This is the best premium compact crossover for you if you鈥檙e willing to sacrifice a smidgen of practicality for a surplus of performance. Demonstrating the siren鈥檚 call of the crossover in today鈥檚 automotive market, this all-wheel-drive hatchback is the sport-car makers best-selling vehicle. In fact, it took that title from the larger Cayenne midsize crossover. There鈥檚 nothing junior-class about Macan鈥檚 performance, though, with every model in the lineup a benchmark for best-in-class road manners. Changes for model-year 2018 are minor: adjustments to some accessory displays and some new colors. Should you buy a 2018 or wait for the 鈥?9? Agate Grey Metallic joins the exterior color palette, there are minor adjustments to interior hues, and brake calipers on the Macan S model change from silver to darker Titanium Grey. Otherwise, the 2018 Macan is visually unaltered. It continues with a lineup beginning with the Base trim and ascending through Macan S, GTS, Turbo, and Turbo with Performance Package models.
To Porsche鈥檚 credit, Macan鈥檚 rounded contours and athletic shoulders give it a wholly distinct appearance from the blockier first-generation Q5, with which it shared its basic understructure and key dimensions. Appearance differences between Macan models are understated. Base and S versions have round instead of rectangular fog lamps. Their front air intakes have slightly different-looking strakes and a separate row of LED daytime running lamps absent on the other models. All Macans have automatic on/off, self-leveling bi-xenon headlights, with the GTS鈥檚 front lenses and taillamps distinguished by a smoked effect. Porsche鈥檚 lengthy options lists lets buyers mix and match some of these looks. Similarly, there are a multitude of alloy wheel designs and sizes, up to 21-inches, with many optionally interchangeable among models. The standard spec gives Base and S trims 18-inch-diameter alloys and the grey brake calipers. The GTS鈥檚 standard alloys are 20s and the Turbos鈥?are 19s, both offset by red calipers. Macan鈥檚 interior is distinctively Porsche, as well. The tachometer is given preference over the speedometer in the gauge cluster, and the ignition switch is to the left of the steering column - a reminder of the brand鈥檚 racing heritage.
In all, it鈥檚 a driver-focused environment, with hint of private-aircraft ambience and a priority on sporty panache. Cabin materials are top notch, but back-seaters can feel cramped and closed-in, disadvantaged for headroom and legroom and deprived of much outward visibility by the relatively small rear windows. That roof styling takes a toll on cargo volume, too. The 17.1 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 53 with the 40/20/40 split-bench folded is akin to that of 鈥渇our-door coupe鈥?off-shoots of rivals, such as the fastback X4 version of BMW鈥檚 X3. Powertrains are unchanged after expanding for model-year 2017 to include the Base edition鈥檚 four-cylinder engine and the GTS鈥檚 not-quite-Turbo-model-potent V-6. The Base Macan鈥檚 2.0-liter turbocharged four is shared with the Q5, where it also generates 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. It furnishes more than adequate acceleration - Porsche says 0-60 mph in under 6.4 seconds 鈥?but renders this crossover a tepid-feeling against the ferocious twin-turbo V-6s in the other Macans. In the S model, the 3.0-liter six makes 340 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque. In the GTS, it has 360 horses and 369 pound-feet (in the 2018 Audi SQ5, it rates 354 and 369, respectively).
Both the S and GTS do 0-60 in around 5 seconds. Impressive - until you experience the mid-4-second thrust of the 3.6-liter in the Turbo models. It has 400 horses and 406 pound-feet of torque in the 鈥渂asic鈥?Turbo, and 440 and 442, respectively, as fortified in the Turbo with Performance Package. All these engines work through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that acts like an impressively smooth, conventional automatic when left in Drive. Canny software enables it to downshift on its own as you approach a corner and hold the lower gear for a rapid exit. The transmission rifles off racecar-like gear changes when in Sport Plus mode or when controlled manually via the shift lever or the steering-wheel paddles standard on all models. 1,310 option otherwise. This includes launch control that shaves a few tenths from 0-60 times; a digital stopwatch atop dashboard; and the Sport Plus button on center console that sharpens powertrain and suspension settings. Dicing with city traffic or storming an open road storming, any Macan is a model of composure and precision. This crossover鈥檚 basic understructure is shared with the front-wheel-drive architecture of the first-generation Audi Q5 compact crossover.
But the comparably unsporting DNA of front-wheel drive is effectively eradicated by Porsche鈥檚 powertrain and chassis tuning. Every Macan has all-wheel drive calibrated for on-road handling but light-duty off-roading is no problem, thanks to available traction-enhancing settings and an air suspension that can pump up an additional 1.5 inches of ground clearance. The GTS is essentially a Turbo Performance Package model without the bigger engine and like the Turbo Performance Package it comes with Porsche鈥檚 Active Suspension Management air suspension. An option for the other Macans, this provides three manually selectable settings - Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus - to customize the already surprisingly supple ride and further hone handling. 1,500 option that can brake individual rear wheels and includes an automatic variable differential lock. Only details change, leaving an approach that supplies as standard what each model requires to achieve its performance target, and then offers options to individualize styling, luxury, and connectivity 鈥?and achieve even higher performance.
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