Serious offroad vehicles traditionally don't have a center diff and instead let you lock the axles together by putting the transfer case into 4hi or 4lo (for extra torque multiplication) which means that you need to lift at least a front and a rear wheel off the ground before getting stuck. Front/rear locking diffs further reduce the odds of getting stuck. Crossovers typically have a FWD drivetrain with an appendage that sends power to a rear axle that contains an electromechanically actuated or viscous coupling which is very similar. The coupling is actually in a way similar to a transfer case but takes wheelspin to kick in which sucks offroad. Then some trucks and sporty cars use an electromechanically actuated transfer case that sends power forward. The Mercedes G-class and Humvee have a center diff so are technically full time AWD but then they also have a reduction gear as well. Basically it's hard to classify vehicles' offroad capability so the copout is using 4WD to mean real offroad and AWD to mean "get you unstuck from a couple inches of snow".
Quick note from a place with feet of snow to say that AWD vehicles work well here. People either drive trucks or Subarus and I don't see more of one kind stuck in snow than the other. Obviously winter tires required.
Yeah, I have pretty good experiences with AWD vehicles like xDrive BMWs or a Nissan Qashqai in snow. The Qashqai even performs pretty well in deep snow if you use the differential lock.
