Porsche Macan Review - Initial Test Drive
05-11-2014, 02:06 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Porsche Macan Review - Initial Test Drive
Porsche Macan Review - Initial Test Drive
Before I start here are some background info: my current daily driver (~100 miles round trip) is a 2011 BMW 335d (diesel), the weekend car is a 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI (diesel). I did own in the past a BMW e46 330ci, Audi A4 and couple of Mini Coopers, the last one was a 2009 JCW Mini.
Thus what I am about to say is influenced by what I drove in the past and currently driving daily. I only drove a 911 once last year for maybe 20 minutes, it was a 2004 997 Turbo with Tiptronic. The only other Porsche cars I drove were a 2014 Cayman S and couple of Panamera Turbo (S) Executive Edition. I am not counting the many Cayenne Diesel and S I drove last year when looking to get one.
The car: 2015 Macan S, Black/Black equipped with PASM and Sports Chrono as far as performance options. However, it did have Panoramic Sunroof, more about this later.
The drive: about 20~25 minutes, maybe a bit more since I didn’t time it … oops, I should have bought that Tag Heuer Carrera
. First part was on a winding two lane road in the back of the dealership, same road where I tested the Panamera Turbo S equipped with PTV+. Second part was on the freeway for couple of exits only, I do plan to go back for a longer test drive next week.
Fit and Finish:
Interior: Nice solid looking car, nothing (ok almost nothing, see side blades comment below) that would turn me off on the outside nor on the inside. The car I drove had the standard interior in black, it was okay, high quality materials but one could notice the plastic on the doors and dash. If you can swing it go for full leather, it makes a huge difference from what I have seen in the pictures and other Porsche cars. My order has the leather package, can’t comment on it yet since both cars at the dealer had standard interior.
Exterior: Black is not my pick, do not like black cars in general and I would never buy one (ever) so my review could be biased because both cars were black. The one I drove came with painted side blades, the other one had the standard blades, I hate the stupid thing, painted or not
. I still don’t know what do do about mine, painted looks better but since the standard ones have dimples on them don’t know what to do. I will make sure that my customer evaluation or feedback to Porsche gives them a “1” on it. Other than that, the hitch doesn’t look nice, it also has that extra opening on the side for the wiring harness. The lower back bumper is a little flimsy, not decided if I should paint it or not, need to see my color (Silver) to make up my mind. The side skirts, still don’t know if I should paint mine. The car I drove had the optional (painted) Sport Side Skirts, they looked much nicer than the standard ones.
Driving impressions:
Engine and exhaust sound: frankly, I don’t know if I ever heard the engine, only the exhaust. Need to go back and spend more time. The cold start was nice, the exhaust makes a really nice sound when starting, but it is not very loud. In addition, from inside the car you could barely hear it. I was able to hear the PDK rev matching on downshifts but only because I turned off the radio as soon as I got in. As expected, PSE is a must IMO and I plan to get it installed as soon as it becomes available.
Handling: this is no 911 as I mentioned earlier today, the sales guy kept telling how it drives like a 911 and not like a Cayenne and I had to bite my tongue to not tell him to shut up… It does not drive like a 911, it is heavier and as expected one feels the heft of the car. In fact, as others had said, you feel the heft of the car as soon as you start driving, especially when in Normal mode. However, it didn’t feel as heavy as the Panamera Turbo Executive Edition I drove in back March and I want to say I experienced less understeer on the winding road when pushing it thru turns.
I did switch to Sport only two minutes after I drove off and the rest of the drive was in Sport mode only. As expected, Sport mode changes the PASM settings to Sport but one could switch the suspension manually, as I did to Sport Plus. However, I did not touch the SC Sport Plus button …
PASM on Sport Plus with 19” wheels felt great, it was not too harsh and I suspect Porsche tuned it with the CUV usage in mind. So I can confirm as others said, the hardest suspension setting is not that hard. Now on 21” wheels it may feel differently, looking forward to drive mine, I got the 20” wheels thou.
