I've been considering getting a winter car. Not really a beater, but something a little more wintery than my 997S. I was tempted by the 540i posted, but I've had one of those and its not really any better in winter than the 997S (but I still love that car!). Then I thought about maybe a Focus (rally trim, AWD euro-spec?), and being where I am maybe a CTS-V. But none of these seemed like something I'd really enjoy driving half of the year.

So today I'm out washing my car (its black, and was covered in salt) with ONR. 35F in the garage, 18 outside so thank God for ONR. Its coming up on 50k miles, has some paint wear and a lot of chipping on the front hood etc, and the windshield is pitted. I wasn't super satisfied with the wash as I couldn't really get it dry (several MF towels were enlisted to no avail) which I think is because the temp was so low that any moisture just condenses on the metal right away.

Anyway, I got thinking I should go back to the touchless wash, and to hell with the paint (it will need a respray either this spring or next anyway), and that led me to thinking that I have my winter beater - also well set up to be a track flogger, so what I need isn't a winter car, but a summer one!

What do you all think...turbo? GT3? or back to thinking of a real beater?

 

I kept it simple and bought a VW GTI. Lots of fun, does fine in the snow (we just had 2' here), etc. I use it as my daily commuter as well. Obviously the C4S is more fun, but the GTI is a good second. Cheap to insure, easy to maintain, great gas mileage (32+ hwy), and still very quick... If had wanted to spend more, I'd probably have bought a new S4.

 

Buy my 540i

 

If you still want a winter beater, get a Cayenne to compliment your C2S.

If your C2S is now your winter beater, get a GT3 or RS for fun.

If you're still confused, then do all of the above (see my garage).

 

Have a MBZ ML320CDI for towing and SUVing. I don't like SUVs as daily drivers so prefer to leave it in grocery/towing duty.

Wife has a CaymanS in track form so not street driven very often and really not suitable for winter as a result.

So I'm leaning toward GT3 or Turbo for summer fun and keep the C2S as the winter beater. Hard to decide between the GT3 and Turbo since I'd probably still use the C2S on the track (and if I got a GT3 my wife would always take it to the track and leave the CS at home!).

All of these solutions require a lift in the garage to store 1-2 cars off-season.

 

You know I'd love to have it, and I really loved my 540i/6 until it got whacked, but let me spend some more time using fuzzy logic to rationalize it! When is your move (I'll be in Chicago Jan 13-15...)?

 

Here's a suggestion. Spend a lot less.
You can pick up a nice VW 2004 R32 for around 15 K or so.
All wheel drive, 260 HP and a ton of fun.
With winter tires it is a tank.
The best part about it is it's VW....if it gets whacked by a snow plow or the valet takes it out...who cares ?

 

Subaru.

I''ve had three of them, and they're hard to beat.

 

Pick up a Range Rover Sport for your winter vehicle.

They are also enoyable and pretty fast in the summer and they can haul
and tow additional toys.

 

C4S!

 

I will be heading out for NYC around 20th of Jan. I would be happy to show it to you if you will be town.

 

Good advice.... or, get a clean S4. I am biased toward B5 S4 (can easily do 450 WHP), but the V8 S4 is excellent too, and both PERFECT for winter/snow with Quattro! Last year we had a crazy snow storm and I enjoyed watching all SUVs in the ditch while driving around with my S4 with no issues!

 

B6 probably requires a bit less upkeep/maintenance, but either would make a great winter "beater"

 

Did you have an RS4 in the past? Your screen-name seems familiar from Audizine.

 

Consider what I did. I looked at the new GTI (great car) and a bunch others. Don't like the new Audis or BMWs. Thought about my favorite all-time small sport sedan and came up with the E46 330i. Found one near me with only 26,500 miles (2005) with all the right options. Got it for a song (much less than a GTI), including CPO. The car looks like it just rolled off the factory line and will go 100k more without a problem. RWD, which is fine with the Conti DWS tires I put on, but AWD is easily available in these cars.