My first suggestion is a Toyota Sienna AWD if you want to seat 7 or 8 people with incredible comfort and ease of egress.
Toyota RAV4 can seat 7 in a pinch with an optional 3rd seat. However using it requires you slide the middle seat forward(cramping 2nd row) and the third row is for children at best.
However that all being said an alternate would be to simply buy 4 dedicated winter tires on seperate rims (~$700-$900) on a FWD 7 passenger vehicle. It will be absolutely SUPERIOR to any AWD vehicle with regards to being able to stop and turn. The majority of winter conditions you will have no issue. People(detractors) think winter tires are expensive but do not realize their other 3 season tires are not wearing sitting in the basement or garage. Modern winter tires(Michelin X-Ice2, Blizzacks) are quiet and incredible on ice, snow and nearly as good as an all-season on normal days in the colder temps.
On a personal note I will add I need winter traction(ski house with poor accessibility) and 7-8 passengers soon. My plan is likely just purchase a 1-4 yr old low mileage Dodge/Chrysler Minivan and equipped with incredible winter tires. My budget range is 10k-15k. When/if it breaks down my trusty Subaru WRX is my backup albeit cramped for 2 kids, wife, dog(pug thankfully) and full ski gear.