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!

my '92 ford explorer sport has done excellent here in powderville for the last 17 years......

+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.]
 

+1 Suburu

I recommend staying in bed.

If you know how to drive in the snow, the type of vehicle is almost irrelevant. If you're a brain dead moron who stomps on the pedals, spins the wheel like a maniac, and ignores every last vestige of uncommon sense, it won't matter if you're driving a tank. Stupid is as stupid crashes. In my experience, that accounts for at least 99.999999% of all drivers during rush hour. One solitary snowflake flutters to the ground and the average IQ instantly drops 50 points. There have been many times when I would drive a small front wheel drive car or a mini-van through snow that had paralyzed dozens of SUVs. It's not the car. It's the driver (or crash test dummy).
 
I was driving a Corolla during a blizzard one time when I was pulled over by a State Trooper in an SUV for driving in unsafe conditions. He said my car was unsafe to drive since it wasn't an SUV. He said that he could barely drive even with 4 wheel drive. I told him that since I wasn't having any difficulty, the problem must not be the vehicle. It took him a few minutes to get it. 
 
In extreme snow/ice, or on frozen mountain roads, studded snow tires and/or chains can make a noticeable difference, but you can't just leave them on for the winter. As a general rule, I avoid using trucks or front-heavy rear-wheel drive vehicles in the snow because I prefer to face forwards when I drive. I'm picky that way.

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

I've got a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and had zero issues with the snow and ice here in Dallas today. My only issue was with the other idiots on the road that have no idea how to drive in snow and icy conditions. It took me 2 1/2 hrs to get home, only 30 miles away. I was thinking all the way home, if I would have just driven the ditch all the way home, I would have cut my time in half.

Grand Cherokees are pretty nice as well.

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.

Hi,
 
VW Jetta 2.5 2006
 
Has been very good, but I take care of it. It now has 70K miles and I got it when it had 49K, so in 6 or 7 years, I have driven that much ... it's OK on gas, but little things seem to be going. It looks like a cold start injector is not working now, since when the car gets turned on the needle goes immediately to 8 or 9 on the RPM ... but otherwise, it's fine on the road, and handy. Has been dependable.