiquitousBubba
One solitary snowflake flutters to the ground and the average IQ instantly drops 50 points. 

When I worked on the ambulance we use to say, "Instant idiots - just add water". 

MandolinPicker

UbiquitousBubba
One solitary snowflake flutters to the ground and the average IQ instantly drops 50 points. 

When I worked on the ambulance we use to say, "Instant idiots - just add water". 

 
My 4th grade teacher said that I was like a snowflake!

craigb
 

 
My favorite Top Gear episode.  Throughout the whole program there's cut-aways to a Relient sliding on its side!  LMAO!

I'd agree, wonderful stuff mate!
 
Coincidentally... in the scene on the cricket pitch, the 'man in the white coat' is legendary umpire Harold 'Dickie' Bird, a wonderful man I've met when he signed my copy of his autobiography and his book of cricketing memoirs