Macan Turbo (SUV Review)

CARMASTERRACE · 04-11-2016, 08:51 PM

Well, I changed my Audi S3 2015 and a Ducati Panigale Senna (I got it in a deal), for a 2015 Passat 2.0 TSi for my daily driving functions, and with the left over and a fair amount of extra, I bought myself what I consider to be the best SUV for drivers, or for people who want a modern modestly dimensioned SUV, the Macan Turbo. It is an absolute beast. I never thought a SUV could be as fun to drive as the Macan. I have a couple of criticisms to make, but I will make a quick review of it.

First off:
Performance: Holy shit. It is much faster than numbers suggest, and only after about 180kph it starts to lose pace due to its aerodynamics. It is not M5 quick, but for a SUV it is mind blowingly fast. 0-250km/h, 100-200km/h, and 0-100km/h, are around (based on V-Box for a mate's Macan), 38s, 12s, 4.5s. In first, second, and third gear, it pulls as much as the C63 W204 I owned (although the C63 had traction issues in these 3 gears). After that it pulls slightly more than a M135i or a 335i.

Handling: OMG. It is absurd, how this thing takes corners. I was told by mates, that it felt like a bigger and taller Cayman. I though this was B.S., until I actually drove the car. It does grip phenomally well. It does understeer and roll considerably more than a M5, or a similar sport sedan, but when you consider it as a tall, heavy SUV, it does things that should not be possible. What is funny, is its steering has decent feedback, so does the overall chassis. The chassis is pretty rigid too, and you can feel that when dashing through corners, as the car tightens up beautifully. It is very predicable and manageable in limit handling, and yes if you turn everything OFF and put in Sport Plus, it will skid and oversteer.

Transmission: PDK is an awesome transmission. Compared to the M-DCT it had advantages and disadvantages. It has creeping and a quicker response when moving from D to R and vice versa, which is great in parking as the M5 is a pain sometimes. The sad bit is that the PDK unit in the Macan is pretty quick, but its response to Paddle Shifters are more on pair with a GTI + DSG, or an old M-DCT unit in a M3 E90 to the speed and crispiness of the M5 F10's M-DCT unit.

Features: Macan's in Brazil come in one package, and this means that all standard features for the US Come plus 3 zone climate control, Lane Change Assist, Lane Deviation Warning, Porsche Entry Drive, Park Assist 1 and 2 with Cameras, Panoramic Sunroof, Bose sound system, 18 way seats with 3 memories, PASM and Air Suspension, PTS+ and lastly PDLS. It comes pretty well equipped although I would like to have had heated/cooled seats, besides ACC and PAS for safety, but well, we can't have it all...

Finish: Very lavished finished. Beautiful leather, excellent Alcantara headliner. Great leather present everywhere in the car. Absolutely wonderful. The cabin is on pair with the M5 easily.

PCM - Porsche's central media is reasonable. Not brilliant but not bad either. I find a bit amusing the absurd number of buttons and the fact that pretty much all features are controlled from the right display in the speedometer instead of having these features controlled on the centre, larger screen like in the Bimma. But still all internet, Gps, Bluetooth, DVD, whatever are present in the central screen.

Practicality - With a reasonable boot, and excellent room in the back and front, I couldn't really ask for more. I really enjoy it. It is a pretty decent Off-Roader too, with Active suspension, and rear and central locking diff activated by the Off Road button, it certainly knows its way through some shallow mud, wet grass, and dunes. In Off Road button the ratio is also shortened and the car becomes very lenient with throttle. I am not saying this is Range Rover good, in the muddy stuff, but it certainly does better than a X6 there.

When I was buying the Macan, I cross-shopped it with X6M, the Cayenne Turbo, the Range Rover Sport V8, and lastly the SQ5. The thing that killed off the X6M for me, was the poor headroom in the back and the lack of Off Road features (I am buying a SUV to go some places I can't go with the M5, otherwise it is pointless). The Cayenne Turbo, was actually my favourite car, and I loved every single bit of it, but to me it was felt a tad too big, and as I was buying the 2013 model, I would have to take some big depreciation from the rennovation done now, and deals weren't too good either. After driving it back to back with the Macan, the Cayenne has better comfort, the Macan better performance and driver engagement. Lastly the Range Rover, felt too clumsy and I hate its styling. It is also the least equipped car, and its interior is a bit disappointing for the price. The SQ5 on the other hand, felt too cheap in the inside. It also had less power, and it did not do anything quite as well as the Macan, eventhough it is very similar in engineering.

