Great thread. So I don't really have a current winter "beater" per se. But my DD is a Subaru Xtrek. Related to the OP topic...when I bought my 87 300ZX Turbo new...in the northeast...I drove it once in about half inch of snow; can you say fishtail? Went out and plunked down $375 in hard earned cash for a rusted out old Chevy Impala. THAT was a winter beater. Also the car that got me into doing mechanical work when a front sway bar link needed replaced. That car was replaced by a old 82 Ford Bronco...also rusted out and also a beater. Rebuilt the front end on that one. Still go the 87 Z with a tad shy of 20K miles on it.