cfire520 I'm not sure where you are and how much snow you get but here's my situation. Here in Toronto we have the potential to get a lot of snow (unless you ask our friends in Buffalo). Winter driving here has to take into account the temperature of the road since summer tires loose elasticity when they get cold. Ice is also a concern and a high silicone content winter tire will adhere, at least a bit, to ice. Wide tires can work in snow if they have an open tread pattern and rounded edges. For these reasons bought 4 18" x8.5" winter mags and put Bridgestone Blizzaks on them even though I have all season Contis as my normal outfit. My last car was a MB C230 Coupe with the same ESP programme as our car. It is amazing in helping to control your car when you are moving but when starting up in deep snow you need to turn it off momentarily and coax your car ahead with low revs like any RWD. A big old bag of sand in the trunk doesn't hurt!