JDailey

I messaged you directly. LMK if you have questions.

Paul125

When I ordered my GTS last Dec., the dealership was "requiring" the purchase of the 20k prepaid maintenance (one service only since the 10k service is already included) for about $1,100, in lieu of ADM. I know from my previous Macan, that the 20k service - including brake fluid flush - was like $1k or $700 without changing the brake fluid. As a previous multi-Audi owner, I never paid more than $1k for the 4 year prepaid maintenance, so suffice it to say, you pay a hefty "Porsche premium" for dealer maintenance - I would imagine that the 4-year service plan for the Macan has got to be at least $3-4k.

Tim Cooper

It gets customers who are after a bit more fuel economy and not so bothered about performance. Increased sales help keep prices down for those of us who want to go quicker.

The worst we used to have in UK were Range Rovers converted to a small Peugeot 1.9 diesel, great engine in a 1 tonne hatchback but truly dire in a RR.

WillinEvergreen

Thank you!

peterp

It very much depends what you're looking for in the car. For me, it's a DD SUV and I don't really care much about power. I actually like the Base a lot because it's a bit lighter and the 4-cylinder is pretty torquey (for what it is) in regular driving. When I bought my Q5 in 2012 (that I later traded in for the Macan), I preferred the 2.0 to the Audi 3.0 six. The 2.0 was actually peppier in stop-and-go traffic, but the 3.0 was faster when you put your foot in it. Feel the same way about the Macan Base -- very responsive in normal driving. I had a loaner Macan S, and my wife didn't notice any difference. Put your foot in it the S and it's a different story, of course, but I like the Base a lot for SUV duty.

On the other hand, a friend of mine has a 911r, has owned several of the latest Turbos, and a 458, and others, and he cannot stop talking about his new Macan GTS as a comfortable high performance 911. There is no way he'd be happy in my Base. I'm sure I'd be giddy to own the GTS, but I don't need it for my purposes.

The only thing about the 4 is that it's not as silent/vibration free at idle as any of the 6-cylinders. My 2018 Base also has a tiny bit of a stutter feel in the driveline when turn right from a standstill -- I suspect that might be the transfer case that is known to fail, but haven't looked into it yet.

wwahl

You only have limited years on this planet, and those are compromised by your driving years. When you are within this envelope, do your self a favor and get the car that has soul. That is not a four cylinder ICE.

peterp

I have other cars that have soul, and I like the Base for DD use, so I’m all set. Your priorities are different than mine, and mine are different than yours. Both of us are right (for ourselves).

BMinSFL

I think the soul concept is a misnomer. A car that has "soul" is the exact opposite of the Porsche philosophy. A car should be a machine that communicates every whim of the driver to the road and vice versa. The driver should absolutely and unapologetically conquer this machine and it shouldn't be a sentient being that has its own priorities ( i.e. understeer, numb brake and steering feedback, clunky shift schedules and body roll in the opposite direction you want to go). It should stir the soul of the driver, cater to their whim, clearly transmit human input to the road and not have its own actions. The car should steer, handle, point, accelerate, shift and brake exactly as the driver's soul intends.

schnell

There is a function that moves the wipers up so they clear the hood. Ignition switch on, then off, and push the wiper stalk on the steering column down fully for a second. I find that I need to push down firmly to get it to activate, but it does work.

JDailey

The 4-cylinder vs. 6-cylinder thing has been beaten to death on the forums, but I'll weigh in:

It all depends on your expectations. If your other vehicle is a 911 GTS, you'll find a base Macan slow. My other vehicle is a 2019 Jeep Wrangler with a 3.6L V6 and a six-spd manual. Compared to that, my base Macan is *lightening fast*, nimble, quick, and simply amazing on every dimension (other than going off road to trailheads in the Rockies)!

And the four-cylinder's gas mileage is a nice bonus. Back in 2022, I drove from Palm Springs to Denver in one day -- 1,031 miles, 13 hours, and averaged 80 miles per hour -- all on two tanks of gas. Do I really need anything "faster" when the base does this?



