On dry summer roads can you actually feel the difference between a C2/C2S and a C4/C4S? Can you 'feel' the AWD on perfectly warm dry roads? or is it purely a snow, wet roads thing? If you can feel it, does the AWD take away anything in terms of enjoyment on a nice dry road?
Can't speak for a C2 vs. C4 but I could sure tell I had quattro on the TT. Cornering was very sure footed on the dry. Makes
Launch
Control all the more effective - I had a DSG S-Tronic transmission. The TT had a strong bias toward the front (Haldex) but would shift a considerable amount of power to the rear wheels when the situation called for it.
Now that I'm driving a CR, I would argue that the quattro offset a lot of handling issues with the TT - particularly with the heavy V6 hanging out front. Issue the
Cayman
does not have because it is simply a better handling car.
The answer depends on how you're driving and what you enjoy.
The short version is that if you drive with PSM on and you don't try aggressive car control maneuvers, you will rarely feel much difference.
In more detail :
Under normal/mild driving, the only difference you would feel is the steering of the C4 has slightly more weight to it. The dynamics are basically identical under normal driving, it's still rear-engined, and 95% of the power goes to the rear wheels.
Where you will start to feel a difference on dry roads is when you are close to the limit (with PSM off), or doing strange things to the traction. Then the issue of whether you have
LSD
or not is just as important as the 2 vs 4 issue.
Typically when you break the rear loose in the 4, you can hang out the tail briefly, but then the 4wd kicks in more and you either go into a four-wheel understeer slide or you straighten out.
BTW big difference from the .1 to a .2 ; the .2 is more like
Audi
4wd that sort of just takes care of everything. The .1 is much more analog and delayed.
The 4 sometimes makes you feel like a hero, but it can also sometimes make things worse. All
911
's suffer from understeer when driven "wrong" , that is if you have the weight off the front when you need steering grip - the 4 is the same but even worse.
For example if you come into a hairpin - you have to come in fast and brake hard and late to load up the front. If you fail to do that, you won't have enough weight to the front and you will just wash out with understeer (and you can't fix it with throttle in a 4 the way you can in a 2).
^^^ I would actually disagree that you can't recover understeer with throttle in the 4. I do it all the time in my 2009 C4S . Breaking it loose is not that easy to start with as the thing sticks like superglue, but it can be done. Just turn off the nanny and it gets real fun real fast. As far as making you feel like a hero? It does that and more. The 4s inspires ALOT of confidence when taking a hairpin fast. Thankfully the sport seats are very deep and bolstered well because there are times where I swear I feel like I am going to fly out the top of my car I hit turns so fast , and it sticks....like glue. I love this freaking car!
Ditto these comments.
When I first decided on a
911
as a replacement for my '
06 Cayman S
, I looked at and extensively compared both the C2S & C4S. For me the C4S was just the better feeling car,.....and yes you can feel the difference in just about every sort of driving environment. IMO the C4S just feels more planted in all situations, even on a dry road where coming out of sharp turns you can feel all four wheels clawing at the pavement, subtle, but definitely there.
I drove a new c2 and a new c4 back to back at Monticello,
porsche
-sponsored. This was very far from all out, but track nonetheless. The difference in feel is very noticeable, the c2's steering is delightful. I don't know if one is faster or the other, but I know which one put a smile on my face. I had a
cayman
for five years and went to a c2. If I had to get something else, I'd go back to a
cayman
. No c4 for me.
And that seems to be the dilemma when considering each,....there is really no right or wrong answer here. Some people enjoy the "lively" steering of the C2 and the ability to slide the rear out at will, others such as myself want the more planted feeling of the C4.
Strange, I had my
Cayman
for 4 years and would not have gone to a
911
if the C4 was not available, to me it felt most like the
Cayman
with more power. The C2 felt too loose in the front to be as enjoyable. You just have to drive the two and see which one gives you the most grins. I don't think you will be sorry either way.
That's why you test drive first and then pick your beast. Not to prod the c2, but I will make one last little point about the c2 vs c4 that really helped me instantly pull the trigger on my 4. Look at my avatar picture and you will know what I mean. Nice hips
Absolutely! Yes it's a pretty minor detail, but it turns the already great looking C2 rear into an awesome looking rear.
Porsche
got this one just right with the slight extra width and the rear reflector. It was about 33% why I chose a C4 also.
Ok who says you can't get the back out in a C4?
2007 Porsche Carrera 4S - doughnuts in the snow - YouTube
