Any opinions on how important sports exhaust, air suspensions and GT steering wheel are for a Macan S?

must have? Good to have? Or waste of money?

 

The air suspension is a must have. The sport exhaust is only if you like that. But air suspension sets the Macan apart from the competition…go test drive one with it. It’s amazing!

 

You didnt mention it, but PLDS+ is a strong recommendation from me. The lights are great and worth it if you can get them. They arent cheap, but some of the best headlights I have used.

And not sure what the pricing packages are these days, but if you are spec'ing up an S, it might be worth looking at a GTS if there is a deal to be had. There is a gap but when you start adding extras, its worth checking what comes as standard on the GTS.

 

Air suspension is worth it according to most that have it. PSE is nice, but not worth it for many.

 

Having just gone through this (purchasing used), my list was:

1. Torque Vectoring+
2. Air suspension
3. Adaptive cruise
4. Lane Centering
5. PSCD brakes
6. Sport Chrono

I ended up passing on Sport Chrono, just because the build I settled on didn't have it, which I'm glad about because it's an easy retrofit through InnovativeSoft. If I had it to do again, I would pass on the PSCD brakes. Sure, they are zero dust, but the brake feel leaves a lot to be desired. The lane centering from Porsche is really weak. Much better on Audi. So I would pass on that if I had it to do again.

Air Suspension and PTV+ are both really important features in my opinion.

 

I just got delivery of a Macan S that I ordered to my specifications. I would say air suspension is a must and is a good deal for the money. Although you didn't mention it, I would also get the noise and heat insulating glass. We have it on my wife's MB E-class and also got it on the Macan and it makes a big difference both in terms of noise and heat. The E-class is white with ivory leather interior and we have never closed the sun shade for the sunroof. I would also recommend the electric steering column and the rear side window blinds. Both are pretty reasonably priced (which is unusual for Porsche). In fact, other than the $420 leather owners' manual case, the options are pretty reasonably priced, it's just that most things that are optional should be standard in a car of this price. I had $14k worth of options on my Macan S, and I was being careful in terms of what I ordered.

 

Interesting... Ordering a SUPER expensive vehicle with high performance (in its class) but focusing on noise insulation glass, sun shades, electric steering column and other fluff features. (and putting the E-class in the same sentence )
IMO, the MUST features for this kind of vehicle are: Air suspension + PASM, PTV+, Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust (opposite from Noise insulating glass), Sport seats, and good wheels/tires and brakes

 

I wanted all the luxury features that I've gotten used to over the years of owning Mercedes' and Jaguars.

 

I like to have these as well. We don't want every single drive to be loud and exciting. Sometimes you are driving for 8 hours on boring roads, in traffic, and there the priorities change... I get it.

 

One note on the seats. I have found that the Sport Seats are pretty aggressive on the side bolsters. I'm not a big guy... 6' tall and 165 lbs, and the bolsters get kind of annoying after a while. I honestly wish I could relax the bolsters along my back a bit more. The "seat" bolsters are fine. Just something to note. Try the seats before you buy.

 

I specced my '23 S with every performance option other than sport exhaust. I have the air suspension, PTV+ and Sport Chrono. I also specced the Premium Package +, which at the time included the sunroof, Bose stereo, heated front & rear seats, ventilated front seats, 14-way seats (I went for the 18-way sports seats for an additional $380), PDLS+ and blind spot monitoring. I also added the heated steering wheel, heated windshield and the Leather Package in Black/Bordeaux with the dark walnut trim.

 

Picked up a door at Lowes this week, drove home with the rear hatch slightly open and it was the first time I've really heard the exhaust. Generally love PSE but not sure it's worth it in car this quiet.

 

I would agree with that. Aside from the fact that this car is very well insulated and you don't hear the exhaust that much, even in Sport mode, the note is a bit too much in the mid-range compared to other Porsches. It basically sounds like a slightly droney version of an Audi SQ5 to me. I think the Audi exhaust actually sounds better! But a small sacrifice for an otherwise amazing vehicle.

 

Air ride is a must.

Porsche has the best air suspension among the three German brands. S-Class hydraulic suspension could be a cut above, but is not apples-apples when talking about SUVs.