There's a lot of reasons I park the integra for the winter and mob the Cherokee. There are a lot of reasons I park the Cherokee in the summer and mob the integra. The more diverse the weather patterns, the more difficult it is to obtain a "do everything" vehicle. A small fwd car is certainly not it. It's good to have one for commuting on paved roads, but having one as your only option is going to end up with you hating life during inclement weather. Once I can afford a beater truck, I'll have all the bases covered. If snow is a regular battle for you, but you can only have one vehicle (and thus efficiency is a factor to consider) I'd recommend a Subaru forester.