Though I live in the south, I have taken my GTI off-roading, in the mountains, on snow. Wasn't going to win the Baja 500, but my GTI crushed it.
Everyone has AWD brakes. Decent all seasons and you're good in black ice and slush. FWD, and these things are like the mail carrier, neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow...
I despise CUVs, but hey, different strokes. My love for my GTI has been reinforced by having an F150 rental for a week while my tuner restored a mis-handled ECU. It was fun to have ground clearance... for about 5 minutes.
I do dig your whips new tints. Enjoy.