the_bode

Hello,

I've been a Nissan enthusiast for 10+ years, from my first '03 350Z through my most recent '13 GT-R. But eventually life catches up to you, and now I find myself in my 40s with an amazing kindergartener of a son, and with many a road trip in my future, the GT-R just doesn't cut it as a daily driver. So I placed an order for a '16 Macan Turbo and intend to trade in Godzilla for... er... an SUV?

I know it's a long shot, but anyone here went from a car that does 0-60 in under 3s to a Macan Turbo and found it to be tolerable? Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

P.S.: Please, no badge snobbery. My fun car is a 458 Italia, so settle down.

tcsracing1

with a 458 in the driveway you will not miss the GTR.
Macan turbo will keep you happy as a GTR replacement and a family hauler all in one.

Nice choice.

Powereng

You have a great toy for the weekends, the turbo is atleast some fun, not as much as a sports car but darn good for a SUV.

djlynch

Traded a 991 for Macan Turbo. Love the practicality and ability to drive anywhere. You'll love it.

Sven76

Not sure you love it. Colleague of mine has a GT-R, a supercharger C6Z06 and now as company car a Macan Turbo. The Vette is is much loved high speed Autobahn weekend toy, and the GT-R was his DD, will go soon (leased for as long asthe warranty lasts...). He finds the Macan dull. Too perfect, GT-R is such a beast with all the mechanical noises etc. need to test it yourself...

NateOZ

Add Macan S and keep GTR imo. My wife's car is a Macan Turbo - as suggested above it is kind of dull. We're about to add a GLA45 which based on test driving it was more fun than the Macan so is worth checking out. I have my toy cars in addition to these, but not child friendly.

roule

Since you can't bring the whole family along in the 458, you should probably give that away. I have garage space for it. /s

But seriously, for kid hauling duties and family road trips, I can't think of a better new vehicle available in the USA than the Macan. It's a totally different class than the GT-R but for your new life, but it's a better choice for a parent.

All that said, I am finding that all this modern tech that Nissan and Porsche and others are stuffing into their cars are increasing dynamic performance at the loss of the fun of driving. In that respect, too, the Porsche now resembles the GT-R. One might argue that a family could have more fun with a less capable vehicle, the way Jeep owners love their crude WW2 era buggies because they can go anywhere and abuse their vehicles and not feel bad about mud and scratches and, yes, all the damage that kids will do.

But if you expect more performance and polish than a Jeep or Mazda CX-5 and don't mind dealing with kid damage, the Porsche makes sense.

In Europe, the story is different. There you can have your cake and eat it too. Several sportwagons there are about as roomy as the Macan but offer as good or superior dynamic performance. The Audi RS4 Avant (450hp) or RS6 Avant (560hp) each offer better chassis dynamics on the road than any utility vehicle, just as much grip all 4 seasons as any SUV, and vastly superior aero given their much lower stance. Such a shame that North Americans are not worthy......

signes

We do get the E63S, would be nice to have the Audis, too.

roule

True, the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG 4MATIC Wagon is a beast. The in S-model spec, it offers 577 HP and 590 lb-ft torque, which will leave practically any car, including Porsches, in its dust ... in a straight line. I wonder why prospective Macan Turbo buyers aren't cross-shopping this.

cviles

Driver involvement. Mercedes builds some great engines, but their cars don't have a reputation for being very rewarding to drive. Just look at the Top Gear reviews of hot Mercs and almost all of them complain about numb steering, difficult handling, intrusive electronic nannies, etc.

Mercedes has always been more luxury than performance, and Porsches are more performance than luxury. Porsches may or may not be seriously fast in a straight line, but they can all handle a corner well.

roule

Absolutely spot on, cviles. I recall Clarkson on Top Gear driving an AMG Merc and the traction control nannies were constantly intruding. Of course, without protection, a drop of rain on real world roads can render a 500+ HP car almost undrivable on street tires. That's why almost all supercars are AWD these days. In my experience, the Audi Avants are extremely rewarding to drive, but even those suffer from too much understeer. They are touring cars, not sports cars.

My mind is still not made up on the Macan. For a company that supposedly prioritizes sportscar reflexes and driver enjoyment, the Macan just feels porky, like the Cayennes do. More power doesn't fix this, as the Turbo is no more fun to drive than the S.

Perhaps as much as anything I am disappointed that magazine after magazine ranks the GLA a better drive than the Macan -- and they are right. The GLA is not as good a vehicle, but for a 4-season daily driver for those who don't use the back seats for adults, people should cross-shop.

I really hope Porsche ups the ante instead of coasting along assuming that the initial sales surge means the Macan is perfect. It isn't. It needs a diet and a manual transmission in the worst way.

roule

I should clarify -- the Macan is still the best midsize ute offered in the USA. But the USA doesn't get hardly any lightweight, responsive drivers cars. So comparing the porky Macan to the uber-porky utes that most porky people in the USA drive, there's no surprise that Porsche didn't feel the need to work very hard on keeping mass down. But they should, because do to otherwise is to go against Porsche's sporting heritage.

cviles

I'll agree, as much as I like mine the Macan could use a diet. I expect Porsche to have much more input on the platform the next iteration is based on and there will be some serious weight savings.

I don't think there's much chance the Macan will ever get a manual transmission, though. The American market leans heavily towards automatics, and even the 911s, Boxsters, and Caymans sell with PDKs more than manuals. Plus, PDKs get better fuel economy so there's pressure there to help out with CAFE. It's a shame, I miss the anti-theft device called a "manual transmission" my Carrera and Boxster had.

tcbrown

Just got back from a Porsche driving tour in southern France. We were driving brand new Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolets. The two guides from Porsche ran Macans, one Turbo and one S. The roads were insane, with the last day run on section of the Monte Carlo rally.
Guides obviously great drivers and they new the roads. However, in a real world situation it was no piece of cake keeping up with them.
These things driven well will embarrass a lot of "less porky" sports cars.

Rubik

Thank you! I feel a lot better knowing that my car has a lot more capability than my ability as a driver!