I own my XF for over a year now, 28000 KM or approx 17,500 miles on it.

I live near Montreal in Quebec, Canada and we have real winter up here. I have four Conti Winter tires on the car and no extra weight.

I have driven the car all of last winter (I am a traveling salesman) and only in one occasion did I experience a bit of trouble. It was my first real snow storm with the car. Approx 8 inches of powdered snow and the snow plow had not yet done its job when we were on our way home. Traction control was doing a good job except when we arrived at a downhill and the a pronounced uphill with a curve in the middle.

The XF would not get up the hill. I backed down in my own tracks, shut the traction control and it then went slowly up the hill.

After all, a few years back we were all driving rear propulsion car and we had winters then too.