Winter Season with Heavy Snow Stick with Taycan or Get a Used Macan for Winter?

[bdy0627]

I'm near Green Bay in Wisconsin where it gets quite cold for about 5 months, usually with quite a bit of snow. I have a Taycan 4S and could get winter tires for it. I feel confident it would perform well in plowed or lightly covered streets. I have two concerns for driving it throughout the winter as my daily. On heavy snow days where there hasn't been much plowing yet, the Taycan's lowered stance compared with an SUV is a disadvantage. Also, if I drive it all winter it will undoubtedly sustain substantial wear and tear from the salt, snow, and ice. I drive about 20,000 miles per year. I'm debating using the Taycan all year vs getting a used Macan for winter driving to reduce the wear and tear on my $120k+ Taycan. I'm sure the Macan does well in heavy snow and it would help with resale down the road to reduce the miles on the Taycan by about half. However, I would then need to keep the Taycan battery and 12v battery charged. And, of course, I would need to buy a used Macan, which is likely to cost me $40k+ depending. Any thoughts from others who live in areas with lots of cold temps and snow? Thanks.

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[nickmdp]

This video was all I needed to see before committing to my GTS ST as my year round daily driver:


I can't speak from personal experience yet, but by the look of it, it absolutely slays in the snow.

 

[satchurator]

Had a great winter in the US NorthEast with my CT4. Multiple ski trips to the White Mountains in all kinds of conditions. Get a second wheel set with winter tires, raise the air suspension for the deeper stuff. My CT4 was easily on par with my Cayenne Diesel of the past.

 

[kort]

if you put proper snow tires on the car the car will drive fine in snow. you will take a bit of a range hit because of the temps.

 

[tayCanadian]

i dont plan on driving mine in the winter, so i'm going to go with the used Macan option if you've got the funds. or even get something cheaper, that performs well in winter snow, like a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

 

[bdy0627]

What about the salt causing deterioration? Anyone have a strategy for that? Car wash every couple weeks in winter? Just don't worry about it? This is my first $100k+ vehicle so I'm a little worried about the winter salt on it.

 

[bdy0627]

Also, as far as raising the car up in winter. As far as I can tell, the higher suspension mode automatically lowers above 15 mph. Do you mean just keeping it in standard height and not going into sport mode?

 

[Sidicks]

I‘d either get proper winter tyres for the Taycan or add a ‘proper’ winter car for bad weather - Jeep, Landrover etc. I don’t think the Macan solution will be a huge step up over a Taycan with the right tyres.

 

[JimBob]

Ask @FrozenRobert . He's in Winnipeg and he's colder than you are.

 

[nickmdp]

What about the salt causing deterioration? Anyone have a strategy for that? Car wash every couple weeks in winter? Just don't worry about it? This is my first $100k+ vehicle so I'm a little worried about the winter salt on it.

How long do you plan to own it? If less than 8 years, I suspect you'll never need to worry about salt. The underside is more or less just a few smooth panels, with a bit of suspension visible from what I've seen. If you're worried about the paint, PPF and/or ceramic coatings would help out there.

Honestly, I'd worry more about the harsh chemicals, recirculated water, and drying towels with grit in them that a good handful of typical car washes have.

 

[satchurator]

Also, as far as raising the car up in winter. As far as I can tell, the higher suspension mode automatically lowers above 15 mph. Do you mean just keeping it in standard height and not going into sport mode?

I mean temporarily raising the suspension or configuring for higher ride height. My Cross Turismo has Gravel mode which puts the suspension in the High setting, but even that is speed dependent. If you have Sport Chrono specced on your sedan, you could configure your individual mode for snow driving - maxing the suspension height.

Where I live, roads tend to be well plowed, and I only encounter deeper snow on ski trips or perhaps an unplowed driveway. If I encounter 6+ inches of fresh snow, I tend not to be driving fast. If zipping through deep snow is going to be a regular thing for you, then yeah you might want a Macan/skidoo/huskies!

 

[stirthepot]

EVs in general are terrific in the snow, motors at the axles/wheels with no typical standard transmission etc allow the traction control systems to respond so much quicker than a typical drivetrain in an ICE car.

I would run dedicated winter rubber, all seasons can get by but are always a compromise in both summer and winter. I always prefer having high performance tires for the warm and snows in the winter.

 

[TDinDC]

You don't need a Macan for that. As others are saying, good, real snow tires are what's needed.

I used to drive my low ground clearance RWD 911 all winter, including through a few blizzards of 33" of snowfall. With real snow tires, it was a blast and I handled the snow better in the 911 than most did in SUVs with all season tires.

Ok, Ground clearance was an issue at times, but not bad enough to need to get a separate car (unless you are just looking for a justification, in which case, ABSOLUTELY you need another Porsche!!!!).

 

[satchurator]

Ok, Ground clearance was an issue at times, but not bad enough to need to get a separate car (unless you are just looking for a justification, in which case, ABSOLUTELY you need another Porsche!!!!).

What we need is the burnished steel front spoiler snowplow option for $3000 ($4500 in black chrome).

 

[TDinDC]

What we need is the burnished steel front spoiler snowplow option for $3000 ($4500 in black chrome).

Agreed. I will say that it is so much more enjoyable misbehaving in the snow in an "inappropriate" sports car than in an appropriate SUV. You can't imagine the looks on faces when the streets were empty except for me throwing up snow rooster tails and Scandinavian flicks around all of the corners!

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