See all New Car Reviews
Pros: performance, handling, quality
Cons: fuel consumption, price
The Porsche Macan is a longstanding favourite in the luxury SUV market, offering impressive style, performance and handling in one beautifully built package. But the Macan has been in production since 2014, and it has become long in the tooth. So Porsche has given it a few updates to keep up with the Macan’s continually improving rivals.
Porsche Macan Design
Having learned from the Macan’s bigger sibling, the Cayenne, Porsche has worked out how to graft its classic sports car styling onto a practical SUV body. The Macan has Porsche’s trademark front end, which now blends seamlessly with the taut rear. The latest update has seen the grille tweaked to look wider and more imposing, while the LED headlights are now a standard feature across the line-up.
Climbing the range brings some more aggressive styling features, where the S and GTS models are marked out by their four exhaust outlets, compared with the standard Macan’s two. The GTS also gets lots of black trim as standard to emphasise its sporty design.
Porsche Macan Interior
Inside, the overall impression is one of quality. The materials are every bit as good as the €100,000 asking price demands, and the way they are fixed together is exemplary. Every panel fits perfectly with its neighbour, and every switch feels substantial and well-engineered. Even the rev counter in the centre of the instrument cluster has the chunky refinement of a luxury watch.
That instrument cluster also features some neat technology, with configurable digital ‘dials’ that can be altered to show whatever information the driver requires, or they can be eschewed in favour of a secondary navigation display. That system works in partnership with the central touchscreen, which displays crisp graphics and responds well to input. Some of the menus are a bit fiddly, but that’s just nit-picking.
There’s plenty of space for two adults in the rear, with ample legroom and adequate headroom even for taller passengers. The boot measures 458 litres up to the luggage cover, although that can be expanded to more than 1,500 litres with the split-folding rear seats tucked away and the vehicle loaded to the roof.
Porsche Macan Performance & Drive
At present, the Porsche Macan is available with a choice of three different engines, all of which run on petrol and provide plenty of power. The basic 2.0-litre option produces up to 265hp, which allows the SUV to dash from a standstill to 100km/h in 6.4 seconds, but the S and GTS models have 2.9-litre V6 engines that provide 380- and 440hp respectively. That means the 0-100km/h sprint is cut to 4.8 seconds in the S and 4.5 seconds in the GTS.
Every version of the Macan is great to drive, but they all have their own distinct characters. The 2.0-litre Macan has a more laid-back attitude that makes it feel slightly more natural in everyday conditions, whereas the S and GTS versions feel a tad stiffer and more dynamic. They’re a bit more agile on a deserted back road, but the ride is a little firmer – particularly if you use one of the Sport or Sport Plus driving modes.
But every version of the Macan will guzzle petrol. Even the most economical Macan, the 2.0-litre, will burn through 10.5 litres of unleaded every 100km, and that assumes it’s being driven economically. The S and GTS are even less efficient.
Porsche Macan Pricing
The entry-level Macan, the eponymous 2.0-litre car, starts at €94,875, which makes it a very expensive vehicle. Particularly when one of the Macan’s closest rivals, the BMW X3, starts at around €64,000. Moving up to the more powerful – and more popular – 2.9-litre S model takes the price to €105,829, while the sportier and even more potent GTS comes in at €127,952.
Carzone Verdict: 4/5
Despite its age, the Macan was already one of the best luxury SUVs on the market before Porsche updated it. The changes are minor, and the Macan is undoubtedly expensive, but it still offers better quality and a better driving experience than anything else out there.