Why is it when accidents are seen on the box there are usually 4WD involved,
Because people think having a 4x4 will mean that they do not have to think when they drive in poor conditions!
Worse are the people that buy an X5 or Range Rover and stick massive alloys and UHP summer tyres on them and then wonder why they have no grip on mud/wet grass/snow/ice.
Then there are the people that do not realise that something that weighs 2 tonnes + and has a high centre of gravity does not stop or go round corners as quickly or as well as something half there size, so in the winter, they barrel into a corner and end up going straight on thanks to that thing called physics!
I would say my Discovery was not that great on winter roads, even with snow tyres, as the power delivery, steering, braking etc was a bit harsh, so fine control was not really an option (better in low box). The AWD of my Subaru is much more subtle, you feel whats going on so can react subtlly to correct a slide, and the electronic stability control etc helps a huge amount. Also with the boxer engine, there is little weight trying to topple the thing.
Having said all that, that really bad winter a few years ago meant the Defender with big chunky mud terrain tyres rulled the roost in deep snow
I pulled much more expensive 4x4's out of ditches all winter