I kinda figured (but learned for sure today) that the all-weather tires (20") on my Yukon XL Denali were not very good in deep snow.

Planned to drive into town to pick up some stuff for the garage this morning after getting 4-6" of snow last night (Jonas) and didn't fare so well. I've driven this vehicle in light snow .5-2" and it did just fine. Today with 4" or so on the roads (had not been plowed yet) the AW tires weren't up to the task. Slid around quite a bit on corners and going downhill, the TC kicked up often going up one of the small hills leading to my plan.

I have an '03 that has Winterforce (Firestone) tires on it, and it's day/night difference between the two. If I was expecting this snow to stick around I'd definitely replace the AW tires for the Firestones.

 

My Sierra Denali is terrible in the snow, too. I don't even take it out in the white stuff any more.

The Suburban has Goodyear Duratracs. I've driven on unplowed roads with 15 inches of snow with no problem. Those tires make it absolutely unstoppable.

Pro tip - remove the front air dam if you're driving in deep snow. It does make a difference.

 

My Tahoe is a beast in snow. I have Goodyear all season tires on it. I have driven in up to 8 inches of snow. Of course I'm using 4WD when I do this.

 

One of the reasons I put my burb in storage for the winter is that I'm too cheap to buy a set of winter wheels/tires for it. Other 2 cars have blizzaks. They are awesome.

 

HA, I know budgets too

One way to "accommodate" a budget is, to have a separate set of Rims and Tires, specific to what conditions you encounter where you live. Takes me about 45 minutes to change to winter or back.
I have nice looking "summer" wheels, which is time wise the ones that are on my ride the longest. I just bought plane steel Rims for the winter set, since everything is so dirty anyway, there was no need to try to make my ride look nice for that limited period.

Just a side comment here...
4WD is great, but, if you don't have a properly chosen set of Tires to support that, often times it just isn't very helpful.

Choosing the right tread for the conditions you expect to encounter is very important in what results you experience. We hear many positive comments about a specific brand/tread, and, I'm very glad that those individuals are experiencing favorable performance. But, it's quite possible that changing locations even 100 miles, would make that choice of tire less efficient. One needs to carefully consider just what conditions are encountered where he lives, and not put too much weight on another's opinion.

For instance...
Here in South Texas, it goes from dry and hot, to very wet and during the most severe of our winters, frequent patches of Ice (mainly on our bridges) which we have in abundance with all the Bayous we have. Then, often times the encounters with wet or ice are sudden and unexpected. One is just off into it, usually at a speed which promotes control challenges.

I like to have a smooth long lasting Tire during the summer, then have a Tread for winter use, which is dedicated to deal with those spontaneous dangerous conditions.