I promised Clive I would write of my experiences of my Macan’s so far. It’s not my intention to bore you all senseless or preach to the converted, they are my personal comments and please feel free to disagree, comment or ignore as you feel apt.
I have been lucky enough to own three Macan’s, GTS, TPP and Turbo (Gen 2) in the last four years.
Thought I’d split into three parts in case you lose the will to live part way through.
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GTS (Gen 1 March 2016)
My Macan history dates back to 2014 when I spotted a Macan Turbo at the PEC. I decided to book a 90min session to test its capabilities under instruction. Bear in mind my car at the time was a Volvo XC60 D5. As you can imagine I was immediately impressed by it on track and how it was keeping up with "proper” sports cars. Yes, I know Clive, you would probably advocate those were inadequate drivers in front and it would be no contest for you, but it was still impressive none the less.
When you look back there was nothing else on the market at the time that came close performance and handling wise. It also felt "special” in the cabin with excellent attention to detail and finish. It’s also great fun at the PEC where you can explore the car’s limits and see how low an mpg you can achieve. Anything above 11 mpg and you weren’t trying hard enough.
On the way home I stopped at Porsche Silverstone and took their SD for a test drive. It was my first visit to a Porsche centre and it did feel special. A professional, unflustered, calm environment which reminded me of an Audi showroom some 15 years ago.
After having just driven driving the Turbo flat out round the PEC circuits, I was slightly underwhelmed by the performance of the diesel. I missed the pull right up the rev range and the glorious sound of the 3.6li engine. Don’t wish to offend anyone, the SD’s are very good cars and probably if they were still available would still be the best selling variant.
It was not for me though. If I was covering 30k miles a year that would be different. I placed a deposit for a Macan Turbo in October 2014 with an estimated delivery of 18 months.
After 12 months I became bored with waiting, and began ringing round other dealers to check if they had stock. Never be afraid of ringing other dealers in your search of a car, all SE’s are different, find one you like. I happened to ring Porsche Solihull the day The GTS (Gen 1 ) was announced. The SE I really liked, (Female!) said I could have their first one in March 2016. I paid another deposit, this time on a car I’d never driven. I had two deposits down, just had to decide which way to go.
I was not popular with Porsche GB as they found out I had two Macan’s on order, a very sought after car at the time. I decided to go with the GTS a variant normally the sweet spot within the Porsche range.
On to spec. Once you start ticking those boxes where do you stop. I ticked most of them it seems, thinking it would be a keeper. As you know a base price Macan doesn’t look bad but when you add what is essential or what you like it adds up. 71k in my case.
I’m not a fan of grey, white, or black. I do like sapphire blue but carmine is my favourite. GTS interior in red with alcantara makes, for me, a very nice "warm” interior. The alcantara is warm in winter, cool in summer and less slippery than leather.
Looking back the option list was long:
LED’s (must have)
F&R Park assist with camera, (must) Surround view maybe?
Sport design mirrors
Sport chrono, it’s expected on a GTS
75li Tank (You need the bigger tank mpg circa 21)
20” Spyders
Front seat heating
18 way memory seats
Navigation module and Connect plus (not standard in 2016, included car play)
Sunroof (don’t think I ever opened it)
Probably could have stopped there but:
Roof rails (to hide the sunroof!)
Towbar
Air suspension
PTV Plus (thought it might help off road or snow/ice)
Adaptive cruise
Bose
Heated steering wheel (one of my most favourite options)
Light comfort
Keyless (controversial but I like it)
Power steering plus
Spare wheel.
Speed limit indicator
One mistake, not having side blades in body colour, too "Cactus” like.
It was a great car to have. Very few GTS around then, and even less in carmine. At the time it was probably the best handling SUV on the market. An absolute joy to drive and sooo comfortable. Many admiring glances, and that noise on start up just begs you to drive it.
But, and there’s always a but, for me at least, it wanted to be in sport mode all the time. It’s a GTS and wants to be driven with gusto, something just not possible all the time on our crowded roads. I found myself changing down in comfort and up in sport to achieve optimum driving style for me. Then there’s the location of the sport and sport plus button on the centre console. Why oh why did they not make sport or sport plus an option for the "diamond” button, rather than taking your eyes off the road to find the sport button.
It’s still a great all round family car and for those wanting a sporting drive it’s great. The GTS badge will always retain a good residual value, if you’re looking for a petrol Macan surely one to consider.
Should I have bought the Turbo? (Gen 1).
When I went to the PEC, for the half day session back in Spring 2016, I took my own car round (they had no GTS available at the time) and pitched it against a Turbo.
I came away, with nicely bedded in brakes, and the conclusion that another 40bhp was marginal in performance and I wouldn’t change to a Turbo……….
TBC