When I drove off I wasn’t very impressed by the handling, more like yeah, it is nice. However, when I pushed it in couple of turns it felt great. I do want to say this, if you don’t plan to drive it hard, save yourself the money and get an SQ5 instead, you get more room inside as well (more on this later). This is a car that begs to be driven hard and finally I got a grin on my face when doing so 
. In fact, for the first 5 minutes I was having second thoughts, why I am buying the is CUV, maybe I should get that 2015 M3 instead but I think I made the right decision and I will not be disappointed.
PTV+, the car as tested didn’t have it but based on my previous experience driving the Panamera and compared with todays drive, the verdict is Yes, I would not get a Macan without it.
Air Suspension, again, the car as tested didn’t have it but IMO it is the one MUST have option for the Macan. You can skip Navigation, upgraded wheels, leather, get it as bare as possible but do yourself a favor and order the Air Suspension. Combined with the included PASM it makes a huge difference. As I said, the car I tested didn’t have it and I was missing the lower center of gravity and additional handling support given by the AS. In fact, I was cringing at times craving for a lower ride position. Bonus points with the AS, the wheel gap gets reduced by 1 inch in the Low setting, you can see from the pictures attached earlier why that is needed.
Torque and Power: the car is fast enough, there is no rush of speed or torque feel when you floor it, it is progressive but FAST. When I got on the freeway, I had to restrain myself not to go over 80 mph, can’t tell you how fast I was going
. I am sure the Turbo is faster and the the torque feel may be a lot more pronounced, but I could not justify spending another 15K (this was my delta). Thus I plan to never drive the Turbo so I don’t know what I am missing. However, if one comes from a 911 and wants to swap it for the Macan for practicality reasons, maybe the Turbo is a MUST. But I will says this: if you are coming from a Cayman, you’ll be fine with the S .
PDK: sweet, the nicest transmission I even encountered in my life. I don’t know if I could ever go back to a slush box. To give some perspective, I always thought that my dream car is a 997.2 equipped with a manual transmission, now I am thinking that a PDK equipped 997.2 sounds very tempting as well. The gear shifts in Sport mode were blazing fast and the rev matching on downshifts were beautiful, it put a smile on my face every time I heard that. Did I say that PSE is a must, here I am saying it again: the car is TOO QUIET.
Panoramic Sunroof: didn't like, when seating in the back seat I only had about half-inch to the ceiling, I am 5'11". In addition, considering the heft of the car and that this alone weights over 100 lbs, I highly recommend to skip it.
End of part I, getting late and need to go to bed. Maybe I will post more tomorrow or maybe I will wait for a second test drive.
Before I start here are some background info: my current daily driver (~100 miles round trip) is a 2011 BMW 335d (diesel), the weekend car is a 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI (diesel). I did own in the past a BMW e46 330ci, Audi A4 and couple of Mini Coopers, the last one was a 2009 JCW Mini.
Thus what I am about to say is influenced by what I drove in the past and currently driving daily. I only drove a 911 once last year for maybe 20 minutes, it was a 2004 997 Turbo with Tiptronic. The only other Porsche cars I drove were a 2014 Cayman S and couple of Panamera Turbo (S) Executive Edition. I am not counting the many Cayenne Diesel and S I drove last year when looking to get one.
The car: 2015 Macan S, Black/Black equipped with PASM and Sports Chrono as far as performance options. However, it did have Panoramic Sunroof, more about this later.
The drive: about 20~25 minutes, maybe a bit more since I didn’t time it … oops, I should have bought that Tag Heuer Carrera
. First part was on a winding two lane road in the back of the dealership, same road where I tested the Panamera Turbo S equipped with PTV+. Second part was on the freeway for couple of exits only, I do plan to go back for a longer test drive next week.Fit and Finish:
Interior: Nice solid looking car, nothing (ok almost nothing, see side blades comment below) that would turn me off on the outside nor on the inside. The car I drove had the standard interior in black, it was okay, high quality materials but one could notice the plastic on the doors and dash. If you can swing it go for full leather, it makes a huge difference from what I have seen in the pictures and other Porsche cars. My order has the leather package, can’t comment on it yet since both cars at the dealer had standard interior.
