I drove mine all winter with blizzaks and it did amazingly well. Never a hiccup. Honestly, how often is it snowing and the roads are so bad that you need 4wd? Snow falls. They plow it. Then its easy driving. . .

Yea I did the same. It's actually pretty fun to drive I the snow with blizzaks. I drove during more than a couple of those big storms and it handled fine. Just gotta take it slow and drive smart. And avoid any big hills.

I know this thread is hideously old but dammit I shall give my two-unasked-for-cents... I just bought my first Z ('16 Touring Sport Coupe MT) and I plan to drive it year round in Edmonton. I have driven RWD cars through winters in the past '08 328i, '12 328i and its completely fine (and fun!) if you're prepared: full set of winter tires like Blizzak or X-ice + common sense!

With second gear starts, light foot, cautious driving it becomes less of a stressful-chore and more of a fun top-gear-challenge.

I find the biggest problem in winter driving vehicles with low ground clearance (like my lowered accord coupe) is A) being the plow and B) hitting frozen chunks of rock/ice that fall of people trucks/suvs....these things are huge sometimes and can cause real damage. Thats how I destroyed my front lip lol.

"Dude, just buy a winter beater" -- the thing is....im tired of winter beaters, im buying a new car to enjoy it and typically in Edmonton the winters last a very long time (except this year) and its not really worth buying a new car to park it for such a long period (IMO).

But at the end of the day, its all about personal preference and comfort so to each their own.

TL;DR - New Z to be driven year round in Edmonton

Proper tires and learning how to drive in the snow with RWD do it! It just takes some time to learn to counter steer

Older cars really can't handle the Salt and now especially the new brine they are using. If there is anyway you can manage it keep it away from the Salt. Park it, get a beater and reduce the insurance to fire and theft. The 401 is an accident waiting to happen especially in the winter.If you have no choice four snow tires are best and most likely will be required soon just like Quebec.