I too was going to recommend Jeep Patriot/Compass.
Less of a recommendation about capability but more of a recommendation about perception. Your wife can then feel assured in knowing she has a "Jeep" to get her through. She can also brag to her friends about the capability of her Jeep (weather that capability be true or not.)
I'm sure it will be more than capable or meeting her real needs.
JohnRW1621 wrote: I too was going to recommend Jeep Patriot/Compass. Less of a recommendation about capability but more of a recommendation about perception. Your wife can then feel assured in knowing she has a "Jeep" to get her through. She can also brag to her friends about the capability of her Jeep (weather that capability be true or not.) I'm sure it will be more than capable or meeting her real needs.
Is there any real compelling reason over having a "Jeep" to go for this over a scoobyroo?
The Scoob may be more capable but will lack a truckish perception.
Your wife may also appreciate the higher seating position offered by the Jeep.
When she tells people, "my 4wd Jeep could not get through the snow", she will feel confident that she tried everything possible. Less so if talking about a car with awd.
I started to say Jeep, you can get a decent stock-ish 4.0l TJ for around $10K, but a Wrangler isn't a "safe" commuter, side impact is abysmal, and you're basically relying solely on the b-pillar hoop to save your melon in a rollover.
NHTSA only gives the little "Jeep" Compass and Patriot a 3 star frontal, side isn't rated, the Patriot got a 3 star rollover, Compass did a little better with 4 stars.
Definitely a non turbo legacy or forester. Although I would lean towards forester because I like cloth heated seats and that is pretty typical equipment in them.
To everyone saying you don't need AWD I fully agree the vast majority of the time, but not in this instance. Due to her work requirements and the fact that Chicago city streets SUCK in the winter. Most of the side streets don't get plowed or can't because of parked cars. If you have to park on the city street in winter it involves serious shenanigans.
a v6 rav4 will be faster than it should be and more reliable than you could ever want. they do a 6.3 0-60 and a 14.6 1/4...
The mazda cuv's are a more engaging drive and have turbo engines available.
RealMiniParker wrote: In reply to keethrax: Notice I said unprepared AWD?
I know you did. Doesn't mean the standard knee jerk reaction to someone looking for AWD on this board isn't bullE36 M3. Even if mostly true. You just happened to be the most recent person to trot it out. In fairness, your version of this standard post was actually a semi-useful one as opposed to many of them.
You want one of these:
Legendary reliability, nothing ever goes wrong, and if it does, parts are easy to find, cheap, and easy to replace. They routinely go 300,000 miles with nothing more than an oil change. 
scrolled though quickly … saw only a couple of folk mentioned Subaru … while not the "sportiest" or least mind numbing … they've been at the AWD game for a LONG LONG time … I had a beat to crap '95 Impreza (hail damage, wreck damage, bumpers zip tied on … etc) that, with a set of snow tires COULD NOT be stopped … 14" of fresh snow, a 36+° up angle 175' long driveway, with a stop and 90° turn in at the bottom, and a slightly steeper 90° turn at the top, and didn't spin a wheel
on the road … it went wherever I wanted it to … up and down our mountains… no problem
avg of 22 - 23 mph over a 6-7 yr ownership … the only thing that let me down was the plastic radiator … newer ones have been improved greatly as to milage … if I didn't need my 4x4 truck as my tow vehicle, I'd either still have the old Suby or a newer one
You could probably get a BMW e90 or e91 2008 xdrive for your budget. If you change the fluid in the auto trans it should be reliable. It probably won't get 20mpg city though. More lux and fun than a Subaru. Or just get a Forester.
Mitsubishi Lancer AWD (not Evo or Ralliart) fits most of the criteria. It's safe, durable, gets decent fuel mileage, and low-mileage ones are available for a good price. Where it doesn't meet criteria are they only come with CVTs (not generally associated with fun), the interior plastics' quality sucks (though it's not all that rattly, if my Evo X is anything to go by), and I don't know how fun it is to drive.
pinchvalve wrote: You want one of these:
Why you gotta hate like that?
Um, probably poor choice of words, to say "unstoppable" when bragging about snow tires and/or AWD. Because, stopping is kind of important. 
