ST|LL A PORSCHE

Five key takeaways from Ben Miller’s drives in prototype Macans

1. The entry-level is fast, the Turbo’s a missile

‘The lesser car is fine; fast even. But its pace never truly impresses, its straight-line fireworks dampened by mass, impressive rolling refinement and a long-travel throttle. By contrast the Turbo is irrepressible, launching from roundabouts like a rock from a sling and savaging steep climbs as if gravity’s been temporarily switched o. Overtakes just sort of happen, like blinking or breathing.’

2. |t sounds weird. But good weird

‘The synthetic powertrain soundtrack is part Star Wars, part hybrid endurance racer, with an intensity that waxes and wanes with throttle position.’

3. The brakes do the business

‘They’re powerful, with a firm-ish pedal and without a trace of that soggy vagueness that plagues so many EVs as regenerative braking hands over to actual calipers, pistons and discs.’

4. The base chassis is a belter…

‘The suspension combines real compliance with impressive roll control. The Macan feels mighty – its grip, power and poise, and their adjustable interplay, completely immerse you in the driving.’

5. …but the Turbo’s is better

‘The base Macan handles nicely but, on swapping back into it after the Turbo, it also feels far less sharp. Head of vehicle dynamics Maurice van de Weerd credits rear-wheel steering in particular. |t allows Porsche to calm down the faster steering ratio fitted to RWS cars at high speed by turning the rears in the same direction as the fronts, but “basically doubles the agility” in lower-speed turns.’