I hope this helps, the people interested in an SUV.

CARMASTERRACE · 04-11-2016, 08:55 PM

By the way. Pics tommorw

brava09 · 05-10-2016, 03:34 AM

Thanks for sharing. I really love the looks of the Macan, enjoy your car!

fkim119 · 05-12-2016, 09:56 AM

I love the Macan. I have the Cayenne TT myself.

Does yours have PDCC??? I actually think my Cayenne Turbo with PDCC handles crisper then my M5. You can feel the heft in the M5 and the tail about to come out with M5. The Macan and Cayenne drive like much smaller vehicles to me.

omegaSMP300 · 05-14-2016, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkim119

I love the Macan. I have the Cayenne TT myself.

Does yours have PDCC??? I actually think my Cayenne Turbo with PDCC handles crisper then my M5. You can feel the heft in the M5 and the tail about to come out with M5. The Macan and Cayenne drive like much smaller vehicles to me.

The Macan doesn't get PDCC. Air suspension etc but not PDCC. Unless this came as a later release. My Macan S arrives later this week.

Op thanks for sharing your review. I am hoping the S has enough power for me. The options it had placed it in Turbo price range and was hard for me to ignore. Also hoping I can also get slightly better mpg than the turbo but they are both rated the same which is interesting.

Enjoy the car!

KCLARK · 05-23-2016, 01:26 PM

If lack of headroom was an issue with the X6M then why was it considered over the X5M? Secondly enlighten on these off-road features that the BMW's lack that the Macan has because this would be new info to me (they're both performance SUV's), so what kind of off road capabilities were you looking for.

