I made my first trip up to Tahoe in a few years this past Sunday/Monday, and aside from the snow (2′+ fresh), the weather (beautiful), the mountain (Alpine rules, as always), and the company (good friends and more on the hill), I was really happy with how the Element handled the snow. Granted, the conditions were fairly favorable, with snow on the roads but no ice, and temps in the 20’s that make for good snow tractions, but the AWD worked really well and we had no trouble getting around in the snowy twists and turns of Tahoe Donner. The Element also did much better than I expected up and down the I-80 grade, and overall mileage wasn’t any worse than it is around the Bay Area. Overall, a good snow car - although it ain’t no Scout, it worked well.