Macan T loaner review

[HertsMacan]

My S has gone in for a new door sensor (comfort access not working), rattle from passenger seat, and emergency braking function not working. They have given me a T as a loaner which I was really interested to compare, and I thought I would share my opinions on here. They are of course only my opinions.

I absolutely love the steering wheel! Is this unique to the T? If its just an option on the S then i am gutted i didn't spec it, slightly smaller in diameter and thicker grip. Sounds stupid but it makes such a difference to driving the car. Wife don't like the patterned inlays but am not fussed either way, and this pattern continues on the steering wheel. I think this may be the T interior option.

Car has sports crono and air suspension and to be honest, i can't feel any difference nor see the point of the dial on the steering wheel - but maybe that's just me. Glad i didn't spec those. The extended leather is lovely, but i knew that at the time and you have to stop somewhere. Loaner does not have bose, and i am not convinced my car sounds any better with bose. Dammit - should have dropped Bose and gone for steering wheel upgrade!!!!

Now the elephant in the room. The big, massive difference is the engine. Don't get me wrong, put your foot down and it goes. Perfectly fast enough for its purpose - a family SUV, and will get you out of trouble when pulling away from a roundabout or getting out of a T junction quickly. However, there is a stark difference to the power delivery throughout the rev range and you do feel as if your thrashing it to get it going. I don't think i have ever needed to floor my S but this one you need to. The other unquestionable difference is the engine sound both on start up and when accelerating. The 6 cylinder sound is just sublime and i don't think, having had a 2.9 6 cylinder, i could ever go down to the 2 litre 4 pot.

If you have never had the 6 cylinder and really only want the extra sporty features, i can see why you would go for the T . Made me realise that the GTS must be absolutely awesome!

[andreas]

You hit the nail on the head! The 2.0 litre has to rev like hell to produce any performance, plus the PDK starts hunting around the gears to try to optimise things. It's not the relaxed power delivery we get in the larger engined versions.

[crockers]

True. But specced the same it's not the price of the S. I admit the S is superior engine wise. But that's it. You pays your money........

Maybe Porsche should have upped the power to 300 then you would have 265 300 380 440.

[Tracky]

Funnily enough I had a base this week too

Never been a fan of the engine but always thought they felt light on their feet around the twisties.

It did see feel that but the steering was horrible on this one. It was a very big spec car, over £70k from what I could work out, and I wonder if it has PS+ because it felt so disconnected and ruined what has always been the highlight of the base car for me. It was even on the correct tyres - Michelin.

Also no BOSE and I thought the quality was bad compared to our BOSE car

Overall very disappointed and couldn’t wait to get rid of it.

[Wing Commander]

Funnily enough I had a base this week too

Never been a fan of the engine but always thought they felt light on their feet around the twisties.

It did see feel that but the steering was horrible on this one. It was a very big spec car, over £70k from what I could work out, and I wonder if it has PS+ because it felt so disconnected and ruined what has always been the highlight of the base car for me. It was even on the correct tyres - Michelin.

Also no BOSE and I thought the quality was bad compared to our BOSE car

Overall very disappointed and couldn’t wait to get rid of it.

At least it had nice wheels!

[Wing Commander]

My S has gone in for a new door sensor (comfort access not working), rattle from passenger seat, and emergency braking function not working. They have given me a T as a loaner which I was really interested to compare, and I thought I would share my opinions on here. They are of course only my opinions.

I absolutely love the steering wheel! Is this unique to the T? If its just an option on the S then i am gutted i didn't spec it, slightly smaller in diameter and thicker grip. Sounds stupid but it makes such a difference to driving the car. Wife don't like the patterned inlays but am not fussed either way, and this pattern continues on the steering wheel. I think this may be the T interior option.

Car has sports crono and air suspension and to be honest, i can't feel any difference nor see the point of the dial on the steering wheel - but maybe that's just me. Glad i didn't spec those. The extended leather is lovely, but i knew that at the time and you have to stop somewhere. Loaner does not have bose, and i am not convinced my car sounds any better with bose. Dammit - should have dropped Bose and gone for steering wheel upgrade!!!!

Now the elephant in the room. The big, massive difference is the engine. Don't get me wrong, put your foot down and it goes. Perfectly fast enough for its purpose - a family SUV, and will get you out of trouble when pulling away from a roundabout or getting out of a T junction quickly. However, there is a stark difference to the power delivery throughout the rev range and you do feel as if your thrashing it to get it going. I don't think i have ever needed to floor my S but this one you need to. The other unquestionable difference is the engine sound both on start up and when accelerating. The 6 cylinder sound is just sublime and i don't think, having had a 2.9 6 cylinder, i could ever go down to the 2 litre 4 pot.

If you have never had the 6 cylinder and really only want the extra sporty features, i can see why you would go for the T . Made me realise that the GTS must be absolutely awesome!

Great review. I honestly wonder if the (much) longer waiting time for an S compared to a 2.0 or T sways a lot of folks towards the 4-cylinder models (as it very much did for me in 2015 when I ordered my first Porsche).

[Wightwash]

Car has sports crono and air suspension and to be honest, i can't feel any difference nor see the point of the dial on the steering wheel - but maybe that's just me.

Really interesting that you didn't feel the difference between the different driving and chassis modes using the wheel mounted selector, it is usually quite significant.

[gammaray]

JayEmm on Cars put it best during his Macan T review I think - the base Macan is (to some people) a great “it’ll do” car. But a lot of people want a Porsche to feel more than just satisfied: they want it to feel genuinely special and more like a sporty Porsche. That is when the V6 option is worthwhile.

Otherwise, for someone looking at a GLC300 or an X3 or Q5 with a 2.0L as well, the base and Macan T do the job perfectly (if not better because it handles amazingly and has endless customisation options over those rivals).

[PJV997]

Otherwise, for someone looking at a GLC300 or an X3 or Q5 with a 2.0L as well, the base and Macan T do the job perfectly (if not better because it handles amazingly and has endless customisation options over those rivals).

Agreed.

I suspect 80%+, maybe 90%+, of medium size SUVs are running 2 litre four cylinder engines. And for most owners they are perfectly happy with that. I would imagine the interior quality and feel of a highly specced demo car is a bigger draw than a ‘proper Porsche engine’ for many considering Macan ownership.

[crockers]

Otherwise, for someone looking at a GLC300 or an X3 or Q5 with a 2.0L as well, the base and Macan T do the job perfectly (if not better because it handles amazingly and has endless customisation options over those rivals).

Agreed.

I suspect 80%+, maybe 90%+, of medium size SUVs are running 2 litre four cylinder engines. And for most owners they are perfectly happy with that. I would imagine the interior quality and feel of a highly specced demo car is a bigger draw than a ‘proper VW GROUP engine’ for many considering Macan ownership.

corrected that for you