My wife is in the market for a new vehicle, and the Macan S has been the front-runner in terms of looks, interior, options, etc., but she's on the fence because of what she considers a "low" driving position. Like many, she likes sitting a bit higher, and the rest of the Macan's greatness may not be enough to offset this attribute.

To back up a bit, she's been driving Lexus RX and GX models for over a decade, but is thankfully tired of them. We used her RX on the trade for my 991 S, and for the past 10'months she's been driving my 2011 X5, which she tolerates but doesn't love. Having her even consider a Porsche was enough to make me very happy, as I hate driving the Lexus marshmallow-mobiles. She wants something smaller than the X5 or RX, so the Macan, X3/4, and SQ5 all meet that criteria.

The Cayenne isn't really much smaller in terms of footprint than the X5, although it feels smaller when driving. She doesn't care about things like sport suspensions, 0-60 times, exhaust notes, etc., so the base Cayenne is appealing because of the higher driving position. That the base is slower than my diesel X5 (and likely the RX for that matter) doesn't bother her. I like the Cayenne well enough, but I really, truly like the Macan much more.

The SQ5 only recently came up as it seems to have a higher seating position, and she might actually prefer the Audi numbness over the Porsche connectedness. I like the looks of the SQ5, and on paper it has good stats, but most reviews and comparisons lead me to think the Macan is the better vehicle.

If you've managed to make it through this long-winded post, I'd appreciate hearing about your own experiences, opinions, and arguments for or against these vehicles. She's not interested in the X3/4 or anything from Mercedes. She loves the looks of the new Jaguar SUV, but it's months away and unproven, and she likes the Evoque except for the visibility and electronics. Help me convince her to get the Macan, and at the very least a Porsche!

 

Its not clear from your post who the car is really for.

Sounds like the Q5 would be fine based on what you say she wants. Buy her the Q5 2.0T and use the money you save for a new set of tires for the 991

Get the 3.0T Q5 if she wants a bit more power.

Doesn't really sound like she is the one that wants the extra power of the SQ5 or Macan.
To be honest the Q5 and Macan look very similar.

I'm in the test drive mode now between the 3.0T Q5 and the Macan S. Sure the Macan is nicer. Its just that I'm not sure I will really ever push the Macan handling enough to justify the $20K price difference.

The SQ5 price is so close to the Macan S that I'dd just move to the Macan if I really wanted the car for the sporty side of it.

 

It's for her, but I will end up driving it frequently, and not having to drive a mind-numbing Lexus will be refreshing. I'll get her to look into the Q5 vs the SQ5, but it looks like a well-optioned Q5 ends up being very close to the SQ5 price-wise.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Take her on a test drive. If she likes it, good for you. If she doesn't, not much you can do about that. If she wants the plush Lexus like ride quality, get PASM+AS. The Macan was designed to feel more like a sports car so that the driver is sitting lower IN the SUV rather than riding high ON the SUV, so there's not much you can do if she prefers sitting up high. As for the Q5 and Macan looking similar, although they share the same chassis, the only external similarity is size, four wheels, and four doors.

 

I have the macan turbo and almost bought a cayenne GTS or turbo. The macan feels like a sports sedan, the cayenne feels like a truck. I drove the macan for a year and decided I wanted something more solid and bigger so I went to the Range Rover and she took the macan because she had been driving a gl450 and wanted a smaller nimbler car anyway. So sq5 and macan are way more similar but the refinement in a macan is night and day against the sq5.

Cayenne is totally different. Truck vs car.

 

My wife bought the Macan Turbo on her own with no prompting from me (other than mental telepathy!) She absolutely loves it. Being only 5'-1" tall, seating position and visibility is very important. With the 18-way seats, she has the #1 memory button and has it set just perfectly. She also enjoys driving our F150 SuperCrew because of the high seating position and good visibility.

 

My parents have a Q5 diesel S-line with the active suspension. It is an awesome SUV. Definitely has more of an SUV seating position than the Macan and is a little larger all the way around. With my Macan having the Air/PASM, in comfort mode, it floats along as smooth as any vehicle I have ever had - in fact, I find it smoother and quieter than the Q.

 

Hate my wife's Q7 S Line Prestige with an unnatural passion. Would trade it in for a Macan in a NY minute.

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. She's driven a Macan S a few times and wants to love it, but so far it just hasn't clicked. I tried showing her some of the cool features, and at one point looked over and she had raised the seat to the max height, making for a tight fit for her 5'11" frame. I don't think any she's driven have had the air suspension, but maybe that would be enough to make her look past the seat height.

 

Get the Macan and 18 way seats and you'll be fine. We just went through the same decision process. The car is for her, but I wanted a car that handled well enough I won't roll it!

 

I went though the same process when shopping for a new car for my wife
we test drove many but the Macan turbo was the clear winner - I was pleasantly surprised that she was the one that really pushed for the Porsche.
I only tested 2 of the Macan S models one was very stripped down and I really did not like driving it, the other one was heavily optioned with AS and I really liked it but in the end I am glad she decided on the turbo.
I would recommend driving the SQ5 then Driving the Macan right after - I think the choice will be clear unless you would prefer to save $$$

 

My wife has had the Macan S now for a little over a year. We test drove everything back then and she really wanted and almost bought the SQ5. I asked her to please test drive the Macan before she pulled the trigger. She got about 100 yards off the lot, turned to me and said "Damn you!" We ordered the Macan shortly thereafter.

I would recommend you keep test driving until something clicks.

 

LOL! Had a similar experience. Wife was sure she wanted a Tesla. Went for a test drive in a Macan Turbo into the mountains during car week in Monterey, with the Porsche rep. He told me to go ahead and open it up. Having done many track days, that's all the encouragement I needed. Soon we were flying. She wanted a go. No more Tesla, at least for now.

 

Well it doesn't sound like she's interested in the Macan. I'd make sure she's happy.

 

We went through the same decision a few months ago and ended up with an SQ5 as the family truckster. There is no doubt the Macan is very well put together and handles much better than the SQ5; however, I actually found that, versus the Macan S, the SQ5 - which is supercharged - was a bit more fun around town. In the mountains it would undoubtedly be a different story, but we live in downtown Houston. You can only get your jollies around here in between stoplights on cratered roads.

Downsides to SQ5 are dated infotainment system, and a new model is coming out at some point in the next 2 years, though it will be a brand-new deign built at brand-new plant in Mexico, which means more like 3-4 years before I'd buy one.

In the end value for $ won out; we got the SQ5, a 2016 that was fully loaded and on the lot, for 14% off MSRP, with no bs dealer adds. It's a great car, and I'm completely satisfied with the purchase (especially after my 3 yo threw up all over the back seat last weekend, probably couldn't have handled that in Porsche), though I admit I sometimes look at my neighbor's Macan Turbo with a tinge of regret.