I’ve owned AWD, 4WD, FWD, and RWD cars and lived all my life in “snow country”. I feel 4 winter tires (or snow tires as they used to be called) is more important to safe travel in winter than AWD or 4WD. There are advantages to AWD and 4WD but most drivers of these vehicle do not mount winter tires and then drive with a false sense of confidence. This confidence leads them to go too fast and exceed the traction limits of their tires and they slide off the road.
A FWD car will not be better than AWD in snow. A FWD car should be fine however. If you live on a steep hill or have a very steep driveway, in such cases then AWD would be best.
You are used to an AWD Subaru. If you drive a FWD car in winter you are going to notice a lot more front wheel spin when starting out in snow. Unless you plan on pulling out quickly in front of a fast moving 18 wheeler the difference should be something you can live with. You have to adjust your driving habits. If you like taking off with no wheel spin in snow then stick with AWD.
When stopping and turning the drive system has minimal affects compared to the traction provided by the tires. That’s why the best winter tires you can get make a world of difference. I’ve been very pleased with Nokian, but any winter tire is way better than any all season tire in dealing with challenging winter conditions.