BUYERS’ GUIDE: MACAN

Having pretty much pioneered the performance SUV with the Cayenne, and with the smaller SUV market booming, it was no surprise that Porsche would pitch in with the Macan. Pretty much immediately it has become Porsche’s biggest seller. Four years on and it

Buying Porsche’s small SUV

For all of its 69 years as a carmaker, Porsche has been about numbers: 911, 912, 930, 964, 993 and more. But as of year 54, the Stuttgart company began to play a different kind of numbers game – production numbers. That was 2002 and the introduction of the first Porsche sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Cayenne, a model intended not just to extend the Porsche experience to an additional market sector but to help bump up production; Porsche wanted to be a volume player, and within a short space of time the high-waisted, not exactly an oil painting 4wd wagon was its best seller and pointing Porsche towards the 200,000 units per year mark.

A decade on, and SUV preferences in the market had switched to smaller, more manageable sized models, and based on its past success, a brisk take-up of a Zuffenhausen dinky all-wheel-drive was guaranteed. As usual, Porsche played the press along for a while, issuing teaser drawings and code-naming it the Cajun before finally unveiling it on 18th November 2013 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, in the Usstate where many were expected to be delivered. Orders poured in, and in its first full sales year, 2015, more than 80,000 were delivered, out-selling the Cayenne and contributing towards Porsche’s 225,121 sales.

The Macan, a sixth Porsche line and based on a Vw/audi SUV platform, was introduced to the UK market in April 2014 (and to the Usat about the same time), priced from £43,000. Thus another new car that very few can afford hit the market, but strong demand for new and used examples has underpinned residual values, with price expert Glass’s, and what we see for sale on Auto Trader and the like, telling us that prices are still over generally £30,000, with mainly just the earliest, leggy examples dropping slightly below that. But remember that the factory warranty is now expiring on these first Macans, hence in the not too distant future they may become a realistic proposition for normal car budgets.

Presently, then, you pay the same for a three-year-old example of this four-door hatchback, probably with a diesel engine, as you would for an early 997-model 911. Is that a good decision to make, and if so, what should you be looking for?

DESIGN, EVOLUTION

Porsche clearly had to ensure that the Macan didn’t lack driver appeal, hence when full details of the all-turbo, threemodel range were released we learned that that the top model, the 395bhp Macan Turbo, had 14 per cent more power than a 911 Carrera, and that even the Macan S with 335bhp had more than the Cayman S. The Macan Sdiesel uses a version of the Cayenne Diesel’s 3.0-litre V6, good for 255bhp and 428lb ft torque.

The 3.6-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine, rated

at 406lb ft torque and which was claimed to shift the Macan Turbo to 62mph in 4.8 seconds (or 4.6 with Sport Chrono) and a 166mph top speed, was a stroked out 3.0litre version of an existing unit. However the 3.0-litre V6 in the Macan S was a new Porsche design, and while a short stroke, high revving design, its 339lb ft of torque was delivered in a linear curve so the engine wouldn’t feel flat at low revs.

Regardless of model, the Macan – the Indonesian word for Tiger – came with a seven-speed PDK transmission. The fourwheel drive transmission had Porsche Traction Management (PTM) as standard, and an electronically regulated clutch that saw the rear wheels driven in normal conditions, but torque progressively fed to the front wheels on slippery surfaces.

The S models rode on steel springs, with the PASM active suspension optional, and standard on the Turbo. Air suspension was extra, lowering the Porsche by 15mm on the normal setting, and offering higher and lower positions too. Electro mechanical steering was fitted.

In the unlikely event of an owner wishing to venture into the wilds, the off-road mode was engaged by a button on the centre console, at up to 50mph. This set the transmission for higher traction, including directing more drive to the front wheels, and also raised the ride height by 40mm when air suspension was fitted. Another button on the console of all three models engaged Sport mode, upping engine response and raising the PDK shift up points.

All models had comprehensive equipment including 18-inch diameter wheels on the S models and 19-inch on the Turbo, steering wheel shift paddles, a high end audio and an electrically operated tailgate. Wheels up to 21-inch were optionally available.

Weighing between 1865kg and 1925kg the Macan was no lightweight (that’s over a third heavier than a 911 of the time), but Porsche said it was the ‘first compact SUV that is also a sports car’. Its body incorporated design cues from other Porsches, such as 911 inspired rear wings and the 918 Spyder look headlamps, and certainly most found it prettier than the Cayenne.

While rivals BMW and Mercedes had been outsourcing SUV production to the US, Porsche stressed that the Macan was “Made in Germany”, claiming quality at the Leipzig factory, where €500m was spent on the new model’s production line, was of the highest level. In the UK the Macan S and S Diesel cost £43,300, and the Turbo £59,300, while in the US the S was priced at $49,900 and the Turbo at $72,300, the diesel model not offered there.

The first change to the model line-up came just weeks after launch, when without announcement a base model, the “Macan” appeared in the price list – marking the return of the four-cylinder Porsche after almost two decades.

One reason for the lack of fanfare surrounding the new model, which at £40,276 was just over £3000 cheaper than both Macan S models, was obvious: Porsche, which never likes to admit using other carmakers’ components, had installed Volkswagen’s Golf GTI engine, uprating it to 234bhp/258lb ft torque. Other than its lower price, the Macan didn’t appear to make much sense in the UK, because although its lower CO2 rating qualified it for £290 first year road tax rather than the £635 of the Macan S, it cost more to tax than the Diesel, and when pressed, Porsche said its main markets would include China and Asia Pacific where cars were taxed on engine size.

A second extra model, launched in October 2015, was of more interest, the application of the Gtsformula for a new petrol model to slot in between the Sand Turbo. The Macan Sturbo engine was tweaked up 20bhp to 355bhp, and by 30lb ft to 369lb ft torque. A sports exhaust was standard, as was a 15mm suspension drop and a more sporty setting for PASM. Twenty-inch diameter RS Spyder alloys were fitted, and exterior body accents were finished in black, while inside “GTS” sports seats with Alcantara centre panels were seen. The price was £55,188.

At the same time, improvements across the range were announced: a seven-inch screen for the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) and with a more intuitive operation, LED headlamps and retuned steering. Two equipment packages, exterior and interior, were offered for the Turbo, the exterior one including Sport Design door mirrors, black trim for some details and smoked rear lights, and the interior one introducing carbon sill kick plates, Alcantara trim and decorative seat stitching.

Perhaps as a result of VW’S “Dieselgate” scandal of 2015, in March 2016 Porsche 911 & PORSCHE WORLD made the 2.0-litre petrol Macan an official model for European markets, its engine spec uprated to 249bhp/273lb ft. Five months later a Macan Turbo with a new Performance Package was announced, delivering 434bhp/443lb ft torque. Brakes and suspension were also tweaked, and the price was a heady £68,073.

DRIVING THE MACAN

Some might be put off by the very fact that it’s an SUV, but the Macan drives in a very UN-SUV manner, with the Weissach pedigree always abundantly evident. While lacking the seat-of-the-pants element of a Cayman or 911, the Porsche hatchback has a beautifully balanced chassis, plus of course the added traction of four-wheel-drive. Every engine delivers the Porsche experience, too, even the 2.0-litre petrol VW unit, while the diesel pleases with its smoothness and torque.

Inside, the seats are grippy, providing a driving position that is a little higher than in most cars, but far lower than the lofty seat position in a traditional SUV. With the now familiar, large sloping centre console, you are always reminded that you’re in a Porsche.