James
Denver, CO

Larson E. Rapp

Some valid points there, but the concept of 'soul' is still useful to describe those aspects of performance that don't show up in the numbers. Frankly, with the 95B.2 generation, the 4-banger base loaners I'd get from the dealer actually had more "soul" than my S, and in a good way. There was a pronounced sensation of lightness up front, in the best Colin Chapman sense, that is taken away by the heavier V6 powertrain. Additionally, whoever tuned the PDK on the 95B.2 S was either asleep at the switch, or was being held at gunpoint by jackbooted thugs from the EPA. The PDK tuning on the base model showed signs that somebody at Porsche actually gave a f--- what they were doing.

Others have commented similarly. When puttering around town, I'd pick the base car any day of the week, just for these reasons.

However, the last loaner I received was a 95B.3, and these sensations -- the "soul" -- were diminished. I don't know if it was the larger wheels (21") or something inherent to the 95B.3 facelift such as revised PDK tuning, but that base model simply did not drive as nicely as the 95B.2 base cars did. If shopping for a used 95B.2, there is a lot to be said for the base model if you're not a John Paul Jones kind of driver. But if shopping for a new 95B.3, I'd have to say give the four-banger a miss. Or at least drive enough examples to understand what actually makes them feel so different.

Great point by JDailey as well... on those thousand-mile days, having to stop for gas three times can make you slower than the guy in the "slower" car who only has to stop for gas twice. I've done similar drives in the 95B.2S, and I've had to go slower than I really wanted to for just that reason, to avoid the extra stop. The difference between 75 MPH and [redacted] MPH really adds up in the V6 models.

clutchplate

I usually don't need to have my soul stirred when I head over to Ace Hardware to buy some nails. The base is fine for that I have another car for stirring things up but if this is your only Porsche and you want a thrill ride the 4 banger isn't going to get you there.

peterp

That is exactly my experience. The Base feels lighter than than S and is at least as responsive as the S in normal driving. I've never really seen anybody who has driven both say anything different. I'm guessing @wwahl
has never driven a Base (though that seems difficult to avoid if he's had loaner cars).

Of course, the GTS Macan does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that time for a not very light ICE SUV. That said, if I put my foot in it more than once a month in the Macan, that's a pretty wild and crazy month for me , so I really do not long for more power at all.

The dealer maintenance gouging has also been the bane of my existence with the Base, which I presume is even worse with the S/GTS. My dealer quote to replace the single air filter on the Base was $625 -- I guess it would be $1250 for both air filters on the S .

dak911

We have been very happy with the 2019 and 2022 S's and will probably order a 2025 in the near future..(Leases)
When we first test drove the Macan's we did drive a Base and the loaners have been Bases..very adequate but for the few times
I have had to "boot it" I do like the extra power, (also 4 exhaust and red calipers ,,)
And, as far as expensive...the Pick up trucks that I see these days probably cost close to the same $
We have the opposite ends of the spectrum in cars the Macan (SUV) and a 2019 911 (Cab, Base, Owned)
Hey it's South Florida!!

peterp

One thing I don't like about the (Base) Macan (and my former 2.0 Q5) is that the electronic oil level gauge does not have any oil level data available, after the oil has been added, until after you have driven around 100 miles. There isn't a more critical time to know what the oil level than after you have added it (e.g. did I add enough, did I add too much).

I thought this was an "academic" concern, because I haven't needed to add oil between service, and was sure the dealers knew how to deal with this. Nope. After the expensive oil change during the 30k at the dealer, two days later I got an "Oil is 1 qt low" message. I bought and added a quart myself instead of going through the hassle of going back to the dealer. Then I had to wait for another couple of days of driving to confirm that the oil level was now fine.

Stupidest design I've ever seen. The 911 electronic oil has a delay on reading oil, but it's very short and gives you a countdown clock -- not a couple of days of driving .