Exterior: Black is not my pick, do not like black cars in general and I would never buy one (ever) so my review could be biased because both cars were black. The one I drove came with painted side blades, the other one had the standard blades, I hate the stupid thing, painted or not
. I still don’t know what do do about mine, painted looks better but since the standard ones have dimples on them don’t know what to do. I will make sure that my customer evaluation or feedback to Porsche gives them a “1” on it. Other than that, the hitch doesn’t look nice, it also has that extra opening on the side for the wiring harness. The lower back bumper is a little flimsy, not decided if I should paint it or not, need to see my color (Silver) to make up my mind. The side skirts, still don’t know if I should paint mine. The car I drove had the optional (painted) Sport Side Skirts, they looked much nicer than the standard ones.Driving impressions:
Engine and exhaust sound: frankly, I don’t know if I ever heard the engine, only the exhaust. Need to go back and spend more time. The cold start was nice, the exhaust makes a really nice sound when starting, but it is not very loud. In addition, from inside the car you could barely hear it. I was able to hear the PDK rev matching on downshifts but only because I turned off the radio as soon as I got in
. As expected, PSE is a must IMO and I plan to get it installed as soon as it becomes available.Handling: this is no 911 as I mentioned earlier today, the sales guy kept telling how it drives like a 911 and not like a Cayenne and I had to bite my tongue to not tell him to shut up… It does not drive like a 911, it is heavier and as expected one feels the heft of the car. In fact, as others had said, you feel the heft of the car as soon as you start driving, especially when in Normal mode. However, it didn’t feel as heavy as the Panamera Turbo Executive Edition I drove in back March and I want to say I experienced less understeer on the winding road when pushing it thru turns.
I did switch to Sport only two minutes after I drove off and the rest of the drive was in Sport mode only. As expected, Sport mode changes the PASM settings to Sport but one could switch the suspension manually, as I did to Sport Plus. However, I did not touch the SC Sport Plus button …
PASM on Sport Plus with 19” wheels felt great, it was not too harsh and I suspect Porsche tuned it with the CUV usage in mind. So I can confirm as others said, the hardest suspension setting is not that hard. Now on 21” wheels it may feel differently, looking forward to drive mine, I got the 20” wheels thou.
When I drove off I wasn’t very impressed by the handling, more like yeah, it is nice. However, when I pushed it in couple of turns it felt great. I do want to say this, if you don’t plan to drive it hard, save yourself the money and get an SQ5 instead
, you get more room inside as well (more on this later). This is a car that begs to be driven hard and finally I got a grin on my face when doing so . In fact, for the first 5 minutes I was having second thoughts, why I am buying the is CUV, maybe I should get that 2015 M3 instead but I think I made the right decision and I will not be disappointed. PTV+, the car as tested didn’t have it but based on my previous experience driving the Panamera and compared with todays drive, the verdict is Yes, I would not get a Macan without it.
Air Suspension, again, the car as tested didn’t have it but IMO it is the one MUST have option for the Macan. You can skip Navigation, upgraded wheels, leather, get it as bare as possible but do yourself a favor and order the Air Suspension. Combined with the included PASM it makes a huge difference. As I said, the car I tested didn’t have it and I was missing the lower center of gravity and additional handling support given by the AS. In fact, I was cringing at times craving for a lower ride position. Bonus points with the AS, the wheel gap gets reduced by 1 inch in the Low setting, you can see from the pictures attached earlier why that is needed.
Torque and Power: the car is fast enough, there is no rush of speed or torque feel when you floor it, it is progressive but FAST. When I got on the freeway, I had to restrain myself not to go over 80 mph, can’t tell you how fast I was going
. I am sure the Turbo is faster and the the torque feel may be a lot more pronounced, but I could not justify spending another 15K (this was my delta). Thus I plan to never drive the Turbo so I don’t know what I am missing. However, if one comes from a 911 and wants to swap it for the Macan for practicality reasons, maybe the Turbo is a MUST. But I will says this: if you are coming from a Cayman, you’ll be fine with the S .PDK: sweet, the nicest transmission I even encountered in my life. I don’t know if I could ever go back to a slush box. To give some perspective, I always thought that my dream car is a 997.2 equipped with a manual transmission, now I am thinking that a PDK equipped 997.2 sounds very tempting as well. The gear shifts in Sport mode were blazing fast and the rev matching on downshifts were beautiful, it put a smile on my face every time I heard that. Did I say that PSE is a must, here I am saying it again: the car is TOO QUIET.
