I still drive an '04 Impreza and will until it dies. I don't bother with winter tires, and have not had any issues with ice or snow. The only problem I had was with the slush last year (or 2 years ago?) which was so thick and deep at Anderson & 24th that my car was floating like a boat.
I get about 12-13km/L on the Hwy and about 10 in the city. Not a car to impress anyone with, but I don't care about cars (style-wise), and it gets me wherever I want to go, regardless of weather...