I've spent the last winter in the UP(Houghton) and had an 07 subaru outback. Loved it! Gas mileage wasn't great since it was a really hilly town, but on the highway I got 28mpg or so. 4cyl with a bit of power, 175 is good for a 4banger I'd say. And the AWD is awesome. I probably saw the actual asphalt of the road I lived on maybe twice between november and march, lol. Subaru went right through it all though. Only time it's gotten stuck was when I was on ice below maybe 4-6" of snow. Little clearing and a quick push and it was out. My dad got it stuck once when he tried driving through the small plow buildup at the entrance to his construction site. Snow was deeper than the front bumper, but it took him a few minutes to get it through with a shovel.