Superman32

I first wanted to buy a CLA or GLA then I checked new C class I saw price is around 60K. Then I thought for 60 I can get a Macan S. Macan S overrall for me is a lot better than CLA GLA C class and SQ5. It even come with PDK for free. I don't think in real world SQ5 can out perform Macan S. And I think Macan looks and feels a lot better. Also it feels like a porsche. It feels expensive in the Cabin. You can also take Macan S to track. There is a local guy take his Macan S to track regularly. And the car is pretty impressive. When it raining it can out perform some sports cars. I'd like to see someone take a SQ5 to track. It will probably will overheat after 15 mins. Even audi R8 can't last on race track.

Superman32

I checked out a GLA45. The interior feels so cheap expect the gear lever.
Cla's interior feels a little bit better. C class is the best but for the price Macan S is a better choice.
Benz have promotions going on with their cars. 2nd hand Macan are sometimes still selling at premiums or MSRP now. Market speaks.

Superman32

I think PDK along is worse at least 3000 more than SQ5's tiptronic.
Also Macan is 300lbs less weight.
The power difference is 15HP. Porsche always underrate cars power and 0-60 time.

K-A

I hope they never bring a Macan 4 cylinder here. Would be a very bad idea for many reasons, imo. Porsche NA exec recently said that they won't and there are no plans to.

A GLA is NOT a Macan competitor. The interior is extremely downmarket and cheap, it's super vertically cramped up front, and it's only a 4 cylinder car. Guys on M-B forums practically dry heave then they get one as a loaner (you should see the outcry, and that's even considering M-B as a whole has been moving downmarket for a long time now). The Macan offers refinement, engineering and fit/finish/luxury over an E Class (of which I had 3). The GLA is a different category altogether. Also, the CLA/GLA have been getting so hammered and are ranked so abysmally via consumer ratings metrics that they've dragged M-B's entire quality rankings toward the bottom of the entire car market! Match that with a loss of prestige via over dilution, and the badge premium on even a GLA becomes worthless. The Macan buyer-centric MSRP selling and distribution managements speaks for itself.

I don't think Porsche has to worry about Macan demand for some time, if ever. They rose the price dramatically and it'll probably still sell at MSRP and have huge lines. The GLA is a econo van (it's literally a lifted up A Class) that gets discounted like crazy and rent/leased for artificially high incentives. The GLA isn't taking anything from the "average" Macan buyer. I personally wouldn't be seen in a design such as the GLA, it looks like a joke, and nearly everyone I know (M-B fans, at least previously) say the same thing ("abomination" is a popular term).

The GLA45 is the only one that performs as being described here. And how many of those sell? "Nobody" is spending Macan dough on a GLA, no matter how it performs, aside from a select group who get the 45 (which is still probably cheaper than an average spec Macan S and gets leased and discounted in M-B's now typical fleet-sale approach).

You can get a Mustang 5.0 for less than a GLA45 and probably outperform it as well. And the interiors are probably of comparable enough quality. Yet you get a much better sound, and probably don't give up that much interior room either.

Yeah, the Macan S in standard form is 300 lbs lighter than an SQ5. And they recently got a 4.6 0-60 out of a Macan S with Launch Control, and a 4.9 0-60 without Launch Control. Amazing times and in keeping with Porsche's "well bred horses" black magic tradition.

pyramid

Sadly to say, imo they already did when they decided to produce the Macan.

cviles

FTFY.

Oh, wait. The Cayenne saved the company instead of ruining it. Ooops.

pyramid

Wow, I thought we are talking about entry level/base (suv) porsche.

cviles

Actually an entry-level Porsche would be a Boxster, which starts at $500 less than a Macan S.

roule

I propose that Porsche's reputation as a sportcar manufacturer was honed not by material choice, not by craftsmanship, not by luxury features, not by speed records, not by racing series championships, and not by initial purchase price. Porsche's reputation was earned over decades of producing fun to drive cars that prioritized driver involvement over any of the above.

