Wife is downsizing, in size, from her 24 Cayenne and wants a Macan. Was going to go with the S over the base model, but was worried about the power. Dealer loaned me a car for a while and it's zippy but being a 911 owner I thought I should get her the S. They just had the T arrive and it looks like a good compromise. Anyone have one or thoughts?
thanks

 

The Base and the T use the same engine and have the same power.

 

Yup but the T has larger wheels, sport suspension, exhaust, Sport Chrono pack I think, seems like it'll drive a little sportier, right?

 

You might want to read this review and drive a Base and an S back to back. I happen to own both. You can order a Base with almost the same options as a T and that really doesn't make it "sportier".

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...-drive-review/

Porsche's own engineers feel the steel spring suspension to be more "direct" which to me means sportier. The air suspension offers an amazing ride quality, that's its strength, along with its height adjustability. The lighter engine gives a Base the potential to feel sportier than an S.

If you really want to get the most out of the Base engine and car it needs a tune. With a simple tune a Base will be as quick as an S. Links to tune threads.

https://rennlist.com/forums/macan/14...an-tuning.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/macan/13...-ecu-tune.html

A T with a tune would be the most "sporty" version of a "budget" Macan. A GTS could be considered sporty. Its air suspension adjusts to lower than an S and that engine is super powerful.

 

Thanks for the info, moving fast as usual, (life's too short), I just bought the 2026 Macan GTS. Picking it up Saturday

 

Nice on the GTS. Mine is going into production next week.

 

A GTS certainly fulfills all sportiness requirements right out of the box. Lol.

 

Good choice. I owned a CPO base 2024 for 6 months and then traded it in on a 2025 GTS.