To the OP what tires are on the front because just because they are good, doesn't mean they will do well in snow. If they are summer tires they aren't going to do sh#t in the snow. I know people who swore their AWD car sucked in the snow, and then they revealed they had something like Kuhmo Ecsta LE's on it. Those are high performance summer tires and will not go in the snow.
As for the other conversation winter tires are far from mandatory if you have even an inkling of how to drive you do not need winter tires. The only way I would recommend winter tires is if you have a RWD car/2WD truck as your only means of transportation.
I find it hilarious that people think a car is at fault for not going good in the snow. The tires as well as the driver are not the fault of the car.
