Folks who reside in snow country are often curious to know how different vehicles perform in slippery conditions. The facts can color their choice of car when buying time comes around.

This winter members of the CanadianDriver Website went off in search of the cold truth. They took over two prepared tracks at an Ottawa speedway, one for slalom and one for emergency braking area tests, and put a range of cars through their paces. The vehicles included front, rear, or all-wheel drive, on winter and all-season tires.

Canadian Driver's top-rated vehicle was the mercedes-Benz C350 4MATIC, followed by the Toyota Highlander and the Ford Five Hundred. Of the winner the testers wrote: "the Mercedes-Benz C350 4MATIC was a revelation when starting and stopping. At times, it hardly felt like we were on ice and snow, such was the ability of this car to find and hold traction."