Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
When Porsche introduced the Cayenne everyone thought they were nuts and had ruined the Porsche brand. Well that obviously did not happen and it has taken them a while to branch out even further than just an SUV and a few sports cars. Porsche is starting to have a full lineup of vehicles and they are also becoming more affordable as a result. First the Cayenne, then the Panamera luxury sedan and now the Macan: a small-to-mid-sized crossover based on the Audi Q5 platform.
Unlike some brands, Porsche didn’t just take the Q5 and slap a Porsche front end on it and a badge and call it a day. Porsche has tweaked the platform considerably, so much so you would be hard pressed to find the similarities between the two, rather than the differences.
Of course the styling is all Porsche inside and out, it looks very much like a shrunken Cayenne from afar but looks sleeker when you compare the two side-by-side. The front is unmistakably Porsche with its signature headlamps, while the rear pulls off their newest wide-butt design that I can’t keep my eyes off.
Under the hood of the S is a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 that produces a reasonable amount of power at 340 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. Of course I’d like more power from a Porsche, but that is available in the Turbo model. No manual transmission here, but Porsche offers their very slick seven-speed PDK transmission as standard. To be honest, I’m a convert and in a vehicle like the Macan it is a perfect match.
No snow currently to test out the all-wheel drive but the dry roads give me a chance to find out how sporty this Porsche crossover actually is — I for one suspect this is Porsche’s raised hatchback for the 21st Century, a 928 reincarnation perhaps?
2015 Porsche Macan S
Base Price: $54,300
Options: Air Suspension ($3,140) — Reverse Camera with Park Assist ($1,670) — 19-inch Macan Turbo Wheels ($1,440) — Sport Chrono Package ($1,480)
A/C Tax: $100
Freight/PDI: $1,115
Price as Tested: $63,245
Competitors:
Audi Q5 / SQ5
BMW X3 / X4
Infiniti QX50
Lexus NX
Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
