A Subaru is crazy good in the snow. Seriously. Definitely better than a TJ for city/highway driving. (safer/stability/traction/etc)
Add the fact that true winter tires are easily available in sizes for a Subaru but not exactly made for what we use on our TJ's...don't make any bets against someone driving a Subaru with winter tires. Winter tires are not just the different tread, but also the type of rubber used. All-terrain tires with the "winter/snow" snowflake rating thing are good...but definitely in a league below true winter tires when in comes to packed snow traction.
Granted, I think the deeper the snow, the better the TJ gets due to the height we have. So we are better in the extremes, but not necessarily for 95% of the time. (We'll be awesome when you get 3 feet of snow dumped on you in one day, but most roads will most likely be plowed the next day).
I think the TJ will be better offroad, but not quite as good within the city in winter.
And if we wind up in a ditch, we have a better chance of getting out.
Now having said that, I've lived in snowy conditions all my life (Manitoba...up in Canada).
I'd say a TJ is great for winter, and I love mine.
I drive a TJ with 33" Duratrac tires. Most of those years I had open diffs. It does fine when in 4x4 in the city.
(I had a worn our rear factory LSD and also had a lunchbox locker up front. Note - the warnings about lunchbox lockers up front are very real when on ice. Granted in the 20 years of driving my Jeep, I only had 1 "holy crap" moment with the front auto locker engaging and spinning me around on a black ice highway going 15km/h...which is a statistically low occurance, but enough to "wake me up" to never wanting to do that again, ever).
(So don't engage your locker in the city, but your rear LSD will help).
I currently have a recently installed TrueTrac in the rear, and am waiting to have a TrueTrac installed in the front. That differential is theoretically (but arguably) the best for Jeeps on snow, and may put me close to a Subaru on the street, and probably better with deeper snow.
I don't have any real-world experience with it yet, so I'll soon find out (as we have snow here now).
I *think* with those diff's, Duratrac tires and tummy tuck, I'll do better than most 4x4's in snow.
At least I should do better than I did in previous year, and I was very happy with how the Jeep performed with open-diffs in winter.
Weaknesses for TJ's in winter/snow:
- short wheelbase (noticable on higher speeds on highway)
- colder (even with a hardtop - every car will be more comfortably warmer)
- no "true" winter tires. (our winter-rated all-seasons are more than "good enough" when in 4x4, but still inferior in the city. We may do better with our knobbier tires in deeper loose snow however...and 4x4 trucks are in same situation as us)
- no built-in heated seats, lol
Strengths for TJ's in winter/snow:
- good in deep snow
- while we may have "less control" driving on the streets, we also have less chance of getting stuck
- better front/back weight balance than many 4x4 trucks...and we never get asked to help when friends are moving furniture
- when they temporarily block off my street with 3ft piles of snow they're plowing...I act like a bratty kid and just drive over/through it, laughing the whole time. I wouldn't do that with a Subaru.