engine braking is the only way in snowy conditions esp wont do much like when you give it a foot full in first for example in normal conditions the wheels still spin.
i use engine braking in normal conditions. more economical. doesnt make it the only way in snow. brakes still work!
and who drives full throttle in first in any condition, car just rips through first anyway. Cant agree with you that ESP and ABS are better turned off.
if you know your car you can drive it on the snow without spinning no
problem, if you dont quite get the balance right, giving it too much gas then ESP will keep the wheels from spinning and keep you accelerating gradually as you intended. if you dont give enough gas then the torque will keep you moving anyway.
ABS i just cant see why you'd want it turning off. you only brake when u want to slow down or stop, so if the wheels lock up on the snow ABS releases the brake and reapplies. why would you not want this to happen? i'll agree engine braking is what you should use to slow down for corners or roundbouts or cars in front n what not, but you still need to brake sometimes and i'd rather have ABS back up.
if on proper ice rather than snow then no amount of ABS or breaking will stop you anyway there's no friction, you've just gotta hope you dont hit anything before u get back onto snow or tarmac where braking will work.
as for driving on sheer ice, same applies, no point accelerating you will just spin, ESP will try and stop you but won't do much good, to get anywhere you've just gotta use the torque, there' enough torque i mine to get to about 35 mph without touching the accelerator going through the gears from 1st to 4th- i'd imaging cupras and remapped models will get further.