The funny thing in winter is you see so many SUVs stuck on the rpoad sides because their owners think ghey do not need snow tyres. The C4 goes on.

 

Mine was delivered in November, with winter tires on the 18" rims and in December it snowed record snowfall here in the Puget Sound. So of course, I took the new car out to play in the snow. It was great fun. Even on the ice and compacted snow roads with ruts and all, it kept on going. Of course the Targa only comes as a 4 so I cannot say how it compares with a 2.

The only issues I had are nothing new. In the snow, sharp turns are tricky as the front tires, driven or not, have limited friction with the snow/ice.. so going very slow in sharp turns (90deg) is advised. Once the snow started to melt, the roads were in 6-8 inches of slush, and then the 2nd problem arose.. nothing will climb a slope if its driving with all 4 wheels on slush... water effectively. Getting up my driveway, which is 30 yards of 30-degree incline on exposed-aggregate concrete (ie slippery stone when frozen), was near impossible. Here thinner wheels might help, but I'm not concerned enough to consider replacing the 18" Carrera 3 wheels with some aftermarket thinner wheels. It snows so seldom here to that extent here, and now (after the fact) I have a snow shovel and can deal with the slush buildup.

 

interesting comments. the 30 degree slush thing was where i thought a 4 would excel. from your comments, would i be far off to deduce that the difference between a 2 and a 4 is not so much about manipulating snow as it is the quality of the feel that a 2 or a 4 gives on the road proper?

 

What the 4 gives you essentially is a sense of confidence and security. It is more than psychological. I now live in Switzerland, drive extensively small roads between French and Swiss Alps. You've got snow all right but also frost, fog, wet leaves, animal droppings (no joke) , many slippery conditions that would get you to you hold back in each curve that you don't completely see unless you have 4WD.
Last but not least the weight is better balanced and the car holds its course more steadily on straight lines at high speed.

 

I use Michelin Alpins on OEM 18 inch rims to drive around Calgary in the winter. The traction and performance of the C2S on the snow is amazing.

 

I have a very steep driveway as well, so steep that I can heat it when required. For me, the biggest advantage of AWD over RWD is on inclines when starting and/or going slowly. Often there are patches of ice and patches of snow or clean pavement. When I had RWD and winter tires, I would often have difficulty with the short patches of ice. If I did not have the momentum to traverse the ice patch, BOTH rear wheels would not suffice to get me up the incline (ramps/driveways/subtle inclines). With the C4, and the ability to send the power forward, this rarely happens. Perhaps, the new winter tires are better than in the past as well, but with the Allroad and the C4, I frequently drove around 4WD SUVs on the inclined exit to my neighborhood. Plus, just easily driving away from 4WD pickups at lights (whose tires are as tall as my car) is a hoot!

 

so the practical advantages in terms of winter are 1) being able to enjoy "speed" through snow covered curvy areas such as the alps and 2) traversing relatively steep inclines that have ice and slush patches at slow speeds such as a driveway.

 

I am seriously thinking of driving around on snows this winter unless deep - then the truck comes out.

Both M3s on snows were a hoot.

I just think the Carrera is a car to be driven and not stored in the garage.

My Caymen spent almost a half year waiting to come out.

 

Respecting the comments from our cold-weather forum members (I grew up driving in the US northeast) I'll only add that all of the value of awd is for naught when it comes time to stop. Like many SUV owners who are lulled in to a false sense of security when power is applied, physics makes for some bad mojo when trying to slow down on low friction surfaces.. None of this conflicts with the positive comments about awd, but just adding the rest of the story.

 

Verde is spot on! We all have 4 wheel braking. This is where the winter tires help the most from a safety perspective. You can stop significantly faster than folks with all-season tires. So much so, you have to keep a close eye on what's behind you in traffic when the roads are slick. You learn quickly that you have to allow a lot of extra stopping distance. "Black ice" looks a lot like blacktop - especially at night! Even winter tires aren't much help on it. Snow is much more predictable.

 

and the donuts you can do when you turn the psm off...

get the 4 - add snow tires and you'll be all set for anything that winter throws your way - and you'll have more fun too!

 

I think taking any nice car out in hazardous conditions is a bad idea, not because your car isn't properly equipped, but because other peoples aren't. Just from my experience in daily driving, people are not used to driving around a high performance car, in good or bad weather. They don't realize, for example, that if they're in their big SUV, a 911 can brake in a fraction of the distance, causing an issue if their tailgating you and you stop hard.

The one thing I now do when I go out in an AWD car is shut the "traction control" programs off on any kind of back road driving. The only times I've ever come close to getting into an accident is because of the stupidity of the traction control. If you are going to lose control, it is likely going to be outside of the help of any drivers aids, and all those "aids" are going to do, is prevent you from applying any meaningful throttle. On highway or any other straight driving, it's different, as the controls can correct for minor slip, but the twisties, I trust myself more with.

 

Road & Track did an interesting test some years ago, comparing AWD cars to 2WD cars--asking, how much does awd really help? Given winter tires, the only time they could get an awd to go when a 2wd would not, was on a steep slope when one side had dry road & the other side was on ice. The non-LSD equipped cars simply spun the wheel that was on ice. Other than that, they were surprised that they couldn't create a test that showed the awd cars had a genuine advantage. (They did keep this to essentially "plowed street" scenarios--nothing to do with 4wd w/ high clearance to get through deep snow.)

I've had several AWD & 4WD cars & trucks. They can almost make driving in snow/slush a non-event. But having the engine over the driving wheels is almost as good.

Yet....in the Pacific Northwest, where many people seem to have little experience or common sense about driving in the snow, I've decided that in snow conditions, I'm going to load the rear of my Ford Ranger pu (which has a LSD) with a number of concrete blocks. That will give me enough traction & a car which is relatively disposable if someone rams into it. In this area, I worry more about a terrified/unskilled driver ramming me than the car getting stuck.