2019 Porsche Macan Review

The Porsche Macan crossover is the best-selling Porsche. It鈥檚 based on the Audi Q5, but it鈥檚 longer, wider, and lower, so it鈥檚 roomier. It looks like the Porsche Cayenne, but it鈥檚 six inches shorter on a wheelbase that鈥檚 3.5 inches smaller. It technically seats five but realistically only four adults, as that center rear passenger must be very small, and even then won鈥檛 be happy. The entry-level Macan uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 252 horsepower and a strong 273 pound-feet of torque. It can accelerate from zero to sixty in 6.1 seconds and reach 142 miles per hour. The Macan S uses a 3.0-liter V6 making 340 horsepower; it can hit sixty in 5.0 seconds and reach 156 mph. The Macan GTS was new for 2017; it鈥檚 a high-performance version that takes the V6 and raises the horsepower to 360. It will do zero to sixty in 4.8 seconds and reach 159 miles per hour. Every model is all-wheel drive with a bias toward the rear, and uses Porsche鈥檚 race-bred 7-speed dual-clutch automatic manual transmission. The only new feature for 2018 is an embedded SIM card.

Fuel mileage for the base model is an EPA-estimated 20 miles per gallon City, 25 Highway and 22 Combined, which is low for a 2.0-liter four. In the Macan S and Macan Turbo it goes down to 17 miles per gallon City, 23 Highway, and 19 Combined, about the same as the Audi SQ5. 47,800) comes with leather and Alcantara seat upholstery, eight-way power seats, bi-xenon headlamps, 11-speaker sound system, power liftgate, Porsche Communication Management system, twin stainless exhaust tips, and a rearview camera. Things like adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitors are optional. V6 engine can be distinguished by its four round exhaust tips. 67,800) gets gloss black window trim, a matte finish on the lower body, and satin black 20-inch wheels. 79,200) has four square exhaust tips. One of its standard features is the ability to mate with Porsche Car Connect, a mobile app that enables remote unlocking, vehicle location tracking, and other data.

So if your Porsche gets stolen and hidden in a freighter bound for Africa, Scotland Yard can track it for you. There鈥檚 a lot of expensive available equipment and features for each model. For example, there鈥檚 a 16-speaker, 1000-watt Burmester sound system. The Macan is smaller than the Cayenne crossover, and we think it鈥檚 even better looking. The roof has a more athletic slope, and the sculpting is smoother. The front air intakes scale down nicely, and the hood drapes over the front corners to make the big 19-inch wheels look clean. The tail is also tidy, with LED taillamps snug against the wraparound gate. The Macan barrages you with switches, buttons, knobs, and rockers, more than two dozen of them on the center console, split by the shift lever. But if you imagine you鈥檙e a fighter jet pilot, it鈥檚 cool. And the alternative could be incomprehensible screens. The console divides the driver from the passenger and reaches the dash just beneath a bright LCD touchscreen, with a high-resolution screen in the instrument cluster serving as a redundant display.

The trim depends on the model, from simple black and gray on the base, to piano black, to aluminum or carbon fiber or dark walnut. Porsche鈥檚 custom list can wear you out with decisions to make, with almost anything available to be painted, stitched, or trimmed to your liking. The optional front seats are exceptionally supportive, as they should be with 18 ways to support you. Thick lumbar and side bolstering, with cooling as well as heating. The Macan can鈥檛 match the Cayenne in rear headroom and kneeroom. The bottom cushion is low and short, so the rear passengers鈥?knees might hit the front seatbacks; and the sunroof drops the headliner down on the heads of those passengers. The bench folds 40/20/40, so that skinny middle can fold down and into an armrest, which helps. With the rear seat up, there鈥檚 17.7 cubic feet of space, as big as a sedan鈥檚 trunk; and with it folded, the cargo space hits 53 cubic feet. There鈥檚 storage below the cargo floor, as well. There鈥檚 a power liftgate, and to further aid loading things, get the available air suspension that lowers the car two inches.

The impressive 273 pound-feet of torque in the 2.0-liter engine comes on at 1600 rpm and lasts until 4500 rpm. And zero to sixty in 6.1 seconds is good, maybe not Porsche great, but okay. The Macan S gets 339 pound-feet of torque from its 3.0-liter V6. For this model, and the others, there鈥檚 an available Sport Chrono package that brings quicker throttle response and transmission shifts, not that the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission dithers. The Macan GTS raises the horsepower of the S from 340 to 360. As for the Turbo, the larger 3.6-liter engine brings 400 horsepower and a massive 406 pound-feet of torque. The base Macan handles beautifully, responsive and brisk into corners, and powering out of them with a touch of torque to the outside rear wheel. But if beautiful handling isn鈥檛 enough, and you have the money, you can upgrade with three-mode adaptive shocks, a torque-vectoring system to tighten the cornering lines, with an electronically locking rear axle differential that evens the power on the road.