Mark in Baltimore

Yeah, but would you buy the Macan again?

siberian

This will be the last car for my wife given her age as we tend to keep cars for a long time (over 10 years). As for me, I'm hoping to swap my RS5 for a 992C4.

So the answer is "no", and the Treg stays as long as I can find parts (mainly electronic and the hydraulic pump hatch opener which I'll have to replace soon but the part is no longer made due to a fall out between the manufacturer and VDub) :-)

siberian

Mark in Baltimore

LOL, okay, how about this scenario? Let's say a tree fell on the Macan while it was parked. If your Macan were to be totaled, if your wife needed her own vehicle after the accident and if you could buy either a new Macan or a pre-owned one, would you buy one again? i.e. are you happy enough with the Macan that you would buy another one or do you dislike it enough to not consider another one?

siberian

I see your point. So in the case you suggest, I would very reluctantly LEND her the Touareg, not sink another 75k or so for a new or used. Remember, the cheapest car you'll ever own is the one you have. And the V8 has been so modified and coddled that it's good for another 300k miles on top of the 81k it has.

The reason I looked for another car for her is that I had already reverse engineered so many options on her V6 FSI that the ones I really needed to do like blind spot monitoring, cornering lights... would be very expensive and cumbersome {the blind spot monitoring means dropping the entire rear, installing two radars, cabling, reprogramming, changing out the top half of both external mirrors...}. When I retrofitted the heated steering it was about 800 bucks with the steering wheel coming from Poland, clockspring etc. not including my labor). There's a point where it's no longer sensible not to mention some items can't be retrofitted. So after much research, and since I'm going to be the one maintaining the vehicle I saw the Macan S (not the GTS or Turbo) as fitting the bill.

Don't get me wrong. The Macan is a great car for what it is, not what people think they can make it do. Is a dual turbo really worth it at 100K+ for a small SUV? It's got great styling (for German stilling it's one of the most refreshing since the BMW850 and the i8). But it's expensive for what it is, the back is cramped and IMHO a non starter for 4 or 5 adults for a long trip. As you outfit the car you can see where Porsche makes it's margins, whilst Ferrari has a 31%+ profit margin, the resale value stays up there. Not sure a 2020 Macan S or GTS 5 or 7 years down the road will hold its resale value.

Lastly my wife loved her Touareg and really didn't want me to sell her V6 so if there were a catastrophe, she'd be OK with my 2008 :-).

Given I have options, I doubt I'd sink another 75-80k into another Macan nor other car for that matter.

Now if I had no options (meaning no Touareg to pass on to her), yes I would buy another one just NEVER from the dealer I bought it from.

Best from 65 North

siberian

Mark in Baltimore

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/1b7c55b...2-c26e36d88645

Juuuuust kidding.

siberian

siberian

OliverK68

Based on?

siberian

x2

siberian

c1pher

I was searching for a Macan GTS but it was hard to find with the options I wanted. I ended up finding a CPO 2017 Macan Turbo. So far, after about a year and a half, I am very pleased with it. I honestly can’t think of another (similar) vehicle I’d replace it with. So far it’s been trouble free. I’ve been to Florida and back once and Illinois three times. It just eats up the pavement. It’s luxurious and quiet enough, but fast and crazy when you want it to be.

I’m thinking I might get a Macan EV when it comes out, but will see.

Liste-Renn

Sorry about your fire evacuation.

It handles Mulholland Highway quite well.
(For you non- Southern Californians, it is an epic road that dances through the Malibu Canyons.)

I test drove a 2018 Macan GTS from Porsche Woodland Hills when I was shopping for a Euro Delivery build slot back in 2017. A friend and I left our driver's licenses and took it out, without a SA, for over an hour.

It was Carmine red and very well equipped: air suspension, PASM, Sport Chrono, PTV+, etc., etc.

In SPORT+ mode, lowest suspension setting and firmest shock setting, it just blew me away. Like it was connected by a rope to an anchor inside the curve's apex. Not 911 great, but damn impressive for a 4000lb CUV.