There is no question that any utility vehicle dilutes driver involvement versus a lighter weight vehicle. But so do PDK, infotainment, GPS, heavy luxury options, and so forth. Porsche's mistake is not in offering a full range of vehicle configurations. Porsche's mistake is in not offering lighter, simple versions of ALL its vehicles.

pyramid

That why I wrote "(suv)", Oopss?

cviles

I didn't overlook your reference to the form factor of the Macan; I chose to focus on the history of Porsche enthusiasts to declare evolutions in the brand as the heralds of doom for the marque. Water-cooled engines aren't "real" Porsches. The Boxster is just a hairdresser's car and not a "real" Porsche. Porsche has no business making an SUV, etc.

I'm not worried about the Macan being a (relatively) low cost entry point to bring new customers to the brand. The troubling thing I see about the Macan is the volume with which Porsche plans to manufacture them. 50,000 examples a year is a lot for a company like Porsche. I used to drive BMWs, and I saw the changes in products and customer service when they started chasing the holy grail of "volume". BMWs turned into transportation appliances, and I don't want to see that happen to Porsche.

I could care less about the size of the wallet of p-car owners so long as the vehicles remain focused on the driver and not the engineer who programmed the software nannies.

K-A

Oh yeah, the bloated and slow slushbox wearing base Cayenne that started at $5K less than the base Macan selling in the U.S today, just back in 2014, really did damage. Just as the Boxster which is cheaper than the Macan does.

Honestly, Porsche is so far from that. They express lots of concern in maintaining all important exclusivity.

If the Macan was a superfluous option like MB and BMW have diluted themselves into, that'd be another story. But imo it upholds Porsche driving and design values better than either of its 4 door siblings. It's innovated dynamic capabilities to its "sector" so much that it's really created a new one.

We must remember that the Cayenne was considered doomsday and the Panamera is still practically a pun for ugliness on auto forums. I think the Macan serves too good of a fundamental purpose, aside from price, to risk diluting the company. Where they go from here, will be more paramount to that.

pyramid

In other part of the world, I haven't check the price lately, but I'm sure base cayenne is more expensive than the comparable 2.0 base macan.

I understand where you coming from and making a switch to a base (suv) Porsche is absolutely an upgrade on your part. I've done more or less the same MB/BMW to Porsche.

On the other hand, porsches fanatic, purist, or whatever they may be called will find Porsche is in the progress of dilluting the brand more and more, say since boxster (as they already have proper sports car, 911).

For me, I don't give a **** about all that, more choices the better, but I'm also not shy to admit its shortcomings, if any, such as dilluting the brand for instance.

K-A

Funnily enough, I actually too am concerned with diluting the image. One thing people don't always realize is that we pay for that image (hence premium brands' margins), so if a brand dilutes itself, you get less for your money. I couldn't stand when MB "sold out" and started chasing cheaper segments with cheaply made cars, insane discounts and lease incentives, and just a "fleet car" mentality. It just wasn't the MB I fell in love with as a kid. BMW is also hurting its image cachet with all the confusing models, which also naturally makes them look less focused as their core cars remain beautiful, but the oddball models make you question the taste and talent of the entire design team and management.

Therefore, compared to the rest of the industry, I do think Porsche is adding models with more subtlety, purpose and grace. And they're not chasing cheap leases and discounts, which is important. And they've expressed many times a care to maintain its exclusive and premium image. But, indeed, if like the Macan, their new models serve a fundamental and engineering purpose, it's hard to fault them. That's more than MB and BMW can say right now.

Powereng

If you look at Porsche for the last 20 years, they have certainly diluted the brand, every time you add a new line and change the market to ensure more can afford the model, then it is a dilution, with the emissions and the market bring what it is, I bet we will see the 2.0 coming to the states and sooner than later. Porsche is already changing motors in the 911 to get emissions and mpg, a 2 liter just makes sence on the largest selling model Porsche has, why not bring it to the largest selling market place.