2019 Porsche Macan Review

Still in its first generation, the Macan has been a smash success globally by combining mid-size SUV proportions and sports car sensibilities. While visual changes are minimal for this facelift, and much of the mechanical essentials remain the same at their core, Porsche has been busy fastidiously tweaking and recalibrating the Macan S to improve both its sporting nature and everyday liveability. The most significant change is an all-new engine, borrowed from higher in the Porsche range. IF you were still staunchly holding onto the old stereotype that an SUV is incapable of delivering sportscar-like dynamics, Porsche鈥檚 facelifted Macan might just be the car to (finally) challenge that dogma. Still in its first generation, Porsche did an impressive job straight out of the box with the Macan, building a suburban hero with a sporting double life. To put its success into some kind of perspective, how many other major manufacturers can you think of whose bestselling model didn鈥檛 even exist a mere five years ago? Through a number of restrained refinements, Stuttgart has further improved what was already the most impressive dynamic offering in the segment.

In an attempt to claw back some ground, Porsche has facelifted the Macan for the first time, with refined aerodynamics, suspension, brakes, PDK, centre clutch and a bigger 10.9-inch infotainment screen debuting alongside tweaked styling and that all-new engine. Spotting a facelifted Macan from the front will take a well-trained eye, with the lack of obvious fog lights and new LED headlights the tell-tale signs. From behind, it鈥檚 the brake lights which stretch across the entire width of the boot that give the game away. It鈥檚 expected when fully fleshed out, the 2019 Macan range will mimic what is currently available - minus the diesels - with hotter GTS and Turbo offerings capping the line-up. The most significant change for the Macan S is the 3.0-litre single-turbo V6 engine, developed by Porsche, but is also fitted to VW-group sibling the Audi SQ5. Despite losing a turbocharger compared to the pre-facelift model, the Macan S gains 10kW and 20Nm of grunt for 260kW/480Nm claimed outputs.

This is sent to all four wheels via a seven-speed PDK automatic transmission. Propelling the car to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.3 seconds, the engine provides healthy doses of low end torque (with the peak figure arriving at 1600rpm), but peak power only arrives 1000rpm from redline. Despite this, the PDK is calibrated to keep the engine in a sweet spot, with stout acceleration on tap at the flex of the foot. However, the noise the new engine emits is dull, and rather synthetic (though Porsche assures us there is nothing plumbed through the speakers). An optional sports exhaust is available, but you won鈥檛 be rolling the windows down and turning the music off as you approach tunnels any time soon. One of our prior gripes of the Macan is the seven-speed PDK transmission鈥檚 propensity to change ratios too early in its sportiest setting. 鈥?mode that comes as part of the Sport Chrono pack is calibrated nicely to hold gears for longer.

It鈥檚 on winding roads that the Macan is at its best. Despite its almost two-tonne kerb weight, the S revels in the bends, with sublime turn-in, and limited body roll. Pitch control is also excellent for a car of this stature at speed, with mid-corner bumps handled with poise. On the standard 20-inch wheels, the modest tyre sidewall and suspension do an impressive job of smothering sharp surface changes with composure. 鈥?are perfectly useable in the real-world. The same can鈥檛 be said for the ride on the optional 21-inch rims which undo all that goodwill the moment the road is anything less than billiard table smooth. That鈥檚 largely down to the far more focused Michelin Pilot Sport rubber, which features a stiffer sidewall than the Goodyear Eagle Sports fitted to the cars with 20-inch alloys. Imperfections in the road are communicated into the cabin more readily, with the ride becoming significantly busier. Despite being electronically assisted, the Macan鈥檚 steering doesn鈥檛 feel artificial, with a cleverly calibrated synthesis of feedback boosting confidence on turn-in. Wheels has previously panned the Macan鈥檚 interior as 鈥渃ramped and dated鈥? and this remains largely unchanged.