04-11-2016, 08:51 PM	#1
CARMASTERRACE Private First Class 53 Rep 101 Posts Drives: M6 F06 2015 - VW CC V6 2014 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Brazil iTrader: (0)	Macan Turbo (SUV Review) Well, I changed my Audi S3 2015 and a Ducati Panigale Senna (I got it in a deal), for a 2015 Passat 2.0 TSi for my daily driving functions, and with the left over and a fair amount of extra, I bought myself what I consider to be the best SUV for drivers, or for people who want a modern modestly dimensioned SUV, the Macan Turbo. It is an absolute beast. I never thought a SUV could be as fun to drive as the Macan. I have a couple of criticisms to make, but I will make a quick review of it. First off: Performance: Holy shit. It is much faster than numbers suggest, and only after about 180kph it starts to lose pace due to its aerodynamics. It is not M5 quick, but for a SUV it is mind blowingly fast. 0-250km/h, 100-200km/h, and 0-100km/h, are around (based on V-Box for a mate's Macan), 38s, 12s, 4.5s. In first, second, and third gear, it pulls as much as the C63 W204 I owned (although the C63 had traction issues in these 3 gears). After that it pulls slightly more than a M135i or a 335i. Handling: OMG. It is absurd, how this thing takes corners. I was told by mates, that it felt like a bigger and taller Cayman. I though this was B.S., until I actually drove the car. It does grip phenomally well. It does understeer and roll considerably more than a M5, or a similar sport sedan, but when you consider it as a tall, heavy SUV, it does things that should not be possible. What is funny, is its steering has decent feedback, so does the overall chassis. The chassis is pretty rigid too, and you can feel that when dashing through corners, as the car tightens up beautifully. It is very predicable and manageable in limit handling, and yes if you turn everything OFF and put in Sport Plus, it will skid and oversteer. Transmission: PDK is an awesome transmission. Compared to the M-DCT it had advantages and disadvantages. It has creeping and a quicker response when moving from D to R and vice versa, which is great in parking as the M5 is a pain sometimes. The sad bit is that the PDK unit in the Macan is pretty quick, but its response to Paddle Shifters are more on pair with a GTI + DSG, or an old M-DCT unit in a M3 E90 to the speed and crispiness of the M5 F10's M-DCT unit. Features: Macan's in Brazil come in one package, and this means that all standard features for the US Come plus 3 zone climate control, Lane Change Assist, Lane Deviation Warning, Porsche Entry Drive, Park Assist 1 and 2 with Cameras, Panoramic Sunroof, Bose sound system, 18 way seats with 3 memories, PASM and Air Suspension, PTS+ and lastly PDLS. It comes pretty well equipped although I would like to have had heated/cooled seats, besides ACC and PAS for safety, but well, we can't have it all... Finish: Very lavished finished. Beautiful leather, excellent Alcantara headliner. Great leather present everywhere in the car. Absolutely wonderful. The cabin is on pair with the M5 easily. PCM - Porsche's central media is reasonable. Not brilliant but not bad either. I find a bit amusing the absurd number of buttons and the fact that pretty much all features are controlled from the right display in the speedometer instead of having these features controlled on the centre, larger screen like in the Bimma. But still all internet, Gps, Bluetooth, DVD, whatever are present in the central screen. Practicality - With a reasonable boot, and excellent room in the back and front, I couldn't really ask for more. I really enjoy it. It is a pretty decent Off-Roader too, with Active suspension, and rear and central locking diff activated by the Off Road button, it certainly knows its way through some shallow mud, wet grass, and dunes. In Off Road button the ratio is also shortened and the car becomes very lenient with throttle. I am not saying this is Range Rover good, in the muddy stuff, but it certainly does better than a X6 there. When I was buying the Macan, I cross-shopped it with X6M, the Cayenne Turbo, the Range Rover Sport V8, and lastly the SQ5. The thing that killed off the X6M for me, was the poor headroom in the back and the lack of Off Road features (I am buying a SUV to go some places I can't go with the M5, otherwise it is pointless). The Cayenne Turbo, was actually my favourite car, and I loved every single bit of it, but to me it was felt a tad too big, and as I was buying the 2013 model, I would have to take some big depreciation from the rennovation done now, and deals weren't too good either. After driving it back to back with the Macan, the Cayenne has better comfort, the Macan better performance and driver engagement. Lastly the Range Rover, felt too clumsy and I hate its styling. It is also the least equipped car, and its interior is a bit disappointing for the price. The SQ5 on the other hand, felt too cheap in the inside. It also had less power, and it did not do anything quite as well as the Macan, eventhough it is very similar in engineering. I hope this helps, the people interested in an SUV.
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

04-11-2016, 08:55 PM	#2
CARMASTERRACE Private First Class 53 Rep 101 Posts Drives: M6 F06 2015 - VW CC V6 2014 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Brazil iTrader: (0)	By the way. Pics tommorw
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-10-2016, 03:34 AM	#3
brava09 Lieutenant Colonel 783 Rep 1,689 Posts Drives: M4C xdrive Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Europe iTrader: (0)	Thanks for sharing. I really love the looks of the Macan, enjoy your car! __________________ 22 M4 Competition xdrive 19 M5 Competition sold 16 F-Type S AWD sold 11 Audi RS5 Misano Red--sold 08 E92 M3 Jerez Black 6MT--sold 08 E92 335i 6MT traded in for M3
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-12-2016, 09:56 AM	#4
fkim119 First Lieutenant 182 Rep 388 Posts Drives: 17 Porsche Panamera Turbo Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Irvine, CA iTrader: (4)	I love the Macan. I have the Cayenne TT myself. Does yours have PDCC??? I actually think my Cayenne Turbo with PDCC handles crisper then my M5. You can feel the heft in the M5 and the tail about to come out with M5. The Macan and Cayenne drive like much smaller vehicles to me. __________________ 21' Bentley Bentayga SPEED 21' BMW Alpina XB7 22' Cadillac Escalade ESV 22' Porsche Cayenne Turbo 24' Porsche GT4RS on order
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-23-2016, 01:26 PM	#6
KCLARK Private 18 Rep 67 Posts Drives: 2010 E^)M% & 2013 JCW Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	If lack of headroom was an issue with the X6M then why was it considered over the X5M? Secondly enlighten on these off-road features that the BMW's lack that the Macan has because this would be new info to me (they're both performance SUV's), so what kind of off road capabilities were you looking for.
	Appreciate 0 Quote