Porsche Macan GTS
Revised, faster, more dynamic
Porsche used to have a habit of keeping models around forever, giving them a big update every so often, but sticking with the same basic car. The original 911 ran from 1964 to 1989 and the 928 stuck around from 1978 to 1995. The brand is in considerably better financial health these days, so its models tend to have normal seven-year life cycles, but the Macan has been around since 2014 and has just received its second facelift. The reason is that it must hold the fort until an all-new electric Macan arrives in 2023, and even then it will continue to be sold alongside the newer EV, until 2024.
The exterior revisions are subtle, as is so often the way with Porsche facelifts. The main change is to the front bumper, which has a more horizontal style. The indicators have moved up and LED headlights are now standard, too. The GTS, meanwhile, appears to be entering a gothic phase and has also broken out the black lip gloss. At the back, there’s a redesigned diffuser.
Inside, the Volkswagen Group’s war on switchgear has found its way to the Macan, as the cascade of buttons in the centre console has been replaced by a touch-sensitive and fingerprint-attracting panel. It does look modern and the haptic feedback ensures it’s relatively easy to use, but it’s no step forward for usability. The gear selector in the middle is still a physical lever, but it has lost its leather gaiter, exposing the naked plastic.
Mechanically, the changes appear a lot more substantial. At first sight, at least. The Macan Turbo has been dropped and Porsche’s press release talks about power boosts for the Macan S and GTS. What has actually happened is that the new GTS gets a mildly tweaked version of the old Turbo’s 434bhp 2.9-litre V6, while the Macan S gets the old GTS engine – a 375bhp version of the same V6 – instead of the old 3.0-litre unit. The regular
Macan gets a 20bhp upgrade to its 2.0-litre four-cylinder.
In practice, the GTS’S ‘new’ engine is very effective and linear and emits a purposeful if somewhat tuneless sound with less whoosh and more growl than the old turbo. You can’t call it anything other than fast, but the competition has caught up and there are plenty of rivals with more firepower. Even a Volkswagen Golf R isn’t far behind.
The more significant changes are in the chassis, where the air suspension that was previously an option is now standard on the GTS, putting the body 10mm lower to the ground, and it is 10% stiffer at the front and 15% stiffer at the rear. Porsche says the system has been retuned for a wider range of adjustment.
That rings true, because while it is relatively firm in Comfort mode, it rounds off bad road surfaces better than most thanks to highquality damping, which makes it – on the whole – more comfortable than many more softly suspended cars. There’s a bit of roll, but the stiffer damper modes and the lower ride height setting for the air suspension will expertly get rid of that. They’re all perfectly usable on British roads, too.
Press on and the Macan GTS also does a credible impression of a hot hatch, despite its almost two-tonne kerb weight and tall body. Nicely weighted steering and plenty of grip give you all the confidence you need, while the torque vectoring makes a tangible difference, firing you out of tighter corners with the unreal sensation of an unseen hand giving you a gentle push. Mat the throttle
❝ Press on and the Macan GTS does a credible impression of a hot hatch ❞
on the exit of really tight corners and the Porsche will even allow enough power to go to the rear for a smidgen of oversteer. If there is one reservation, it’s a slight vagueness in the steering, but the optional Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres might remedy that.
The refreshed Macan retains all the other traits that made it great before – fantastically supportive and adjustable seats, possibly the best steering wheel on sale today and looks that have aged remarkably well.
The interior no longer appears particularly modern, but depending on how you look at it, that might not be a bad thing, as the materials by and large remain top notch. (Just steer clear of the optional painted air vents.) It’s the same story for the infotainment system. It has lost some physical shortcut buttons and it’s not the most modern system out there, but you can do much worse. Not least in other Volkswagen Group brands.
The GTS starts at £64,770, which puts it into a slight no-man’s land, where it’s faster and more expensive than warm SUVS like the BMW X3 M40i and Mercedes-amg GLC 43, but a little behind the big league of the X3 M and GLC 63. Given how good the Macan GTS otherwise still is, that makes it reasonable value in a way, although there is still plenty of opportunity to get robbed on the options list, so it’s not quite a Dacia Duster.