The Poulan's I've seen in Minnesota seem to have plenty of steel parts
and that's good. I'm surprised at how many snow throwers have plastic
chutes these days. The bigger the engine the better. I've had a Spirit
(Canadian) for 22 years with tracks, lots of steel and an 8 HP
Tecumseh Snow King engine, and it's still going strong (fingers
crossed). The only thing I've done to the engine is rebuild the carb
(last year). I've replaced and re-built some of the other parts
(bearings, etc) over the years as we get a fair amount of snow and it
takes a beating. I wish they still made them.

When I replace mine I'll probably get a Poulan like you're describing.
If you've got a standard residential driveway it should be good to go.

I better start mine up before the snow flies and see if it runs (knock
on wood).

dss