Porsche Macan (2019) International Launch Review
Do small changes to Porsches always yield big results? We drive the new Macan in Majorca to find out.
Platform engineering and Porsche. It’s an uncomfortable scenario. For decades the brand’s iconic two-door sportscars were an engineering destiny unto their own, selfishly commanding the substantial technical talents at Porsche headquarters.
The brand’s decision to add SUVs to its product portfolio necessitated shared platforms with VW and Audi, which proved brilliantly profitable, but also problematic. There’s nothing even remotely like a 911 within Audi or VW’s online car configurator, but what’s the difference between a radically overequipped Q5 and Macan?
The Macan and the Audi Q5 may sit on the same chassis but Porsche dials in small changes to make it feel different.
I spent a few days on the Balearic Island to learn how Porsche’s latest shared platform SUV product is uniquely Stuttgart inspired. Launched in 2014, Macan has been tremendously successful for Porsche, providing both performance family car and gravel traveller all in one for those customers who live in the most crowded of cities – with parking limits which might not squeeze a Cayenne.
The late 2018 Macan product upgrade is partly a digitisation of the SUV’s cabin but also features some deeper mechanical engineering improvements. It’s the kind of detail you’d easily miss, but also the calibre of componentry which makes Porsche platform shared vehicles so different from Audi and VW’s. A great shared structure is one thing, but the dynamic contact points – suspension, steering, brakes – are what combine to deliver the differentiated Porsche driving experience.
Like a 2/3rds Cayenne
Styling changes are mostly an inheritance of the new Cayenne’s four-point LED headlights and horizontal strip tailgate lighting. There are four new colours and five switchblade options, to allow for greater customer car individualisation. I’m not one to obsess about colour palette merits, but the hue which you really should choose is Miami Blue. On the Macan’s tighter dimensions and more balanced proportions, this vivid disco azure hue just works.
Blue against more blue, a similar colour has been used on Porsches before, any guesses which one?
If you are one of those Weissach obsessed Porschephiles, the Miami Blue colour scheme might trigger a vague familiarity within your Porsche subconscious… Think a bit. A bit more. No? Still struggling to draw the similarity? Porsche’s legendary 993 Carrera RS featured a colour code called Riviera blue and if you are in the ridiculously privileged position to own one of those air-cooled road racing classics, and required a new family SUV to colour match, then a Miami Blue Macan will do quite nicely.
I mentioned digitisation and Porsche’s committed heavily to making the new Macan partner with your Smartphone. The infotainment screen has grown from 7.2- to 10.9-inches, features touch functionality and a wealth of apps managed via Porsche Connect. It’s the kind of thing which is required in a world where Smartphones have embedded their presence in every possible aspect of our lives. The improved digitation will prove greatly useful as a convenience and life-admiration tool for most customers, but I take comfort in the fact that Porsche remains a brand that hasn’t been lulled into the foolishness of attempting to replace all cabin functions with touchscreen menu functionality.
Aviation cockpit style plastic push buttons still frame the centre console and provide direct input when you are focusing on the road and need to jab at adaptive damper settings or climate control functions. I can’t be bothered to riffle through second- and third-level digital menu functions to control cabin temperature or make simple adjustments and my hope is that Porsche may long continue its tradition of having ‘analogue’ override controls for most of its cabin functions. That said, there’s voice control for mastering most communication and infotainment.
Small but considered improvements
Porsche still maintains an analogue approach to setting changes. Buttons anyone?
Mechanically not much has changed. The engines remain similar in configuration, with software upgrades and some improved boost geometry. Macan’s 2-litre is good for 185 kW and 370 Nm, whist Macan S features the 3-lire V6, cranking 260 kW and 480 Nm. As with all Porsches, they do feel a touch livelier than those official dynamometer figures suggest.
Both engines engage Macan’s all-wheel-drive configuration through Porsche’s renowned seven-speed PDK transmission, and if you require the utmost throttle response urgency, there’s an optional Sport Chrono package, which trims a few tenths off the benchmark acceleration times.
