My thoughts , 6 weeks and 1200 miles

[Scooby_Doo]

I've had the Macan for about six weeks now and done about 1200 miles , so a few thoughts :-

My original order for a new Macan "T" ( 2.0 litre) was White with 21" alloys and a few other choice options. The ex demo Macan "S" I bought is Gentian Blue with 20" alloys and £17k of options. Buying an ex-demo obviously gave me no choice on individual options but being “forced” to accept somebody else’s choices sometimes works in your favour.
Colour - I still like a White Macan but the Gentian Blue with the aluminium highlights (and red calipers) looks great, a bit too bling for some, but the first comment I get from everybody is ,"I love the colour" . My previous two cars have been white and never had a problem with light scratches and swirls and small chips have always been easy to repair. Gentian Blue shows every little mark and swirl but does look stunning after it’s been cleaned. Would I actually spec it as a colour – on balance I think I would.

Seats – My “T” spec had the 18 way seats and the “S” has 14 way , the 14 way are just as comfortable as the 18 way but the 14’s are easier to live with on a daily basis.
Extended Leather - On my original spec, looks and feels great , gives the car that extra bit of class (s/be standard) Contrast stitching would make it look even better but not worth an extra £2500
Wheels - 21" alloys were always at the top of my list but the 20" double 5 spoke (polished) would be my choice of wheel in hindsight. They're easy to clean and I can actually clean the red calipers through the spokes. I cleaned my wife's Juke yesterday , 19" multispoke , took bloody ages to clean them.

Engine - in my heart I always wanted the 2.9 V6 , as a car with a Porsche badge should have an engine to match , but a new one was about £5k over my budget. After 1200 miles with the “S” I think I would have been slightly underwhelmed with the “T”, my previous C250d had 205hp and a useful 500Nm of torque, floor it above 2000rpm and it just flew.
375 bhp and a 0-60 in 4.7 seconds puts a big grin on my face every time I press hard with my right foot , it's fast. It's also so comfortable and quiet thanks to the air suspension and thermally insulated glass, even my grandson has commented on how quiet the car is , even though he's glued to his iphone most of the time.
MPG on a few 80 mile round trips has been about 31 mpg and 22mpg on the 8 mile school run, I only do about 7000 miles a year so can live those figures.

Panoramic Roof ( On my spec) - brightens up the interior no end and open is a lot less draughty than the one on my C Class - bigger wind deflector.
Running boards - the general opinion was that they just got in the way when getting into the car so I decided not to spec them on the "T" , but very relieved that they're fitted to the "S". I have a sit on kayak and there was always a question mark over whether I could transport it on the Macan, but the boards are brilliant , loading and strapping it to the roof rack is a dawdle. I can also clean the roof easily.

Other fitted options :-
Towbar - probably never use it.
Adaptive cruise - don't like it at all , cruise is fine but is sometimes overridden by the adaptive system PITA.
Porsche crests on headrests - I never notice them.
Loadspace management system – useful on occasions but I wouldn’t spec it.
Heated windscreen & steering wheel - car's always parked in the garage , might be handy on the odd occasion.
Silver tailpipes – look nice but I think £606 could be better spent elsewhere.
Illuminated sill plates – look nice.
Silver “Macan “S” on sideblades – on Gentian , definitely.
Thermally insulated glass +privacy glass. – The car is very quiet unless I’m pressing on, and very glad that it’s fitted , would I spend over £1000 to spec it – ask me when I order another Macan.
One thing I have noticed , not sure if it’s because of the insulated glass, but the tint on the rear windows isn’t very dark, not a complaint, I have pretty grandchildren, but my neighbours new GLE’s tint is virtually opaque.

Things I don't like - having had column shift Mercedes autos for the past ten years I'm finding it hard to adapt to a centre console shift that doesn't automatically set or release the handbrake . The useless speedometer, although I'm now used to looking at the digital speedo under the rev counter , easier to read actually.

Things I really really like - The car , the engine , the ride - everything apart from the gearshift.

Still can't get over the fact that I got the "S" for slightly less than the cost of a new "T" and didn’t have to wait 12 months for delivery.
Main omission – no spare wheel

[ScotMac]

One of the nice things about a demo is getting "free" extras that you wouldn't normally spec..

As you say, some may be useful and some may grow on you

[Jon A]

Re ACC, there is no “normal cruise” you are always in adaptive from the moment it’s initiated.
Give it time, standard cc is next to useless by comparison.

[Scooby_Doo]

Re ACC, there is no “normal cruise” you are always in adaptive from the moment it’s initiated.
Give it time, standard cc is next to useless by comparison.

I don't use it that often but with my kayak on the roof I try and keep it to about 65mph, what I've yet to get used to is how to operate it. I probably need to adjust the distance to the car in front before it kicks in.

[HertsMacan]

Re ACC, there is no “normal cruise” you are always in adaptive from the moment it’s initiated.
Give it time, standard cc is next to useless by comparison.

Agreed.

[Deleted User 4788]

Whilst on my PEC experience I learned that you don't need to manually release the electronic handbrake, you just drive away, works well plus the hold function on a hill is really useful.
Gentian Blue in this sunny weather really looks the part.
My only criticism regarding the paintwork is that the paint in comparison to other makes of cars I've had, seems 'soft' and scratches easily.
ACC comes into its own on busy, nose to tail motorway driving.
Surround view, especially TOP view is brilliant and helps my crap parking manoeuvring in todays tight spaces.

[wab172uk]

Nice review. Yes Gentian Blue with silver roof bars, windows and tail pipes look great. I would say that though !!!!

One option I wish I'd ticked was the thermally insulated glass. I had it on my X3 but didn't think it would be much different without. I was wrong. On a hot day, you can feel the heat coming through the windows, while on the X3 you didn't. Kicking myself over that one.

18 way seats. I thought I'd F**ked up at first as I just couldn't get comfy and my back was aching even after just 30 min of driving. But now I've played about with them, I've found my comfy setting. I think slackening off the side bolsters helps a lot. For me, I do think the 14 way seats are probably the better day to day option, but I do love how the 18 way seats feel far more sporty and supportive. Pleased I bought them.

[EngineerMK]

I've had my S for 5 weeks now... the overall spec is close yours, also Gentian Blue with chrome highlights. 1500miles in I agree with most of your comments. I love the ACC and wouldn't buy a car with out it, I've had it on previous cars, and use it on every trip. The loadspace management system is used on every supermarket shopping trip to stop the groceries flying everywhere, a loose tin of white emulsion in a Mk 1 Golf taught me the importance of securing loads, it took a long time clean up! I have acoustically/thermally insulated glass (but not with privacy glass), it is slightly darker than standard glass, maybe thats why your privacy glass doesn't look dark as there is less of a contrast to standard glass.

[Skyway]

I'm not sure how good the acoustic glass is, but there's no way I'd want to suppress the lovely sound coming from the V6 engine

[EngineerMK]

I'm not sure how good the acoustic glass is, but there's no way I'd want to suppress the lovely sound coming from the V6 engine

the V6 growl is still there