Porsche has revealed the updated Porsche Macan in China. The new facelift will see a revised styling and be fitted with new technology. On the outside, the new facelift includes a redesigned front bumper, new LED projector headlights and a full-width LED strip between the tail-lights. A new range of 20-inch and 21-inch alloys will also be on offer. Inside, the dashboard has been redesigned and now features Porsche's Communication Management system seen in other new Porsche models. This system features a larger 11.0-inch screen, as compared to the current 7.0-inch screen. The central air vents have been repositioned, and now sit below said display. Further changes in the interior include the availability of an optional GT sports steering wheel fitted with what Porsche calls a 'Sport Response button'. The automaker also claims enhanced connectivity for the Macan via a standard Connect Plus module. This supports real-time swarm-based traffic data sourced from 'Here' - the mapping company partly owned by fellow VW Group brand, Audi.
Porsche has also extended its standard driver assistance set-up to include a new Traffic Jam Assist function. Porsche has yet to confirm the Macan's revised engine line-up due to delays in the WLTP testing process. Further up, the range is set to see more significant changes. The top-of-the-line Macan Turbo plans to adopt a 2.9-litre turbocharged V6. Insiders suggest the new unit will develop around 20hp more than the 420hp engine seen in the current Macan. Recent comments from Porsche boss Oliver Blume seem to indicate that diesel engines could be dropped from the Macan line-up, entirely, despite enjoying strong sales in many markets. Even if Porsche decides to continue with a diesel Macan, Audi's ongoing legal wrangle with Porsche is expected to delay any introduction of a successor to the Macan S Diesel. The Macan is not expected to offer a hybrid drivetrain owing to restrictions in the basic engineering of its platform (shared with the previous-gen Audi Q5) which prohibits housing a sufficiently sized battery. The Macan's gearbox seems to be unchanged. All engines will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted shift paddles, as well as a multi-plate-clutch four-wheel-drive system. The German carmaker says that the Macan鈥檚 driving dynamics have been improved even further in the upcoming facelift. This suggests that fine-tuning the chassis has brought 鈥渆nhanced neutrality while maintaining stability and improving comfort鈥?
These vehicles鈥攏umbering 179,861 in the U.S.鈥攈ave been added to our list below. UPDATE 2/22/2016, 7:30 a.m.: Reuters is reporting that the number of Takata airbag inflators recalled in the United States could nearly quadruple, with the addition of between 70 and 90 million units. That could bring the total of recalled Takata airbag inflators containing ammonium nitrate to as high as 120 million. Reuters says that 鈥淭akata produced between 260 million and 285 million ammonium nitrate-based inflators worldwide between 2000 and 2015, of which nearly half wound up in U.S. UPDATE 2/23/2016, 2:15 p.m.: A group of 10 carmakers known as the Independent Testing Coalition hired a company called Orbital ATK (which works with rocket propulsion-systems) to conduct its own tests of suspect Takata airbag inflators. UPDATE 3/2/2016, 3:30 p.m.: Toyota has recalled another 198,000 vehicles in the U.S. Takata-supplied, passenger-side airbags. The 2008 Corolla and Corolla Matrix, as well as the 2008-2010 Lexus SC430, are now included in this action. Takata is facing a bevy of lawsuits, some of which are being consolidated in a federal court in Miami. Much worse, however, are the recalls themselves.
UPDATE 4/1/2016, 5:00 p.m.: According to NHTSA, 7.5 million defective airbag inflators have been replaced as of March 11. That鈥檚 33 percent out of 22.5 million. But that doesn鈥檛 include another 5 million inflators recalled in February. Using those numbers, Reuters pegs the repair rate at about 25 percent, using a baseline of 29 million defective inflators. Check out NHTSA鈥檚 Takata website to see the recall-completion rates by manufacturer. Honda has the highest completion rate, at 54 percent, but several carmakers have rates of less than 20 percent. Expect NHTSA to update its numbers soon. UPDATE 4/7/2016, 3:15 p.m.: Honda has reported a death from an airbag rupture in a 2002 Civic under recall. According to KTRK-TV in Houston, 17-year-old Huma Hanif rear-ended another car on March 31 in Richmond, Texas. Although her airbag deployed, investigators determined the crash wasn鈥檛 severe enough to kill the teenager. Her throat was lacerated by the airbag inflator and a witness described her collapsing after exiting her car.
Hanif is the 11th Takata-related death worldwide, the 10th in the U.S., and the 10th in a Honda. UPDATE 4/14/2016, 11:00 a.m.: NHTSA has stated that there are 85 million Takata airbag inflators in the United States that haven鈥檛 been recalled at this point. Of that 85 million, 43.4 million are passenger-side inflators, 26.9 million are for side airbags, and 14.5 million are installed in steering wheels. Takata 鈥渉as until 2019 to demonstrate that all of the unrecalled airbag inflators are safe,鈥?according to Automotive News, which counts 28.8 million airbags as being recalled at this point. UPDATE 5/3/2016, 6:15 p.m.: The Wall Street Journal reports that Takata will recall roughly 35 million additional airbag inflators in the U.S., involving tens of millions of vehicles. UPDATE 5/4/2016, 11:15 a.m.: Honda has reported two additional deaths in Malaysia that may be related to defective Takata airbags. UPDATE 5/4/16, 1:15 p.m.: Confirming what we reported yesterday, NHTSA has announced that Takata will recall between 35 million and 40 million additional front-airbag inflators as part of an amended consent order between the Japanese supplier and the agency.
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