[vel0city]

I'm trying to understand why the minivan would handle so much worse than a comparable SUV/crossover. Could you clue me into the reasons why? Is it actually something innate with the geometry/weight distribution or potentially more like "this particular van has poor handling"?

[lockhouse]

The biggest things I notice are less ground clearance, which becomes a problem in heavy snow and the less powerful engine which makes it harder to get traction in snow and ice, particularly when trying to get up an incline, such as a hill or ramp.

[axpy]

I can accept the lack of ground clearance but lack of power is not your problem on snow. I would bet that this is traction control related. Modern traction control are for the road and they suck big time in the snow because they don't allow any slippeage. I currently drive an electric RWD car and live at the end of a 2km mountain road with +20% slopes that can get snowed in for a few days before being plowed. On normal traction control, I don't get anywhere but using sports mode made it work like god damn magic.