I find the 2.0 engine in my Base Macan as refined as 4-cylinder engines get. I would certainly not call it unrefined...go drive a US domestic 4-cylinder car to experience unrefined.

It is pretty smooth, noises are OK, but I certainly the V6 models have a bit less vibration and more power.....but that's one reason people pay $10K more for them.....

 

Same here. My Base runs smoothly and powerful enough as a city daily driver where speed limits and congested traffic are the real constraints. I did install a pedal commander and drive it in Sport mode most of the time. I would, however, get an S or GTS if my daily driving involved open highways.

 

But realize the Base Macan is generally around 70k (and more after tax and title).

For ~70k, I expect more of a 4 cylinder.

An American 4 cylinder like the Mustang or Camaro are half the price.

 

FWIW, I have a saying. Actually a few. But I digress. The phrase is “Life is Too Short To…. Now you get to fill in the blank.

You don’t like what you bought, change it for what you really want. Life’s too short…

 

I actually paid for my S model around 70k (69ish) after 9% discount. So if you really care about the engine, order a less loaded S and enjoy the engine.

 

My experience is with 3 loaners. The base has engine vibration transmitted to the steering wheel, if you care. Not a quality feel but I don’t expect smoothness from a 4 cylinder. Gas mileage was impressive.

 

I agree that they should have used the 300hp version but something tells me that it would infringe on the S model performance. Peak torque is the same on that 300hp version in the Audi S3 so it's probably very similar other than tuning (peak hp of 265 is 450rpm earlier than the 300 in the Audi) or perhaps a larger turbo. A piggyback tune is super easy to install so that can get you there easily should the owner want more.

$70k is a lot of money for those who really care about the engine pedigree and it's smoothness but the transmission, braking, steering and suspension make up for it when compared to other base 4 cylinder cars.

I bought my example at one year old for 20k less. That's where this trim feels like a much better value. Let those who don't care about the price tag and base designation take the depreciation hit (3rd car for the farm) then the enthusiast can come in and get a better value for the base model. I daily drove a 600hp car for years and barely used the power. I am much happier saving a ton and driving a smaller engine that I can tune a bit for the optimal power for my driving routine.

 

PUSH THE "SPORT" BUTTON AND...

... DRIVE IT IN MANUAL MODE.

 

I concur with Zeus993. I have a 2023 base loaner from the dealer this week, and drove it around just to see what it was like, and I was pretty impressed. I did put it in Sport and always use the paddles to shift, and I found it surprisingly nice to drive. The steel suspension and taller sidewalls handled urban streets unexpectedly well (I am used to air suspension on my '21 GTS). On steep hills around here, it seemed geared lower and had plenty of pep.

I wouldn't swap my GTS for it, but it was worthy of the Porsche badge. Funny thing about this loaner: it is otherwise a bare configuration, but has the Burmester audio system!

 

Yes. 100% normal. Trade it for an S. I never even considered the underpowered base.