Up and down for Porsche SUV
diesel has an Audi engine.
Wouldn’t it have been cool if Porsche had slotted the Boxster’s flat-four engine into the Macan? Wrong platform, too hard, not going to happen.
From a drivers’ perspective the Macan-four still ticks a lot of important boxes. That VW engine is accomplished no matter what car it’s in, and the Macan still drives through Porsche’s PDK gearbox, chassis-engineering and 4Wd/traction management systems.
It’s also the lightest SUV Porsche makes (although not exactly svelte at 1770kg) and trims 100kg off the Macan S, so you get all of the dynamic virtues of the model and then some. Rides on the same 19-inch footwear as the S versions as well.
True, it’s more than a second slower to 100kmh than the petrols, but still brisk at 6.7 seconds.
Assuming you’re not fixated on the Vw-engine thing, there’s not a lot to stop you swooning over this $100k-and-a-bit Macan.
Although that Vw-engine thing means you cannot ignore the Tiguan R-line, which has the same powerplant, but in 162kw Golf Gti-tune. Because it’s lighter than Macan it’s a touch faster (0-100kmh 6.5sec), and it’s based on a more modern platform.
So how do you justify an extra $50k for the Porsche? Maybe you can’t.
But the Tiguan doesn’t have the benefit of Porsche’s transmission and chassis engineering and of course the Macan is a larger vehicle. Plus the Tiguan is not a Porsche, which does matter... to Porsche buyers.
Perhaps proof of the Macan’s substance lies in the fact that it’s equally credible and accomplished
with an outrageous amount of power added.
The $180,100 Turbo Performance Package (let’s call it PP for short) is the new flagship of the range. For an extra $14,900 over the standard Turbo it gains another 30kw/50nm and gets to 100kmh in 4.4sec.
The PP also carries Sport Chrono as standard, a sports exhaust, newly developed braking system with 30mm-larger grooved front discs and red calipers, and lowered air-suspended sports chassis (25mm overall and 10mm lower than the Turbo).
Macan doesn’t feel the least bit stretched with a feral 324kw and chassis dialled up to crazy-fast cornering speeds.
Comparing it with the humble Macan-four is not the point here, but it is surprising how different they are. The Turbo PP is 200kg heavier so it relies more on traction and chassis technology than the seat-of-the-pants feel of Macan, but it is still outrageously capable and poised at speeds you wouldn’t dream about in the entry Macan.
This is classic Porsche stuff, of course. The German maker is a master of creating a solid base and then engineering upwards into the performance stratosphere. It does that with its sports cars and it does that with its SUVS.
But why is this a Performance Package and not a ‘‘Turbo S’’, which would fit in with Porsche’s naming convention a lot better? It might be that the company is working on an even more comprehensive high-performance version of its small-suv. We reckon Macan can take it.