I think the majority of the problem in snow is the driving style, too many people just do not know how to handle that kind of weather. 4x4's are better if driven correctly and gearing is used instead of relying on the brakes, braking hard in snow and on ice is a no-no in anything, use the gears and you have something of a chance. I have driven just about every combination in snow and ice over the years and you can manage to get around without incident, if you drive to the conditions.
The problem we had in France in the AC, was that we were on fat rear summer tyres in a sudden snow storm, handling was to say the least risky, but we all managed to get through it by careful driving.