Are they actually safer or do they just give the driver a false sense of security? Assuming it actually has 4WD/AWD (and most don't), that only helps you "go" and does nothing for "stop" as all cars have four wheel brakes.
One exception to this is being able to keep going in very rural areas where any rescue attempt would take too long. However, even this can fail with a false sense of security and poor judgement:
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/man-strand...
> Of the dozens of missions we have had this winter involving a vehicle stuck in the snow, nearly all of them were 4x4 vehicles and almost all of the drivers told us, "I didn’t think I would get stuck."
I've found that EV's have a significant advantage in snow due to very precise torque control compared to an automatic or manual transmission. Even my Prius does surprisingly well in snow with fresh tires up to it's ~6" ground clearance.