2016.5 CX-5 GT AWD, here.
My own preference: stellar tires, competent AWD, and more "turtle" rather than "hare" pace when the conditions warrant.
I drive on mostly pavement, though occasionally on hard-packed and gravel country roads. (No "back" roads or off-road stuff for me, these days.) Some can get reasonably steep. And some conditions, like frosty damp roadways, can get a bit tricky if winding with steeper elevation and/or camber changes.
Mostly, I take the slow and steady approach. Have to contend with ice, sleet, slush, frost, ice and snow during the winter months, and occasionally conditions can be quite different from what they appear (ie, a very slick layer of ice beneath that mundane-looking half inch of snow). And I do much of my driving in the early hours of the day, when wet and frost can conspire to toss cars left and right. You never know.
Decent tires, in the Nokian WR G4. And despite steepness or off-camber or weather, I've yet to slide more than a few inches here and there, and that only rarely. At which point the traction-control and AWD gear corrects the slippage and gets things back on track. Overall, I've found the CX-5 AWD to be more-capable than a mid-80s Subaru 4WD, on the typical stuff, though the Suby was darned capable on off-road dirt trails and logging roads that got quite steep. I'd roughly rank the CX-5 AWD along with the contemporary Audi Quattro vehicles, for all-around grip on "normal" stuff one's likely to find on-road where I live.
Haven't done much testing on off-road stuff, very steep routes, or very-slick icy conditions. So, I can't say how this 2016 behaves when really pushed on slippery surfaces.
