Glad you’re liking the car. I’m coming up to a year with my Macan S and I find the longer I have it the more I love it. It’s such a great all-rounder and I can’t think of anything else that might match it as a high-quality, do-it-all car.
What I appreciate most:
- Interior quality and refinement, comfort, quietness - everyone who has sat in my Macan is blown away by the interior (I have the beige/black colour combination and it’s gorgeous)
- Ease of driving, ergonomics, driving position, visibility, awareness of where the corners of the car are
- It feels nippy and alive for a two-tonne SUV - not ‘sporty’, but responsive and feels lighter than it is
- It’s quicker than you’ll ever need. If you want to it’s fast enough to be a bit frightening
- The car is spacious but not as wide as you expect, so it is brilliant and relaxing to drive on narrow country roads. For me it’s a perfect size
- Ride quality (I have 20” standard wheels and air suspension) - ride is very comfortable, handles speed bumps beautifully, but car is very level and reassuring in corners
What I like least (minor except perhaps the first, and every car has it’s foibles):
- The transmission bulge in the RHD driver footwell, and the offset pedals - I think it’s the cause of leg cramp on 5hr+ drives and it detracts from the notion that this could otherwise be a very good grand tourer
- PCM and satnav are not the best implemented, though they’re fine when they work correctly - for example it recently deleted all my home, favourite, and recent destinations in the middle of a journey and suddenly now gets glitchy about whether it will start a satnav route or not. Maybe it’s an update that installed itself that did this, but it’s the sort of minor niggle that keeps happening with this Porsche system
- Turbocharging means laggy throttle response, but that’s how nearly all cars are these days - just something you have to live with, but it’s a shame when the normally aspirated Audi 4.2 V8 is one of the best engines ever made and the Audi 2.9 V6 turbo used here is a lesser choice
- Flappy paddles are useless. I can’t drive properly with them at all, so the manual setting isn’t really a usable option. Why did they get rid of the manual gearstick operation?
- Boot tailgate angle restricts the usable space a bit, but it’s what makes the car look better than its boxy rivals
- Haptic ‘buttons’ on centre console require you to take your eye off the road for too long
- PDK blips the throttle on downshifts - I’d rather it didn’t; it makes the car feel unsettled under braking
Options I am most glad I specced:
- Mojave beige/black interior
- Acoustic insulated glass
- Heated steering wheel - surprising how nice this is on a cool day
- GT Sports steering wheel - just a little smaller than the standard wheel but it changes the feel of the car, for me, and feels more engaging
- Aluminium look fuel filler cap - it’s silly and cheap but it makes me happy every time I refuel. The other day I went to the local car valet and when they finished the owner came to me and said “you know, the build quality on these Porsches is just another level” and to prove it he pointed to my filler cap!
- Surround view and 75l fuel tank, of course - no-brainer to spec these
- Burmester - needs 200hrs play or so to bed in but then sounds great; also enhances the look of the interior more than speccing leather and stuff does - it’s expensive, though
doesn't seem worth it
Other companies though are half the price so once we're off the multicar next year it's all good.