I have to chime in with Subaru as well if the AWD is a requirement. All drivelines are not the same. AWD on one car is not AWD on another. The way the car manages the torque transfer has major impacts on how well it works. Same goes for 4x4. I had a 78 Scout 2 with whitewalls that couldn't be stopped, and I had a Dakota 4x4 with A/T tires that got stuck in the wimpiest conditions. Subaru systems are complex, but pretty reliable and very effective. BMW Xdrive is more suited to dry pavement performance and gets confused and overbearing in snow. I haven't really had much experience with VAG AWD so I won't comment on it. (incidentally, I don't think VAG is terrible, I just think there are better choices for reliability and parts cost)
what I'm saying is, AWD systems are not created equal. As long as you're getting AWD for snow on the road, get one that is good at snow on the road.
I agree with the Subaru recommendation. One of the things you need to consider on all newer vehicles is the traction control and how it is implemented.
I had a Transit Connect with good (Blizzack) winter tires. It did well on the slushy, salted roads but an unplowed parking lot was a no-go. As soon as it started to spin a wheel the traction control took over and I found my self with my foot to the floor and the wheels not turning.
As a result, the last two winters when it snowed the TC went in the garage and we used the wife's 2013 Legacy with the crappy OEM all-seasons which had no problems. Secondary result is that I now drive a new Outback.
In reply to Hal:
Yeah I'm not a fan of Honda or Toyota's Traction/Stability control. Kicks in way early and holds back power so you barely crawl forward. Mazda on the other hand knows what they're doing and calibrate their systems correctly.
Another Subaru recommendation here. I remember taking my '97 Impreza with 195/75R14 Goodyear weather handler all seasons out to play in the deep snow when it seemed like everyone else was snowed in. The roads were completely empty, it was just me, my Scoob, about a foot of snow and my Walter Mitty WRC driver fantasy.
I also once pushed an MN12 Thunderbird up an icy hill with those tires on that car.
Incidentally I used those same tires for Autocross, Rallycross and 50,000 miles of commuting.
In reply to mtn:
Yes, I used to own an '88 Jetta 2 GLi, that's right, a car with the 020 gearbox with complimentary rivets holding the ring gear onto the differential. It was only $500 with a nearly dead gearbox, and 2 extra ones for parts delivered to my door by my old road racing teammate.
I used to be the parts manager at Volkswerks in Northern Virginia. We only worked on VTroubleUs and Audis, and we're ALWAYS busy. When I left, we were on track gross $2,000,000 with 2300 square feet of shop space, 5 mechanics, a helper, and a porter. (We were also the only WV/Audi specialist in Northern VA, and the stealership would tow cars to us when they couldn't figure out how to fix them.
As many preventable failures as I've seen, I probably won't ever buy another one.
If you have an early 2000's Passat or A4, the ABS module WILL fail and isn't cheap. Have the same chassis and over 70,000 miles? Stock up on lower control arms cause they don't last any longer than that, and ball joints can't be pressed out.
BTW 0000 = 4 tow hooks. 
Also, all VW & Audi rotors are SOFT! My boss said that VW did this to minimize brake noise, but I say they went a bit overboard as we would replace the rotors nearly every time we replaced brake pads as if we didn't, they'd be below minimum thickness before the new pads wore out.
There are several other issues, but I won't bore you.
Still, they're very fun cars to drive, and some look quite good. Their appetite for parts is 3x that of a Japanese car. (My 2001 Maxima just rolled over 200k last week, and still has 220 of the original 222hp.)
Meh, I'll be the Subaru dissenter. Last winter I drove up my sisters' driveway in the suburban on E36 M3ty worn out AT tires literally pushing the axles along through the white stuff. Mom arrived a few minutes later in her 2013 Outback and made it maybe 40 ft before all 4 wheels spun in place. Actually started going backwards! Michelin Energy tires seemed to be the prime culprit but unimpressive.
And FYI Curtis73: I've driven probably 20 different AWD/4WD vehicles in snowy conditions. VAG stuff is hands down the best in my experience. F150 (2004 FX4 on 33" AT) was by far the worst.
@ The OP. Go get the last iteration of the Jaguar X Type. 3.0 AWD. Love mine. Do a complete fluid change of the driveline to Amesoil syntgetyic and change the seals on the transmission and the transfer case and it will pretty much be bullet proof. Looking at many of these I have figured out that the issue of the transfer case failing can be directly traced to the rear seal failing. This lets all the gear oil out of it. Failure is soon to follow. Synthetic oil and new seals every fifty thousand miles cures this. Not Miata or Subi sporty but lots of fun.
Really like mine. Much more than I thought I would. Enough luxury to be nice with a touch of sporty to keep things fun.
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