Panoramic Sunroof: didn't like, when seating in the back seat I only had about half-inch to the ceiling, I am 5'11". In addition, considering the heft of the car and that this alone weights over 100 lbs, I highly recommend to skip it.
End of part I, getting late and need to go to bed. Maybe I will post more tomorrow or maybe I will wait for a second test drive.
05-11-2014, 08:32 AM
#2
Yep as much as it makes for a great feel good marketing spiel and handles better than other SUV's it is definitely no 911. The 911 would make mince meat out of it. And 100% agree you really would not want to miss the pasm with air and the PTV plus if you can help it. A car like this needs everything working for it. Being able to raise and lower is priceless where the ride and handling is concerned.
05-11-2014, 09:06 AM
#3
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Great post and I agree with everything.
Re my Macan Turbo the more I drive it the better handling (in part my salesman also told me drives like a 991 so unrealistic expectations), acceleration not quite as good as I initially thought (car could use more more, roll on the Turbo S) and I'm now very pleased with the Agate Grey. It's definitely grown on me in part because it changes hue with light. Much more depth than my wife's Space Grey BMW.
Re my Macan Turbo the more I drive it the better handling (in part my salesman also told me drives like a 991 so unrealistic expectations), acceleration not quite as good as I initially thought (car could use more more, roll on the Turbo S) and I'm now very pleased with the Agate Grey. It's definitely grown on me in part because it changes hue with light. Much more depth than my wife's Space Grey BMW.
05-11-2014, 03:50 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Great post and I agree with everything.
Re my Macan Turbo the more I drive it the better handling (in part my salesman also told me drives like a 991 so unrealistic expectations), acceleration not quite as good as I initially thought (car could use more more, roll on the Turbo S) and I'm now very pleased with the Agate Grey. It's definitely grown on me in part because it changes hue with light. Much more depth than my wife's Space Grey BMW.
Re my Macan Turbo the more I drive it the better handling (in part my salesman also told me drives like a 991 so unrealistic expectations), acceleration not quite as good as I initially thought (car could use more more, roll on the Turbo S) and I'm now very pleased with the Agate Grey. It's definitely grown on me in part because it changes hue with light. Much more depth than my wife's Space Grey BMW.
05-12-2014, 04:56 PM
#5
Air Suspension, again, the car as tested didn’t have it but IMO it is the one MUST have option for the Macan. You can skip Navigation, upgraded wheels, leather, get it as bare as possible but do yourself a favor and order the Air Suspension. Combined with the included PASM it makes a huge difference. As I said, the car I tested didn’t have it and I was missing the lower center of gravity and additional handling support given by the AS. In fact, I was cringing at times craving for a lower ride position. Bonus points with the AS, the wheel gap gets reduced by 1 inch in the Low setting, you can see from the pictures attached earlier why that is needed.
BTW, thank you for the time and effort you put into writing the review. Much appreciated.
05-12-2014, 07:34 PM
#7
Thx for review...I was wondering about how it could drive like 911, lol.
Btw, I thought NO dealers were allowed to even peak under the cover until this Thursday?
My sales guy said this Thurs is the open house and that's when people can see it.
There are two cars at local dealer that's open - neither have sun roof, and big bummer the S has 21" wheels - I think too much for the crappy roads in our area.
PL
Btw, I thought NO dealers were allowed to even peak under the cover until this Thursday?
My sales guy said this Thurs is the open house and that's when people can see it.
There are two cars at local dealer that's open - neither have sun roof, and big bummer the S has 21" wheels - I think too much for the crappy roads in our area.
