RESP

Santastico - we custom ordered our first Porsche and have been very happy for 3 years and over 130,000 km.

You have thought out a lot of the whys of what you want, now go and review the options others have looked at and lived with.

The dark colour exterior - definitely. Get the darker trims if this will make it feel more like your own expression. We have a midnight blue exterior, but I like the silver trim.
Dark interior - you have to live with the family in the car, get what will make it easier to live with. Luckily, we had the dark blue/black 2 tone as an option.

PASM and AS - these are options for driving enjoyment. It was over $3K for us, and I enjoy the value for the price paid. You may not want it every drive, but when you want it, you will regret not having it.

If you aren't going outside your own area, navi isn't going to make much of a difference. We us Navi, but are often driving in very unlocal locations.

We didn't get the roof rails, but I don't use them and didn't want to spoil the looks of the truck.
If you are planning on selling within 5 years of buying, then think about resale options like roof rails and tow package. Otherwise, waste of money.

If it is a choice between seats, get the 14's. The 18's are nice, but the higher hip bolsters will get to you after a few entry and exits. The 8's are okay, but if you want to have some variety, the 14's are a good choice.

Oh, and I was a BMW guy too. We sold a 2001 7 series to go into the Cayenne. The only thing I miss are the seats in the BMW. The extra angle in the top half of the seat back....

Bottom line, order what you want, you have to live with it, not us.

Slow Guy

Personally for me I want the flexibility of adding a roof-top cargo box since the Macan is a smaller SUV and the only reason for that is the dogs ride in the back taking up a good bit of cargo space. I could pull a Romney though........

I may never need it but since it's one of those features that can't be added and it's not that expensive an option.

K-A

What's the closed circuit system on the AS? I heard the AS is an all new system on the Macan. Hopefully it's reliable cause try as I might, the massive wheel gap without it just spoils the entire look of the car.

cviles

I can't speak to the particulars of the Macan's AS; I've just read a few things around the Web touting the merits of the new system. I certainly hope it's reliable as I plan to live with this car for a long time.

Rubik

But seriously guys, PASM is a pricy option; does it make a monumental difference? I'm really thinking hard about this option. For example, I live in Los Angeles county where the pavement is pretty ****ty, so will PASM help make those rough roads smoother? I'll opt for it if it's worth opting for.

K-A

Big time worth it. IMO it's a must. Then another $1,400 on top of it gets you AS and a much nicer lower stance. To me they're worth a lot more than the ripoff $3k infotainment package which get you maybe $200 in true value for something a smartphone does much better.

cviles

Ditto what K-A said. Of all the options available on these cars, that's the one I would recommend without hesitation to anyone buying a new Porsche for the street. It really is worth it, and the PASM on my Carrera has been bulletproof.

K-A

Really agreed. Putting it this way: The Base suspension Macan S I drove, drove great. Suspension felt fine, but limited by the "fixed" nature of it. You could feel the extra bumps when things got extra bumpy, and you can feel it wallowing a tiny bit if you wanted to make sudden movements. Compared to most cars, it's still a very impressive suspension that will give you better dynamics. For example, it felt very similar to my 2013 535i M Sport ride.

Then there's the AS/PASM Macan S I drove. Absolutely blissful in every way, probably the most impressive ride I've ever experienced, when gauging on a sportiness/balance/comfort/refinement scale. The fact that if can also be a worthy off-roading car (something I'd never do) even speaks more volumes towards its overall dynamics. With AS/PASM, if blew the ride of my 5 Series away.

I'd say that PASM is a must for any enthusiast Macan owner seeking a true enthusiast-oriented ride. AS being another $1,400 I think is worth it if you want that extra bit of ride sophistication/smoothness and value the lowered stance, but not a must as much as PASM is.