Once upon a time a sports car company built an SUV. This made a lot of people very angry, but it also made a lot of other people very, very happy.
Fortunately for the sports car company, the people it made happy bought quite a lot of them, saving the company from almost certain financial ruin and everyone lived happily ever after.
Well… obviously the angry people probably didn’t, but then even a few of them were probably eventually won over by the Porsche Cayenne. Because, if not, they are about to get even angrier thanks to the launch of Porsche’s second, slightly smaller SUV – the Macan.
What is it?
See above – ostensibly the Macan is Porsches even-sportier mid-size SUV, but then even they admit that it is not a hell of a lot smaller than a Cayenne. It is damn near as wide and almost as tall as the Cayenne, but the biggest difference comes at the rear where the Macan has a shorter wheelbase, less rear overhang and overall length and a more steeply raked rear hatch.
The Macan will land in New Zealand as two models with three different engines. First up is the Macan S that is available with a choice of either a 250kW/460Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 or a 190kW/580Nm 3.0-litre variable turbine turbo diesel. Both engines are hooked up to Porsche’s 7-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive system.
The Macan S comes standard with bi-xenon automatic headlights, an electric tailgate, automatic dual zone climate control, cruise control, 14-way adjustable electric front seats, a 7-inch touch screen that doubles as the display for the satellite navigation and backing camera, 19-inch alloy wheels, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and a multi-function steering wheel with shift paddles.
The Macan S with the diesel engine will cost $118,000, hits the legal speed limit in 6.3 seconds and consume 6.1L/100km of fuel, while the petrol costs $121,000, hits 100km/h in 5.4 seconds and downs 8.7L/100km of petrol.
The second model in the line up is the Macan Turbo that packs a 3.6-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 with 294kW of power and 550Nm of torque. The turbo 3.6 is also hooked up to the 7-speed PDK transmission and the 4WD system and will do the 0 to 100 sprint in 4.8 seconds, while its fuel consumption is a combined figure of 9.1L/100km.
The Macan Turbo comes standard with an impressive amount of standard kit on top of the S spec, including air suspension (optional on S models) with PASM, 20-inch alloy wheels, Porsche’s active Dynamic Lighting System, 18-way adaptive electric front heated seats, a Bose surround sound audio system, an Alcantara roof lining and a brushed aluminium interior trim package. The Turbo hits the streets at $156,000.
What’s it like?
Very impressive indeed.
We drove all variants of the Macan from Auckland to Rotorua in some fairly horrendous conditions and the Macan proved to be almost the perfect form of transport – confident, comfortable, sure-footed and very quick.
First up we tried a petrol Macan S with optional air suspension (among many, many other options). The petrol engine is belligerent and strong, with a deep bellow that resonates pleasantly in your head (and, to be honest, in your trouser area as well…). It belts off the line with supreme authority and the 7-speed PDK transmission is an absolute slick and fast wonder of engineering.
Next up was the Turbo and what an absolute belter it was. The extra grunt from the bigger, more powerful V6 left you in no doubt that this was a “proper” Porsche (not that the S did a bad job of that anyway) and the incredible seats kept you securely held in place at all times.
Then we drove the S Diesel, both equipped with the optional air suspension and with the standard steel springs, and we have to admit, the steel sprung car easily won us over.
While the air suspension is good, the standard steel sprung car had a remarkable feeling of well set up purity about the way it handled. It felt lither and more eager than the air suspension-equipped cars, and was an utter delight to throw into a corner.
Not that the air suspension-equipped cars were slouches either, for that matter, as the Macan boasts a wonderfully responsive chassis and sharp, eager steering. Body roll is virtually non-existent and the Macan behaves and responds like a car that is not only much smaller, but also much, much lower and considerably more sports car-like.
What’s good about it?
A fantastic interior with an awesome stereo and some damn good seats is a good start. It looks the way the Cayenne probably should have in the first place. All engines in the line up are impressive, with the Turbo boasting the most impressive one. Huge quality all-round. Fun to drive and practical.
What’s not so good?
If you are a purist; the entire concept of a Porsche SUV. It is still a rather large car, where we were hoping for something more VW Tiguan-sized.
First impressions?
As quite often is the way with these things, we came away from the launch of the Macan loving the cheapest and dearest variants the most. The basic $118,000 diesel on steel springs is a pure, chuckable and thoroughly enjoyable thing, with more than enough standard spec to keep you completely happy for the dollars asked. While the $156,000 Turbo is a belligerent belter with proper high-speed trans-continental cruising abilities and a serious turn of handling when required.
The Macan is a deeply impressive SUV that deserves to sell in equally impressive numbers for Porsche. And that is a very good thing, even for the angry purist, because as long as Porsche ploughs that money back into making sports cars then we can all live happily ever after.
Models/prices
Macan S Diesel – $118,000
Macan S – $121,000
Macan Turbo – $156,000
Powertrain
3.0-litre V6 diesel turbo producing 190kW/580Nm; 7-speed dual clutch transmission; four-wheel drive (S Diesel), 3.0-litre V6 petrol turbo producing 250kW/460Nm; 7-speed dual clutch transmission; four-wheel drive (S), 3.6-litre V6 petrol turbo producing 294kW/550Nm; 7-speed dual clutch transmission; four-wheel drive (Turbo)
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km (S Diesel), 8.7L/100km (S), 9.1L/100km (Turbo)
CO2 emissions: 159g/km (S Diesel), 204g/km (S), 213g/km (Turbo)
Safety
ANCAP/EuroNCAP rating: Five stars
Air bags: 8
Stability control: yes
Lap/diagonal belts: 5
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