Even if the VIN says AWD, you can check it by stopping it on a sandy surface, have a friend watch from 10 feet away on the side of the car, and giving it the gas quickly to see if the rear wheels spin as well as the fronts.

As Klaus mentioned, some AWD cars have had their rear wheel drive disconnected.

Tell hubby that too many folks find that their cars with worn original tires are poor in snow - a good set of snow tires are much cheaper than a new AWD car and provide good performance in the snow. Buy some good snow tires!

BTW - How many days a year do you actually drive on snow, or rather on wet or clear plowed roads?