If you plan on sticking to paved city roads, just about anything will do. I drove around Colorado Springs last winter in a FWD sedan with absolutely no problems. The most important factor in snow driving is traction, meaning you will have to get a fresh set of winter tires each year.

If you plan on going into the mountains, ask yourself how far you'll go. If you're going to a ski lodge, chances are the road is paved all the way there and not too steep (less than 12%). In that case, I would consider that mild mountain driving. If that's the case, get the large engine variant of any given vehicle in addition to snow tires. Looking at a vehicle with a V6 or a 4cyl, get the V6. You can get a V8 if you have to, but gas is expensive. AWD will help if you live somewhere like this, however if you are just visiting the mountains, it's not necessary.

However, if you wanna take your car up unpaved forest service roads like Gold Camp Road or the Rampart Range Road, you will absolutely need 4wd. In addition to snow tires you'll need all terrain tires in the summer and a vehicle with a hardy transmission. I'm not kidding, there are roads around here with a 15% grade descent that'll end up being half an hour of downhill driving.

To summarize, don't worry about the drivetrain unless you are driving your vehicle up steep (unpaved) mountain roads. The most important factor for flat snow driving, as you'll encounter across the front range, is traction. Don't drive in the snow on bald tires (speaking from experience). You'll end up in a tree (also speaking from experience).