Just got a honest foot of snow here in Midwest and spent the day in a countryman. First off I will say that this car is better then my old jeeps and Cherokees on the slick stuff by far, had to work to get her out of shape.
Only one problem... ride height! I do not want a lift kit as I am blessed with curvy roads in my county but a few more inches on demand when there is plus 5 inches of snow would be great. A countryman is not a plow! My next statement may seem blasphemes but if I'm not mistaken Land Rovers have adjustable air bag suspension, I realize that it is also a 60k car versus a 30k car but I think a little more ground clearance at the push of a button is the only thing stopping this car from being the ultimate outdoor/motoring enthusiast ride.
On another note, had to back uphill out of driveway on sheet ice to a street that has a downhill grade and try to start out on ice driving uphill, manual transmission by the way, and had zero tire spin, cant say enough about the all4 system!

 

What tires do you have?

 

i put 205/70-16 winter tires on my cms all4, they are 27.3 inch OD vs the stock 25.9 inch OD of the 225/45-18 summer tires, and got almost 3/4 inch more ground clearance

scott

 

I'm on the west side of Indy, AND lowered on NM Springs and plowed through that snow storm with no issues, in-fact, had a ton of fun no worries, you can manage!

 

Im running the stock continental all seasons.
The car itself is more then capable of going through more then I pushed it, I was faced with a foot or more of hard pack 24hrs after the fresh had fallen and just did not want to risk the front end on a car that has not even had first oil change. No complaints with the way car is set up just thought it was a interesting idea to have push button adjustable ride height. Wish we got more foot deep snows in southern Indiana. After the new car scent wears off i will try to enjoy the snow rally stages a bit more. Cheers to a new year of motoring!

 

If you really want to have some fun playing in the snow go out and get yourself some real snow tires mounted on another set of wheels. Just remember, snow tires should be no wider than your regular tires. In fact narrower tires work even better. A little taller sidewall helps to adsorb the impact of those pesky winter potholes.