I had a chance to try the system out in several inches of snow a week or two ago. I will say that on "normal" the stability control kicked in quite late, and quite abruptly. While it did its job perfectly, it "appears" to have less "polish" than other systems I've experienced in sedans. But I need to play more.
It would have been nice to be able to turn it off, especially in a vehicle called a "sport". I would suppose doughnuts in the parking lot are out of the question, but I haven't tried that yet. On many of these vehicles, (the Escape comes to mind- its life was "saved" by the timely arrival of stability control technology) the stability control is the only thing that keeps these things from going oily side up. I did not try the other settings of traction, as I want to get the "feel" of the normal mode first, but look forward to it.
The stability control also blocks you from feeling the inherent handling characteristics of the vehicle. I suppose you don't have to have as much skill in evasive manoeuvres because the control takes over for you to prevent you from going too close to the edge in those situations.
Also had no issue with the stock tires (not far below freezing), either in abrupt steering input, or hard braking. That has been my experience multiple times in the past with all-season tires. They are good in snow for the first season when new, but show a noticeable drop in winter performance and "stickiness" into the second and remaining seasons.
Did a direct comparison several times to confirm this in the past by simply delaying the installation of the winter tires.
I'm liking this Sport more and more every day.