I purchased a new 2023 base Macan in January and am very disappointed in the engine. When accelerating it sounds and feels terrible. Vibration, unpleasant sound and lack of acceleration. Wish I would have bought the S. Is this normal?
Thank You

 

I can't comment on the sound. It depends on what you're comparing it to. Pedal Commander/Booster makes a huge difference, eliminating the terrible factory throttle response. When I put my Base in Sport mode, it is plenty fast for me, but I only drive in the city.

 

I don't get any strange vibrations from mine, it's reasonably smooth. The sound isn't going to win any contests though and the power is adequate although it needs to be in sport or sport plus mode to not feel slow.

 

Did you not test drive a 2.0 before you bought????

 

over the years I had at least four base Macan as loaner, they range from MY 2020 to 2023, one is brand new, one has 66 miles, two has less than 700, I spent no less than 100 miles on each one of them, one even over 800 miles.
what I want to say is they all have some sort of severe vibration from the engine at a certain RPM range, for that reason alone I would never consider a base model.

 

I did not test drive it, I was in the hospital at the time, but my wife did and she loved it! No vibration, fast and smooth. When I did drive it I was disappointed, but figured I could live with it. I was wrong! I am now ready to trade it in for a S or a Cayenne.

 

You have answered your own questions.

 

I test drove a base Macan to see if I could live with it for my wife’s vehicle. I could not. I had the same experience with it. Not very Porsche like. We ordered a 2024 Macan S that should be delivered in the next week. Definitely felt like a quality package.

 

Really sorry to hear about your experience. Good news is that right now dealers in Southern California give you up to 10% discount on all 23 macan and cayenne in their inventory and I can imagine it will be the same most places in the country.

It seems that people are either base people or they are not. I wanted since the beginning the S because of the sound and because of the fact that this probably the best value sports car/suv on the market. I got 9% off MSRP on my S and couldn't be happier.

 

I had a base Macan as a loaner.

If that was my only experience with a Porsche, I would never had stepped foot into another Porsche dealership, much less bought one of their vehicles.

 

No issues with my 2021. It's super smooth, sounds great and has good response, torque and acceleration. I had the same impressions from the the 2023 loaner I drove.

 

I've driven a base Macan as a loaner and it was... fine. Definitely notice the lack of power and it does not sound great. I personally would never consider getting anything below an S but I understand the appeal of the base, especially the price point for someone trying to get into a Porsche.

 

I guess I am the outlier. My 2023 is just fine and is perfect for what I wanted as a daily driver. I have never noticed anything like what most folks are describing. Is it because this is what I wanted and am accepting of it or something else? All I can say is my base 2023 is smooth, peppy enough for what I do and sport mode is sufficient, for me, when I need it. This vehicle was never intended to be a "sports (car) vehicle", I have a Corvette for that. But as my grocery getter and long trips, it's perfect. Especially considering I am getting much better gas mileage than the ratings suggested I would get.

 

Make that two of us. It's not a rocket ship but quite quick and smooth. My 2021 Base is a great little car. I like the sounds it makes on upshifts in Sport mode. I have a 2018 911 if I want to go faster.

 

I wish it sounded a little better, but otherwise, I’m pretty happy with my 2023 4cyl.

I drove 4cyl Hondas for years, so maybe I’m just used to it…..