Ray S

As others have said good tires are the key. I drove my 996 C2 for 5 years of Chicago winters before I moved to NC and I never had any problems. My biggest issue was that with snow over 12" the front spoiler acted like a snow plow (I ripped off my Cup splitter twice in deep snow).

As others have said awd would undoubtably perform even better, but my C2 never left me stranded.

Good luck.

utkinpol

i would not drive either car in a bad snow storm.

c4 will come handy as any other 4x4 car when you`ll have to climb up the hill covered in ice/snow. if all your routes are on flat roads with no inclines - then it is irrelevant. my c2 has a lot of grip so i had no issues on fresh powder, ever, but nose sits kinda low and works like a plow, plus, as it isd a toy after all, i see no reason to abuse it that bad.

kosmo

i just hated driving a sport cars in the snow because of the low ground clearance.

utkinpol

my c2 goes fine and it`s fun but i am always afraid to hit something i do not see in the fresh powder.

when it"s all clean then it is a non-issue. BTW i am very pleasantly surprised with z1 star spec dunlops which are extreme performance summer tires. when i had PS2 michelins they were like pucks after 33-34 degrees pretty much. i drove on Z1 when it was 28 degrees in the morning and they had excellent traction. it does not mean they are snow tires but rubber compound in them is definitely more resistent to low temperatures than one in michelins.

w00tPORSCHE

I can vouch for my C4S ... Have been driving it with caution on icy roads with dedicated winter tires over mountain passes for the past 4 weeks (280 mile weekly round trip commute). Stellar performance. I have not used the Cayenne as of yet.

997_rich

Yeah, I've had great results with the C2... but of course if the snow gets deeper than 2-3 inches both c2 and c4 turn into a snow plow so you'll need another method of transportation for those days.

CO997

I happened to be on Pittsburgh today so I stopped by one of the local dealerships. I asked 2 separate guys one sales and one service about the C4 AWD system. Both said the same thing. The system is always in '2' mode, AWD only kicks in when driven 9/10ths to 10/10ths, and then only 5% of the power is diverted to the front wheels. So I again got the racing speech. "the AWD will NOT help you in snow as you are not able to push the car that hard, and even if you did only 5% of the power would be transmitted to the front wheels so little to no value in snow and ice. They said proper snow tires are the key.

CO997

Hate to keep coming back to this but I just want to make an informed decision when I purchase. Not to mention the $ savings between the 2 and 4. Either way as many of you said proper tires are a must and it seems are what really makes the difference. On a side note the offered a test drive in a Panamaera turbo, which I happily accepted, and man was that car Impressive. Sport plus mode, 500hp, just plain awesome!!

alexb76

C4 > C2 in snow/ice/winter, and that's the bottom line!

Jay H

I drove 3 winters in Boxsters here in WI and this will be my 4th winter in a 2WD Porsche, now in the 997 C2.

I drove in horrendous conditions with both Boxsters. I traversed through everything including 6 to 8 inches of unplowed snow, ice, heavy slush (inches of it), blizzards, -20 degree F temps, you name it, Mother Nature dished it out over the past 3 years and she's a pro at handing out bad weather lately.

F me, these cars go through it with zero issues IF you have the right tires. All seasons don't cut it (tried that first with the first Boxster). I never got stuck and while a 4x4 Jeep Wrangler would have had more ground clearance and intitial traction, I just shoved the white stuff under the car and filled up the radiator openings and kept going.

Of course 4 driven wheels will be better for taking off at a stop sign and have a bit more traction in deep snow conditions, but you can't turn or stop any better in a 4 wheel drive car than you can in a 2 wheel drive car.

Buy a set of winter tires and a C2. Drive cautiously and sanely and you'll be just fine.

tooloud10

I believe the car will send up to 40% of the power to the front wheels (5% would be nearly useless). Also, those guys are greatly oversimplifying the system--the quickest way to send full power to the front wheels is to break the rear tires loose, which is easy to do in winter.

Winter tires are more important than 4WD, but you're being misled about the advantages of the C4.

utkinpol

guys, you do not need 4x4 for traction, you need it for stability. stability is crucial when you go uphill or downhill. on flat road it is irrelevant. unless you want to practice how to climb up the hill in reverse gear - *** first - get 4x4.

Coochas

+1
The least amount of traction to the front is 5% and the most is 35-40% IIRC.
Anyone who tells you that RWD is as good as AWD in the snow hasn't driven any AWD cars.
It's disappointing that the dealer you went to is so grossly misinformed about the cars that he/she is selling.

mander

I run an 09 C4S with Nokian WRs and it is fine up to 6 inches of snow. After that if the snow isn't fresh I begin to worry about going over chunks off other vehicles and high centering. It is quite easy to get the rear end loose but then the 4 kicks in. I still think I would be fine with the 2 but it would just require a bit more attention. Go for 4 if you get any significant snowfall.

CO997

Actually what is frustrating is that is hasn't been just one dealer but 3 so far. They are in 2 different states, Florida and Pennsylvania, and they are giving the exact same answer down to the same 5% figure for transfer of power to the front wheels.
Wouldn't this be documented somewhere, say on the Porsche web site?