I dunno, I had never driven on snow before, and I survived in my old 89 fastback. Had Kumho Ecsta tires on it, non-abs car.
Never put it in the ditch, but then again, I never did anything stupid with it during the winter. Well, as long as there were cars around, at least.
Almost ditched it in front of the Emerado police office at 2AM, though. Heh, and I had the rear interior removed too, now that I think about it.