2015 Porsche Macan preview
The Porsche 911 recently celebrated its 50th anniversary but these days Porsche is about so much more than just the one iconic sports car. The big Kian SUV for example is an absolutely phenomenal sales success but it is still a bit too big for some people, and that is where the Macan comes in.
You’d probably be surprised if I told you Porsche have made a car that is a bit slow, great around the corners and generally pretty bad to drive, but it hasn’t. In fact it’s pretty much as good as it gets on the road in almost every area. Even the diesel engine in this car is pretty quick. In our test it went from 0-60mph in 6.1 seconds. If you want outright pace there are other options, you can get the Turbo which will provide blissful acceleration but to be honest I would stick with the diesel. It’s going to be pretty quick in the real world and much cheaper to run. Every version of the car gets a sports button and that does things like sharpen the throttle response, the gear change and the steering. It makes a real difference to how the car drives. Another thing that makes a real difference to how this car behaves on the road is the air suspension that comes as an option. If you go for that then this car rides absolutely beautifully. It also has a clever little trick where you can lower the back of the car just to help you get things in and out a bit easier. You don’t need to go for it however as even on the standard set up this car still soaks up all the bumps pretty well. But for all that blistering pace, those amazing sounding engines in most cases, this car just settles down wonderfully when you take it on to the motorway. It’s relaxed, it rides comfortably and there’s very little in the way of noise that makes it into the cabin, it’s just like a different car. So this car is wonderfully bonkers when you want it to be and beautifully settled and refined when you don’t. You get the best of both worlds.
Regardless of which model you go for, Porsche makes some of the best cabins that are available at the moment, and the Macan is no different. Even if you go for the entry level version then it is covered with materials, absolutely fantastic and all of the actions are really smooth and high quality feeling. Although there are some more expensive feeling leather materials as you go up the range but you don’t really need to go for them as it feels great without them. Appropriately given how this car drives, the high set central console and the figure hugging seats that can really drop quite low down gives the cabin a really sporty feel to it. When it comes to seeing out of the cabin it’s actually pretty good. Looking out of the front there’s a good view all round and if you are comparing it to the likes of the BMW X Sport which is a much sportier SUV at the back then it is pretty good. The one thing that is a disappointment in the cabin is really the central section. The touchscreen isn’t really the most modern of systems. It’s a bit fiddly in the amount of options you’ve got to go through and the buttons just feel a little bit cheap as well. The buttons by the gear stick feel fantastic but the problem is there’s just a bit too many of them. Some of the dials you get in the central system are a lot easier to use when you are on the move without having to take your eye off the road.
The Macan’s weak point in several areas is its practicality. When it comes to space for passengers for example, this car is not quite as big as say the X3. There’s more leg room in the BMW and head room is ok unless if you have a tall family you would opt to go without the panoramic sunroof as it does make things a little bit cramped in the back. Although there is a third seat belt in the middle it really is just an occasional seat because of the great big raised floor and the seat is a little bit higher so head room is an issue as well. The other thing that is not quite as good as it is in the Macan’s rivals is the boot. One thing that is a bit of an irritation is you get an electronic tail gate as standard which is great but although it has lovely beautiful lines at the back there is no button, so, to open it you’ve got to use the key or a button back in the cabin. Once you’ve got the boot open there’s quite a decent amount of space. You’ve got 500 litres which is still about 50 litres short of what you get in the BMW X3 but it’s a good shape – it’s nice and even, has a good amount of underfloor storage and the seats fold totally flat. They are quite heavy but they come down in one quick easy movement giving you a totally flat loading bay when they are down.
It may not surprise you to learn that if you walk right into your dealership and you hand over a suitcase full of cash then the Porsche Macan is not the cheapest car you can buy, but that is not the whole story. This car is so desirable especially that badge, so it will hold onto its value really well which means it’s going to be cheaper to pay for it on a monthly basis if you choose to pay for it that way. Secondly if running costs are your thing then the diesel which is our pick of the range is really quite impressive when it comes to fuel economy. The official figures and the Co2 figures aren’t the best in the class but our real world testers found that it was just a little bit below those figures in the real world so about 40mpg. Servicing costs are also competitive but running this car might not be the financial burden you might imagine if you just look at the list price. Where this car does get quite expensive however is when you start looking at the options list and that is because there are quite a few things missing that you might expect on a car that is costing in excess of £40K. You do get some fantastic stuff thrown in don’t get me wrong such as leather interior and digital radio, however it is a little bit penny pinching and disappointing that you have to pay extra for Bluetooth and cruise control even on the top level models. So the answer should you buy a Porsche Macan is both yes and no for two very different reasons. This car is fantastic in how it drives, how fast it is and that gorgeous cabin, however with a slightly more sensible head on the Macan isn’t quite as practical as it rivals and it can get expensive when you add up all those optional extras. However that will not spoil what is a great car for many people.
