The FR-S is a rear wheel drive light car, is it not; with a lower proportion of weight over the driving wheels. Nice car and I like it but not the best configuration for winter traction. The all season tires would have pulled it out probably, if it were FWD.
I don't know how much of an improvement...say ice tires...would be in a similar situation of deep snow. Maybe a couple of sacks of cement over the rear axle and keep the gas tank full.
All Season is not marketing hype. Before the soft rubber siped ice tires were developed, the 'All Season' became an option to having summer tires and switching to winter 'nobblies'. When radial tires became the norm they were found to be quite acceptable with FWD cars; knobblies not offering much inprovement. This in a time when getting going was the important winter aspect; not driving at higher speed in icy conditions. From reading this thread one wonders how much better, if any, a set of winter tires with a few years of use on them...would be than a new set of good all season with a good (for the class) snow rating.
Moderately worn snows that still had their sipes on them would out perform the best, brand-new all season on the market guaranteed. It is the rubber compound and sipes that make all the difference.
And the FWD-is-better-in-winter is a bit of old world wisdom. Back when cars had 1000 lbs V8's sitting on the front end that sent 400 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, the FWD econoboxe alternatives with no power seemed like winter champs (because they were in comparison).
Many factors contribute to a great winter vehicle. First and foremost it is tires. Next it is tread width - skinnier the better on ice and snow. Then drivetrain, with AWD being the best. Finally, it is power. You actually want less power in the snow. More power just induces wheel spin.
Here is a bold statement - I would put my rear-wheel drive 1990 Miata up against
ANY 2-wheel drive vehicle in
ANY wintery condition up to roughly 20-25 cm of snow. I have drive dozens of vehicles with winter tires on and have never driven anything this controllable in the white stuff; that includes my 2010 Subaru WRX. The little Mazda would perform as well or better I bet.
We got 18 cm of snow on boxing day and before the plows came out I was buzzing around the neighborhood with my Sailun (Chinese) winter tires on. I have never driven anyhting that has this much bite and grip in the corners in deep snow, light snow and ice. Also, even though it lacks ABS, it brakes amazingly in the snow most likely due to its weight (or lack there of).
I was doing circles around my sisters FWD 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe V6. With 276 hp trying to go though the front wheels equipped with all season tires, the crossover wouldn't grip. Even with traction control, stability control and ABS brakes, her vehicle wanted to do nothing but slide straight off the road. My car lacking all electronic 'aides' easily out cornered it.
Acceleration is no issue, form a dead stop, in 20 cm of tire-track-riddled snow thanks in part to the low power output and mechanical rear differential that is always looking for the wheel with the most grip.
I even had 3 other cars with me to test against the Miata when it snowed - The Subaru XV Crosstrek, Porshce Boxster and Suzuki SX4 Sedan. All had snow tires. The XV with AWD, low power and high ground clearance was the best in the snow, but it still does not go around corners as well as the Miata. None of the four vehicles gave me any issues in the snow, and I never got stuck. I would say the ranking would go: XV, Miata, SX4, Boxster.
