Having lived much of my life in the boonies on a dirt road and plenty of bad weather, I don't think SUVs really solve many problems out there. Swapping in studded tires in the winter and possibly 4 wheel drive makes a big difference, though. The studded tires aren't great for the gas mileage, but boy do they grip icy roads well.

Of course in the area where I lived, the dirt roads were generally well maintained so you didn't need lots of extra ground clearance. The extra cargo space would be useful for hauling the garbage to the dump (and hauling back whatever treasures were found there). :-)