so I have a few buddies that work in the auto industry and warned me that if I wanted snow tires to get them as soon as possible in the season because the vendors do run out. I got a set of Yokohama ice guards on my outback and just drove through 18" of snow like it was nothing this past week. AWD and snow tires feels very safe. I dont think studded is necessary in an AWD car but I'd probably consider it if my car was FWD