PL
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05-12-2014, 08:02 PM
#8
Racer
Thread Starter
It is obvious that you are a big fan of the AS whereas I am not. Even if you had loved it after driving it, I would have waited for my own personal test drive. But I cannot help being skeptical about your conclusions about the AS based on the feeling you did not get from a standard suspension. No disrespect intended.
1. My current 2007 ML 320 CDI, I drove it for over 100K miles and no issues so far. The same model without AS drives like a boat and could make you sea sick
. Not my car, the Normal/Automatic mode is quite nice and adapts to the road conditions, the Comfort mode is floaty but never use it. The Sport mode, very firm and too firm actually for our Houston freeways.2. Test driving the Cayenne back to back with and without AS, the Normal mode is more comfortable than Steel, the Sport mode is more firmer. Highly recommended and I know Cayenne owners that didn't oder it and now are missing it.
3. Magazine reviews: many magazine reviews are saying that the Macan with AS has a much better ride than the one equipped with Steel only. Including the latest Swedish "Elk Test", thou they said something was wrong with the ESP but I believe they locked the brakes during the test due to PAS.
However, it got AS and the testers think that it's (probably) the single most valuable 'upgrade'.
So, what are your arguments against AS?
05-12-2014, 08:43 PM
#9
I think I have stated them in other threads, but I will quickly recap.
1) Yes, SUVs like the ML feel like a boat without it, but SUVs like the Macan should not, especially with PASM. In fact, some reviews (but I will take them with a grain of salt) , I have read state that the suspension is pretty firm for an SUV if you do not get PASM or Air. So PASM is working the other way in the Macan as it does in most of the their sports models.
2) An air suspension adds a layer of abstraction to the roadfeel. Some folks (ie: you in this case) like it. Some don't. Even the most tied down ones I have driven like the Tesla & Panamera while excellent add this abstraction. One likes it or does not. There is no right or wrong here. Also many people confuse the AS in the Cayenne with the functioning of the PASM. I am unsure if they are available separately. I can't argue that the stance looks better with the AS, but that is also subjective.
3) If you are expecting the Macan to behave like a Cayman or 991, you are going to be disappointed. There will be some body roll, no matter what. (regardless of what Porsche marketing wants you to believe). Drive a Macan with the AS and all the doodads and drive it back to back with a base 991 with no PASM, no PDCC and let me know which one you think handles like a sports car. I bring this up because you keep referring to the CG of the car. As far as I am concerned, I will be buying a small SUV, albeit a great handling one, so I expect a higher CG. I like the fact that it will be less noisy (I am going to make it quieter still with the Thermal and Noise Glass option to listen to the Burmester).
4) Reliability..My personal experiences have been negative. (And I realize yours have been positive).
I think we can just agree to disagree here.
1) Yes, SUVs like the ML feel like a boat without it, but SUVs like the Macan should not, especially with PASM. In fact, some reviews (but I will take them with a grain of salt) , I have read state that the suspension is pretty firm for an SUV if you do not get PASM or Air. So PASM is working the other way in the Macan as it does in most of the their sports models.
2) An air suspension adds a layer of abstraction to the roadfeel. Some folks (ie: you in this case) like it. Some don't. Even the most tied down ones I have driven like the Tesla & Panamera while excellent add this abstraction. One likes it or does not. There is no right or wrong here. Also many people confuse the AS in the Cayenne with the functioning of the PASM. I am unsure if they are available separately. I can't argue that the stance looks better with the AS, but that is also subjective.
3) If you are expecting the Macan to behave like a Cayman or 991, you are going to be disappointed. There will be some body roll, no matter what. (regardless of what Porsche marketing wants you to believe). Drive a Macan with the AS and all the doodads and drive it back to back with a base 991 with no PASM, no PDCC and let me know which one you think handles like a sports car. I bring this up because you keep referring to the CG of the car. As far as I am concerned, I will be buying a small SUV, albeit a great handling one, so I expect a higher CG. I like the fact that it will be less noisy (I am going to make it quieter still with the Thermal and Noise Glass option to listen to the Burmester).
