It seems that the air suspension and torque vectoring are tough to find on the S model. Would one need to order to get an S with those options?

Am I correct in that there are three suspension options? Base, PASM, and Air?

Can anyone offer any thoughts on any of the respective suspension setups?

 

The base is a softer tune than the standard steel on the Porsche sports cars. PASM gives versatily over the standard steel but maintains the analog feel. AS is 15mm lower than steel and an additional 10mm lower in low mode, an inch higher than steel in Off road mode. The AS is thought to be the most sophisticated, but not as bullet proof although the recent closed systems are more trouble free than the early iterations. Many are getting the AS for the lower center of gravity and the improved stance.

 

As you can see in my signature, we have a Macan S with steel and PASM, a Cayenne Turbo S with AS, and a 991 C4S with PASM.

Very satisfied with the ride and handling on the Macan S. I think the AS may make more sense on the Cayenne due to the greater weight of the vehicle. I do not regret not getting AS on the Macan, reminds me more of the feel of our 991. This is just my opinion, and as you know, opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one!

 

i have an S with air, the torque vectoring is a joke personally on the vehicle..

air rides great on highway but still harsh with big bumps and holes.... i bought air so i can lower easily with lowering links....

i'm pretty sure no dealers have "dead stock" except for turbo's... you'll have to order regardless.. my local dealer is 4 months backed up on allocations.. my other dealer is 6 months backed up... and msrp's are going up soon.

 

Not even for the LSD?

 

I'm kind of confused by his remark about torque vectoring as well.

The reports I've seen have complemented the feature. One of the last revisions I made to my order was to add this option after I did a lot of reading and researching.

 

"Am I correct in that there are three suspension options? Base, PASM, and Air?"

Yes. For clarity, let's drop the technobabble and just state what comes with each option:

- Base = traditional springs + traditional shock absorbers
- PASM = traditional springs + driver-selectable-damping shock absorbers
- Air = ride-height selectable springs + driver-selectable damping shock absorbers

It should be noted that each level adds adjustment capability, it does not simply make the car more track-oriented. That is to say, the next suspension option DOES NOT move the vehicle spring rate stiffer or the damping more firm. What each suspension upgrade allows is for the user to have a broader range of adjustment to accommodate a wider array of variable conditions.

Only you can decide how much adjustment you need for your daily drive. For decades, all of us have made due with traditional suspension setups without any on-the-fly adjustability. If we wanted to change to suspension, we made mods to the default damping or spring rates (and that will likely still be an option for the Macan too). Few of us added significant suspension adjustability -- quite the opposite, most people were making their cars less versatile.

Now Porsche lets you take the same vehicle to both trail and track with very appropriate tuning for each instance. All that being said, everyone knows that maximum reliability comes with the least complexity. Test drive the standard suspension first, because you know Porsche did its homework on getting the default settings right where the majority of us want it.

 

I'm not really sure who is going to be "torque vectoring" with their Macan soft-roader. Seems like a waste of dough to me. We're not talking about a track car here.

 

If all you're worried about is soft-roading, why waste the money on a Porsche in the first place? You could buy 3 or 4 RAV4s in assorted colors for the price of a loaded up Macan. Or one of those Lexus hybrid thingies.

I put my money down for one because if I was going to have an SUV, I wanted the best damned handling SUV I could buy. My Macan isn't going to handle like my 911 and nowhere near as well as my Boxster, but it sure is going to be a fun toy. And at already around $90K for the options I wanted, another $1490 is pretty much a rounding error anyway.

 

I ordered a Macan S for a daily city driver.
Skipped the suspension options as bone stock is ample enough for my grocery getter/beater.

Torque vectoring is something i also would never appreciate in a city commute SUV.

 

go drive the vehicle.. in some/most sports cars LSD is superfluous... the 911 gets torque vectoring on high HP models to make use of all the power... nothing you can do in a macan will utilize all the power because the tires arent going to be doing much to help..

i would opt summer tires for free before adding anything like torque vectoring..

go drive a GT3, now drive someone's GT3 where the LSD has worn out (most of em)... and tell me how much difference it makes.. now drive the blow out LSD GT3 with some proper tires... makes 10x more difference...

the macan is a peppy family car.. not a sports car.. if anything it's the bastard stepchild of the cayman and the cayenne... it doesnt go off road too well.. it doesnt race around tracks all that well.. it's better than the alternatives.. but it is what it is... a mixed crossover that's better than an X6 and quicker than a Q5..

 

I am so stealing that line. :-)

 

I was just thinking about mud and snow it would be nice to not have the open differential in those cases. Thing is I don't know how well the ABD does, maybe that's plenty?

 

we buy the vehicle because it fills a void.

i do not buy cars based on price at all... i buy them based on VALUE.. the macan for 50-60k is a great value, the cayenne (once they release the facelifted v6) is a better value (why? because you get boatloads of useful extras, better mpg, more room, and good offroad ability)...

at 90k for a macan, i would get a cayenne... as i personally could never see a macan being "worth" over 75k... which is why i returned my turbo.. at the end of the day regardless if its a 50k macan or a 100k macan it's still the same chassis and interior and basic parts... the basic parts of the car are ok but not luxury.. they cut corners to get the cost down, and if they ever release the 4cyl here you'll know why... (lets hope they dont)

i ramble a lot.. but i also buy a lot of damn cars.. again based on value and not on price... dollar for dollar... macan is much better than it's "chassis cousins" q5 and tiguan... it's much better than it's direct competitors otherwise.. including the insanely overpriced and useless x6 and other "crossover" "sportscarsuv's"... but it will never be a sports car and it will never be an ATV... it's a space filler..

i feel SUV/grocery getter/family vehicle.. the cayenne is hands down the best in any brand or price.. i've been in everything else and nothing makes you say "damn they did a good job" like a cayenne... this is coming from the guy that bought a brand new mclaren and sold it in 4 weeks because value wise.. even at 110k off sticker it was a piece of crap.. the same person that his longest owned vehicle was a smart car which was probably one of the most fun "slow ***" cars available... i'm bizarre with cars and drive rolls royces and ferrari's daily but still love to find value in awesome cars...

 

i've tried to go offroad in the macan, and it was "questionable"... honestly in the snow.. i'm not sure what i would do.. i would hope that the slipping would cause the torque to go to the front, but time will tell...

in the cayenne, you can lock the differentials... (to an extent) and get a desired traction... this winter with 10+ inches of snow and -40 weather.. the cayenne with off road mode on and winter tires was over the top impressive..

the macan has offroad mode (i have for air susp.. i assume everyone else has too?) and what it does... nobody will know.. i took it off in the mud and sand.. and the car didnt really act any different.. i didnt feel anything kicking in or helping me when i would get stuck.. i just had to lower the air and back up and try the route again..

i kind of want to find some off road areas to mess about now with the car... where i was had thick mud and really soft sand... i stopped and turned around at one point because i didnt believe in the car.. i had 15psi in the tires and barely getting thru the sand with confidence.

not saying the cayenne is the worlds best off road vehicle.. but it gives you confidence to get thru small/medium obstacles you might encounter on a trip/adventure... it;s not a rock climber... the macan can encounter some things but if it were to snow 10" here again, i would call and up my coverage a little bit before taking to the un-plowed highways.. i feel the macan was created for those wanting to own a 60k sports car and a 60k SUV but only having 60k total... it's a good mixture of the two.. not one.. not the other.. but a mix...

if i had a 911 and a boxster and 90k to spend on a macan.. i would personally just get the best 911 i could buy, add a cayenne v6/S and call it a day... best combination known to man.. best daily drivers... most useful cars on the road.