Yeah the base Macan has a lame engine but still feels pretty good. I maintain that the Macan in any spec is the best driving crossover out there. I had a base Macan press car a couple years ago (last summer?) when the latest one came out, and was blown away at how quiet it was on the highway, how sharp response is is, and how nice it was overall for a "cheap" example.
Just uh... don't get one with the pleb wheels, halogens and no sunroof. That'll be unsellable down the road. The "decent deal" linked above has the Premium Plus pack so a bunch of the nice toys, but good god those wheels are awful.