Macan T - Papaya or Carmine Red?

[crockers]

At OPC today got chatting with a lady whose Macan 2.0 was in for its 1st MOT.

"My only regret is not getting the three litre" she said.

But then again it's her only Porsche.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing..

Often quoted in divorce courts

[Moriarty]

At OPC today got chatting with a lady whose Macan 2.0 was in for its 1st MOT.

"My only regret is not getting the three litre" she said.

But then again it's her only Porsche.

Of course we do not know how this lady would have felt if she had bought the 3.0. Maybe she would be saying “my only regret is spending so much for the 3.0 when the 2.0 would have been more than enough”.

The reality of the Macan S and GTS is that they are not sporty or real drivers’ cars. They are comfortable, refined, spacious, relaxing to drive, they handle well for a 2-tonne SUV, and they have more than ample power. That’s all true for the 2.0 models as well. This lady likely has an idea in her head of the 3.0 Macans which is not how the cars are.

My wife currently has a BMW 2-Series Gran Coupé 218. It has a 1.5l 3-cylinder turbo engine and does 0-62 in 9.1 seconds. It weighs 1.4 tonnes. When I switch between cars, the small BMW is a bit more fun to drive than my Macan S, and I never once felt that it lacked power. It overtakes effortlessly on all roads. The steering has more feel and precision than the Macan S. And the BMW’s exhaust note sounds better in the cabin than the Macan S - more deep and growly. The Macan S beats it in cabin luxury, space, and comfort, and it’s a more relaxing drive.

In the past I had an Audi S5 4.2l V8, bought when it was released, and before they replaced the wonderful V8 with the 2.9l V6 turbo. I loved that engine - so much torque through the whole rev range and the most glorious, cultured V8 sound. But when I drove my wife’s VW Tiguan 2.0 (that she had at the time) I couldn’t say I enjoyed driving it any less than the S5. The S5 was too heavy and wide to really relax driving it, but it was lovely to power up hills in it and I never grew tired of the sound.

In both cases, if I drove my wife’s cars for a week, I adjusted to the different power and they felt as powerful as the S5 or Macan S do. All things are relative and when you change or remove your comparison point, your perspective changes too.

A Macan 2.0 is much quicker than you need and buying the bigger engine is not going to change the driving experience or the characteristics of the car much. If anything I suspect you’d notice the lighter weight of the 2.0 engine more than you would the lower (but still more than ample) horsepower. 80kg lighter is like taking a largeish passenger out, and you’ll feel that in the corners.

[Bluesnose1812]

...... A Macan 2.0 is much quicker than you need and buying the bigger engine is not going to change the driving experience or the characteristics of the car much. If anything I suspect you’d notice the lighter weight of the 2.0 engine more than you would the lower (but still more than ample) horsepower. 80kg lighter is like taking a largeish passenger out, and you’ll feel that in the corners.

Forget power - on normal roads it's irrelevant. Few rev the engine over 3k for more than 10 % of the time.

I found that the lack of torque in the 2.0 relative to the 2.9 is my major concern for such a heavy car. Constant hunting up and down the box doesn't make for relaxed cruising.

[Moriarty]

...... A Macan 2.0 is much quicker than you need and buying the bigger engine is not going to change the driving experience or the characteristics of the car much. If anything I suspect you’d notice the lighter weight of the 2.0 engine more than you would the lower (but still more than ample) horsepower. 80kg lighter is like taking a largeish passenger out, and you’ll feel that in the corners.

Forget power - on normal roads it's irrelevant. Few rev the engine over 3k for more than 10 % of the time.

I found that the lack of torque in the 2.0 relative to the 2.9 is my major concern for such a heavy car. Constant hunting up and down the box doesn't make for relaxed cruising.

I completely agree that it’s all about low-mid range torque, and peak horsepower is irrelevant. And so many modern cars have been improved dramatically since manufacturers started fitting turbos to fill in the gaps in low-mid range torque.

To be honest, though, I also find the Macan S to be finicky if you have it in comfort mode. The dopey PDK gearbox is always in the wrong gear when you want to accelerate, with the second clutch always readied to select an even worse gear. It’s all fine if you’re driving in a relaxed fashion but if you want to accelerate out of a corner you have to play with the paddles and time it so the acceleration comes before the PDK box decides to switch back to 7th gear for you. And if you press the throttle a little too far then the PDK will try to drop down another gear, which it isn’t prepared for, and then you’ve missed your acceleration opportunity entirely. Sports mode improves things but also makes the car a bit jerky at low speed.

If we could have a manual gearbox all the Macans would feel a lot more fun and effortless to drive in a spirited fashion. And of course we don’t need seven gears.

[Scooby_Doo]

The 9g slushbox in my previous MB was brilliant , always instant response and sport was even better when pressing along. The Macan can be very sluggish when puling away from a standing start , especially turning right at juctions.

[dammitjanet]

The 9g slushbox in my previous MB was brilliant , always instant response and sport was even better when pressing along. The Macan can be very sluggish when puling away from a standing start , especially turning right at juctions.

I'll miss mine a bit, MB nailed it to make such a seamless box

[Moriarty]

The 9g slushbox in my previous MB was brilliant , always instant response and sport was even better when pressing along. The Macan can be very sluggish when puling away from a standing start , especially turning right at juctions.

I’ll admit the 7-Speed PDK is very good at fuel saving, and you couldn’t possibly match that changing manually. But as instant as the gear changes are, no automatic gearbox can predict the gear you are going to need for what you know you will do next. And, fundamentally, they are designed to pre-select gears based on whether you are braking or accelerating, so if you brake into a corner the car will think you are intending to slow or stop, not to accelerate out of the corner.

[crockers]

And there was me thinking the Macan had a manual mode

[jonpinky]

And there was me thinking the Macan had a manual mode

I suppose that is in the manual as well is it

[Moriarty]

And there was me thinking the Macan had a manual mode

It does but it’s pretty hectic with seven gears and you have to keep your hands on the wheel at quarter to three, which is uncomfortable for me and you can’t turn the wheel one-handed like a normal person and still change gear. Older Macans allowed manual gearshifts with the gear selector, but not on the current models. Manual mode doesn’t work well for me so I just leave it in auto and use the downshift paddle when I need to. But, as I said, it doesn’t take long before the car will reverse your downshift and put you back in 7th gear.