The Porsche Torque Vectoring (brakes the inside rear wheel in a turn when driving aggressively) in conjunction with the electronic LSD (the "+" in PTV+) is a bit of sheer magic/engineering brilliance. The Macan rotates mid apex, instead of under-steering.

Here is a description of that system, also the LSD interface:

https://www.porschefremont.com/porsc...que-vectoring/

We turned off paved Mulholland and explored dirt fire roads in the OFF ROAD mode, insane grades, washboard rain grooved embankments, deep ruts and lots of loose gravel in low spots. Nothing upset it.

Months later, picking up my GTS in Germany, I rode along with a Porsche driver on the FISA certified track at Leipzig. He did things with a Macan turbo that totally amazed me.

We let two 991.1 GT3RS pass us, then he asked "Do you want to go GT3 hunting?" with a maniacal grin. Granted, the track was set up as a shorter course, and the GT3s were an instructor with a new customer following- but we caught them, easily. To do it, we took lines over every curbing and straight over the cones that defined a 90 left/ 90 right/ 90 right/ 90 left chicane. Diners up in the restaurant must have been quite amused watching an CUV tailgating two ultraviolet GT3's.

No sane individual would drive a Macan S/ GTS/ turbo/ turbo PP at 10/10ths on public roads. But if you did, it would blow you away.

Don't believe me? Here is Hurley Haywood at Willow Springs back in 2015:

I remembered the off road excursion off Mulholland, and was eager to ride along on the off-road demo track at Leipzig. The same instructor also drove the same Macan turbo on the Gellände (off-road) engineered demonstration course- and scared the crap out of me. We were airborne on two occasions. He told me that after 1000+ demos, he can drive it blindfolded. I believe him.

Amazing technology:
On low friction or extreme terrain, the drive train provides power to whatever wheel(s) have traction- it can send up to 100% of the torque to one wheel. The HILL mode allows steep descents without use of brakes. It raises 9 1/2 inches up in OFF ROAD mode (with air suspension).

Talk about sure-footed. It's capability is far beyond what 99.9% of American drivers will ever ask of it.

The Macan is truly a Swiss Army knife vehicle, with few compromises.

It's not a "North Pole" vehicle, nor a tow truck, nor a cargo hauling step van, nor a vehicle to comfortably carry 4 large adults for any great distance, nor a dedicated track toy.

It is a vehicle that can absolutely thrill you driving up into mountains or down into canyons- and also capably take you off road, as well. Your 911 cannot do that, nor your Toureg, Cayenne (perhaps the newest version can), nor your Jeep, Lexus, Tesla, etc. etc.

My wife drives a Ford Edge Sport- no comparison, on or off road.

I rented a Land Rover Evoque for two weeks in Germany- no comparison on road, never drove it on gravel or unimproved roads.

I rented an Alfa Stelvio for two weeks in Italy- great on road (until it broke) and just meh off road.

Never drove a BMW X5, but rode in a friend's. He has never taken it off road with his 22' wheels, and does not like it in snow.

The Macan is a mass produced vehicle with little caché- but it can be optioned ($$$) into an amazing vehicle.
Buying a base model and complaining about the power, or a lightly optioned S, misses out on the potential of this chassis.

So, yeah, I'd buy one again. Absolutely. Until something better comes along. And so far, it hasn't.

#1SomeGuy

Comparing in favourable terms a base model Macan to an M3 in terms of power/acceleration.

OliverK68

To clarify, I’m referring to this part of your post:

”The base model is not nearly enough power to move such a heavy vehicle.”

siberian

A great write-up, Liste-Renn, but what relevance to practical real world needs or requirements for someone buying an SUV?

Should be fun up Tantalus (yes, we're from Hawaii) but if I'm really interested in the rest of what you've described I'll get a 992.

siberian

Liste-Renn

Yo, my Macan GTS (and 997 GTS) is in SoCal.
A Macan is not an SUV, it is a CUV.

I thought my response was clear about the Macan's capability BOTH on and off road.
Also that it is not a replacement for a 992.

This thread is about buying a Macan again, not replacing it with a 911 or something to tow above the arctic circle.

siberian

It can't tow below the arctic either But you're right, it's about buying another one not what it can or can't do.

siberian