Narrower front tyres at the front and optional air suspension setup make the Macan nimble and plush.
Similar to Porsche’s third-generation Cayenne, Macan now rolls asymmetric tyres, which are narrowed on the front axle than the rear, thereby improving turn-in nimbleness by a fraction. There’s optional torque vectoring too and If you invest in the brilliantly adaptable air-suspension system, expect the very best combination of ride quality and weight-transfer mitigation under severe braking and high-load cornering. Macan’s most sophisticated suspension arrangement has been redesigned to feature an improved hydraulic circuit in the twin-chamber air system, reaction quicker to peak load inputs.
An excellent example of Porsche’s dedicated component evolution with new Macan are its front axle springs, which have transitioned in their material composition from steel to aluminium, saving weight. Tiny details, but combined, they compound to deliver that discerning Porsche driving experience.
So how does it go?
Majorca’s mountain passes and country lanes are typical European technical driving fare: narrow and although excellently surfaced, also littered with off-camber corners and absolutely no shoulder to provide a margin of forgiveness if you do get it wrong. It’s not the place I’d envision wanting to drive a large SUV in a hurry, but also a choice environment to learn how Macan manages to be a five-seater Porsche with 500-litres of luggage space and 182 mm of ground clearance, which can be driven with confidence on these unforgiving roads.
Majorca has some extremely narrow roads, not ideal for an SUV but the 182 mm of ride height gives a commanding view.
There’s no anxiety of adjustment transitioning into Macan and being tasked to drive with urgency on challenging roads. Porsches have always featured near-perfect driving cabin ergonomics, and despite its SUV ride height and more commanding field of view, the pedal spacing, steering and seat adjustment allow for a terrific driving position which is uncannily more GT-car than gravel traveller.
Between Macan and Macan S the most obvious difference is that V6’s surging urge. With Sport Plus the throttle and gearshift calibration is sufficiently aggressive to yield a 0-100 kph time of 5.1 sec, with Porsche’s four-cylinder Macan trailing that by 1.4 seconds. There’s a 27 kph difference in top speed too, with Macan S peaking at 254 kph and Macan reaching its maximum velocity a 227 kph.
The great mitigating factor between these two Macan models is weight distribution and the general excellence of Porsche’s latest generation PDK, which is so alert and intuitive in its shifting that the four-cylinder engine rarely falls into any lag. The 2-litre Macan is also 70 kg lighter than its V6-engined sibling and crucially most of that weight advantage has been shaved-off above the front axle, which means the four-cylinder car stands on its nose less during aggressive braking and turns in with a touch more crispness. The optional ceramic braking system would be total overkill on a four-cylinder Macan.
500 litres of luggage space that can get to 100 kph in 5.1 seconds with the Macan S.
In their class these new Macans retain their fabled driving prowess, but they’ll appeal to very different customers. Those who want zero-panic overtaking urge will find a compelling performance SUV solution in Macan S, but I experienced the 2-litre Macan as one of the best downsize engined vehicles I’ve ever driven. It’s spread of dynamics – throttle response, steering response, braking – are a touch more accessible most of the time.
Two features of the new Macan illustrate Porsche’s ability to blend tradition with convention. There’s an off-road app, which allows you to trace a segment of off-road driving and share it on social media. Not really my kind of thing, but novel all the same. Then there’s also an optional GT-specific steering wheel, borrowed from the 911, which at 360 mm is a touch smaller in diameter than a standard Macan helm and works that much quicker through the hands when you are managing more than a rotation of lock on fabulously challenging roads.
Macan might share its platform with other vehicles, but it’s the garnish of Porsche specific components attached to its structure which gifts it that valuable Zuffenhausen driving DNA.
Pricing
The Porsche Macan lands in SA during the first quarter of 2019.
Porsche Macan - R845 000
Porsche Macan S - TBC
https://www.cars.co.za/motoring_news/porsche-macan-2019-international-launch-review/45922/
orsche Macan S PDK
