You are right that learning to drive a RWD biased car in the snow is interesting. The car will start to fishtail when you make a turn, especially from a stop, and especially with the stock continentals. But! within a fraction of a second the electronics will correct the skid and your rear actually doesn't kick out as much as you think it will.
I know you didn't ask me, but we ended up getting Nokian 10 SUV studded tires (would have gotten the EV version which has foam insulation, but we were lucky to get any at all). Made a huge difference in the kick out, although it still could happen a little in the worst conditions.
I also considered getting higher sidewall tires/18s, but didn't want to mess around in February and really wanted the snow tires fast. Maybe when it comes time to replace them. Also, like
@jstepy I will likely not be replacing my stock Conti's with the same tire when the time comes (probably in a year). I like the idea of an AT as well. We need summer winter tires as well as winter winter tires where we live
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By the way, if you are anticipating getting the car and have no doubts, I would recommend you get your snow tires ordered now. They were hard to get (especially if you had your heart set on a particular brand/style) after the first of the year.