pyramid

Ohh, I was under impression that you have bought the Macan.
It is a long wait for the next gen Cayenne then, might be 2 years from now.

To me (this is subjective), I actually prefer the more proper SUV body styled (better stance) and the more masculine interior design from the Cayenne. But the base Porsche fits the budget better as DD and it is 'pretty'.

pyramid

This should be the reason why you so 'picky' on your Macan

fincher

Waiting on the diesel Macan. I rarely have passengers in back row except in the summer when I use the bike rack on the hitch on the Touareg. Very familiar with the Cayenne. It's good.

wardrive

After reading this whole thread and reading the OP's first post and all the responses since, here's my takeaways:

1. OP clearly outlines in the first post that this was not written for CURRENT owners but people who may be interested in buying a Macan. Its funny how may of the current owners keep on defending their purchases and claim how the OP must have a defective model.

2. OP clearly seems to know the Porsche brand well and his point is that the Macan isn't up to stuff compared to his other ownership experiences with his other Porsches. Guys, if he owns all Turbos, he's going to have the best/most options on his cars (compared to base or S models). The man knows what he's talking about.

3. The Macan does seem to be the 'gateway' vehicle for Porsche - the vehicle that gets first time buyers into a dealership and to buy a Porsche.

4. This got to be one of the most idiotic comments I read in a while:


I totally understand where the OP is coming from. I live in NJ but commute to NYC for work and take a tunnel. I always put on the A/C circ button on when I'm in the tunnel. I would be pissed if the tunnel air was coming in. To say don't blame the car but move someplace else is just an idiotic statement. Especially since the OP lives in SF which is a great city. Please note that I'm not calling the poster an idiot but just saying this was a very idiotic statement to make.

K-A

Thing is, in many respects it does sound like a defective model, which is not abnormal at all for early builds. Many also experienced members have not only not experienced the same issues, but feel like theirs are polar opposite.

NateOZ

I can't think of a single car manufacturer where their $70k model has the same fit and finish as a $150k model. My 991 GT3 has a pretty material difference in fit and finish to the 918 - doesn't mean I don't like the GT3 though...

I agree 100% with #3 here - but that's what I purchased the Macan expecting.

irysfan

That's fair, there is a minimum or assumed bar for a vehicle in this price range. It sounds like Porsche dropped the ball in this case.

waveforce

Well, three different dealerships and Porsche of America disagree with you -- otherwise they would have either fixed the issues or allowed me to "lemonize" the car.

K-A

They'll always give you the runaround. But the car clearly exhibits behavior nearly opposite from what the majority are experiencing. I'd wait until more new models become available to drive to get them to be able to complete that to prove it.

waveforce

I'm a long time customer and I know everybody at these dealers (including the GMs and Shop Foremen) and nobody gave me the runaround -- they know that wouldn't fly with me. PCNA didn't give me the runaround either.

It'd actually be MUCH worse if this was indeed a problem with my specific vehicle and they were simply refusing to fix it; that would lose me as a customer altogether. Any brand that does that would lose my business -- only a complete idiot would buy a car from a company that refuses to fix issues specific to their build if they show up. That's why there's a Lemon Law.

All these issues were verified with 4 different Macans *besides* mine, including a November build.

If you brought your Macan to me and I ran it through my daily commute with you in the passenger seat you'd see all the issues too.

The difference is not the specific car, it's the course and the observer; if you can't see a problem, it doesn't exist, right?

Buckfever

I thought this review was useful and for my purposes constructive regarding my purchase. Thanks.

PhilNotHill

We were considering the Macan Turbo and decided the SQ5 worked better for us. But ended up ordering an RS5 for my winter car. 450 na hp and much more fun to drive on twisty mountain roads around Aspen. Got Mich Pilot SS all weather radials and could not be happier. $89k fully loaded.

PhilNotHill

To me the proper comparison is between Macan/turbo vs Q5/SQ5. Is the Pcar worth the extra money? The answer will vary from owner to owner. I like the Audis better. To each their own.

To me an SUV is not really a performance car. Sure I want to be able to pass someone when the situation allows. Taking an SUV for a pure pleasure drive on twisty mountain roads is not my cup of tea.

SUVs are for hauling extra people and cargo comfortably as well as handle snow. Not remotely interested as a track car.

If we want to go four wheeling we rent an open top Jeep at the airport

Best

Rubik

To each their own is right. Honestly, I don't think the average Joe will know the difference between a Q5 base vs an SQ5. My neighbor has a Q5 base.

Sometimes people make choices because they want something different. I see 2-3 Q5s every day and a Macan once a month. There are a lot of black and white Prius' out there - my commuter included - but who cares or ever notices them. Car choices have a personal element like clothes or shoes. It's not only utility. After all, a plastic bag would probably protect the body from the elements of the environment but who wears plastic bags?

MM3.9GT3

The Macan is built to a certain price point (more so than any other Porsche), and Porsche had to make a bunch of compromises. In my opinion, the Turbo is over priced (most are over $80,000), and the Cayenne S with 20 HP more (and 400 lbs more) becomes a much better value. At $80,000+, most buyers have very high expectations, including you, and have a right to those high expectations.

The sweet spot is a low option Macan S priced around $55,000 to $57,000. At that price, I can live with the compromises, especially for a daily driver SUV used for carpool duty.

Thanks for the write-up. It was fair, and balanced.