4) Reliability..My personal experiences have been negative. (And I realize yours have been positive).
I think we can just agree to disagree here.
05-12-2014, 09:06 PM
#10
Racer
Thread Starter
I think I have stated them in other threads, but I will quickly recap.
1) Yes, SUVs like the ML feel like a boat without it, but SUVs like the Macan should not, especially with PASM. In fact, some reviews (but I will take them with a grain of salt) , I have read state that the suspension is pretty firm for an SUV if you do not get PASM or Air. So PASM is working the other way in the Macan as it does in most of the their sports models.
2) An air suspension adds a layer of abstraction to the roadfeel. Some folks (ie: you in this case) like it. Some don't. Even the most tied down ones I have driven like the Tesla & Panamera while excellent add this abstraction. One likes it or does not. There is no right or wrong here. Also many people confuse the AS in the Cayenne with the functioning of the PASM. I am unsure if they are available separately. I can't argue that the stance looks better with the AS, but that is also subjective.
3) If you are expecting the Macan to behave like a Cayman or 991, you are going to be disappointed. There will be some body roll, no matter what. (regardless of what Porsche marketing wants you to believe). Drive a Macan with the AS and all the doodads and drive it back to back with a base 991 with no PASM, no PDCC and let me know which one you think handles like a sports car. I bring this up because you keep referring to the CG of the car. As far as I am concerned, I will be buying a small SUV, albeit a great handling one, so I expect a higher CG. I like the fact that it will be less noisy (I am going to make it quieter still with the Thermal and Noise Glass option to listen to the Burmester).
4) Reliability..My personal experiences have been negative. (And I realize yours have been positive).
I think we can just agree to disagree here.
1) Yes, SUVs like the ML feel like a boat without it, but SUVs like the Macan should not, especially with PASM. In fact, some reviews (but I will take them with a grain of salt) , I have read state that the suspension is pretty firm for an SUV if you do not get PASM or Air. So PASM is working the other way in the Macan as it does in most of the their sports models.
2) An air suspension adds a layer of abstraction to the roadfeel. Some folks (ie: you in this case) like it. Some don't. Even the most tied down ones I have driven like the Tesla & Panamera while excellent add this abstraction. One likes it or does not. There is no right or wrong here. Also many people confuse the AS in the Cayenne with the functioning of the PASM. I am unsure if they are available separately. I can't argue that the stance looks better with the AS, but that is also subjective.
3) If you are expecting the Macan to behave like a Cayman or 991, you are going to be disappointed. There will be some body roll, no matter what. (regardless of what Porsche marketing wants you to believe). Drive a Macan with the AS and all the doodads and drive it back to back with a base 991 with no PASM, no PDCC and let me know which one you think handles like a sports car. I bring this up because you keep referring to the CG of the car. As far as I am concerned, I will be buying a small SUV, albeit a great handling one, so I expect a higher CG. I like the fact that it will be less noisy (I am going to make it quieter still with the Thermal and Noise Glass option to listen to the Burmester).
4) Reliability..My personal experiences have been negative. (And I realize yours have been positive).
I think we can just agree to disagree here.
05-12-2014, 09:32 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thx for review...I was wondering about how it could drive like 911, lol.
Btw, I thought NO dealers were allowed to even peak under the cover until this Thursday?
My sales guy said this Thurs is the open house and that's when people can see it.
There are two cars at local dealer that's open - neither have sun roof, and big bummer the S has 21" wheels - I think too much for the crappy roads in our area.
PL
Btw, I thought NO dealers were allowed to even peak under the cover until this Thursday?
My sales guy said this Thurs is the open house and that's when people can see it.
There are two cars at local dealer that's open - neither have sun roof, and big bummer the S has 21" wheels - I think too much for the crappy roads in our area.
PL
05-12-2014, 10:03 PM
#13
Racer
Thread Starter
There is less head room due to sloped roof and then the Pano sunroof takes another inch or so. As far as elbow room or how they call it, I believe it is the same with Q5. Leg room was adequate for myself.
