Miami Blue Baby
The Porsche Macan S delivers such a sublime drive. But the idea of The More Money You Add, The Better It Gets”, leaves me feeling a little blue.
Porsche’s best selling car here gets a mid-life styling refresh, with a slightly new nose, and a heavily restyled rear-end, which features a lighting strip with 3-dimensional branding.
The rework in styling, visually ties the Macan closer to the new Cayenne, Panamera, 718, and their incoming 911 (992), which we will see in the later half of the year.
A flared side profile and a sloping rear windshield, propped up by a tapered-inward C-pillar, to give the impression of bulging rear haunches, all points to 911 DNA.
Newly designed LED main headlamps with Porsche’s new signature four-point daytime running lights are now standard equipment. Porsche also offers two levels of options for its headlamps; which are the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), which delivers an output of 35 watts, and also provides the added benefits of cornering lights, and automatically switches between its main and dipped beam. PDLS Plus, which is a stage above this option, dynamically adapts the main beam range, and also includes a junction light function.
Our test car is shod with optional 21” RS Spyder Design rims, (which will set you back another $14,642) with 265/40 front and 295/35 rear tyres.
You would be in familiar territory when you enter the car. Materials are robust in feel, while seat leather is supple to the touch. Most of the changes to the dash are focused on the introduction of a new 10.9” infotainment touchscreen, which is a vast improvement from its former 7.2” unit. The new infotainment system, or Porsche Communication Management (PCM) features their new tiled-style user interface, which was first seen in the Panamera and Cayenne, allows for some customisation with predefined tiles.
Air-conditioning vents have been neatly redesigned and tucked below the new, larger screen; although air-flow is now slightly blocked off by your hands as you steer the car. Most other componentry is identical to the pre-facelift car, with its now-familiar button panel running down the transmission tunnel. A timing clock on top of the dash is also telling that this Macan S is equipped with the “go quicker” Sport Chrono Package.
The instrument cluster features a centralised rev counter in classic Porsche style, flanked by a speedometer on the left and a digitised multifunctional display on the right. The lightweight carbon interior trim on our test car which we stress, does not do anything to the performance adds another $4,794 to the price tag. There is the option of “more affordable” Brushed Aluminium ($1,701), but that stuff tends to look dirty rather quickly.
Under the hood, the Macan S gets its power from a new 3.0 turbocharged V6 engine, also seen in the Audi A8 flagship sedan and its very own Cayenne sibling. With 354hp and available torque of 480Nm from 1360 to 4800rpm; acceleration is brisk hitting the 100km/h mark in 5.1 seconds. Gear shifts are done via a quick-shifting 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission, delivering drive to all four wheels.
Steering feel is crisp, with precise communication coming through to your hands, and delivering accurate point-and-shoot accuracy. Very quickly, you will find yourself in-sync with the car. The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), is highly recommended, at a $4,227 premium. Even on its hardest setting, under Sport Plus mode, there is enough play in the system, ensuring that the ride feels planted, while your skeleton stays where you last left it.
Brakes have also been improved upon, in the front, with 10mm added to the disc rotors, now 360mm. There is also the option to spec the longer lasting PCCB ceramic brake system, first seen on the Cayenne, in which over use, the rotors present themselves with a mirror-like finish.
As a daily driver, the Macan S is truly a pleasant place to be in. Elegant, with touches of chrome, and accurately assembled. You’d be well insulated from the world, with a mild hum from the engine entering the passenger cabin (that is, until you drop the car into Sport Plus), and touch points especially feel high in quality and finish.
There is always the option of say… a BMW X4 M40i, a little quicker, a little more mainstream and a little easier on the pocket, and the same goes for the Mercedes-Benz GLC AMG 43, or even an Audi SQ 5 but there is always that personal satisfaction of delicate driver magic that comes with the Porsche; and that knowing that you are in something this special, and somehow so soulful… But damn… that price!
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