Five Years After It Broke Cover

There are SUVs from old-school sports car builders everywhere these days, sure, but if you鈥檙e old enough you probably remember when the very idea was shocking. Porsche shocked first way back in 2003 with the Cayenne, then followed up with the compact, even more accessible Macan 12 years later. The Macan still comes as close to a purist's automotive appliance as Porsche gets. Five years after it broke cover, the Macan is Porsche鈥檚 best-selling vehicle, to no one鈥檚 genuine surprise. Yet the 2019 Macan represents its most substantial revision since it launched as a 鈥?5. Let鈥檚 call this a moderate update refining a successful formula, rather than a significant change, and from the driver鈥檚 perspective that ain鈥檛 bad at all. This so-called SUV may be the all-things-to-everyone Porsche, but the Macan remains one of the best driving utilities you can get your hands on. There are no structural changes under the 鈥?9 Macan鈥檚 sheetmetal and no change to its track, driver鈥檚 hip height or its 110.5-inch wheelbase.

Screen size isn't the only trick in the A6; in Europe, the sedan can be started without a key鈥攋ust an Android smartphone. It's unclear if that last feature makes the trip across the pond but it's worth noting that when the 2019 Audi A8 was announced, it included self-driving features that weren't yet entirely legal for U.S. Audi, along with other carmakers, led a congressional push for exceptions that paved the way for those features in the A8. Aside from acts of Congress, the A6 includes available safety features such as active lane control and adaptive cruise control, parking assist, vehicle-to-infrastructure hardware, and a raft of sensors and cameras that could help the A6 avoid crashes. Inside, the A6 is larger with more room for passengers and cargo, and interior lighting in up to 30 different shades. Audi notes that the trunk of the A6 will hold two golf bags simultaneously. The A6 sports conservative styling next to the A7, and the overall look is evolutionary for the sedan. Following cues from the A4 and A5, the A6 is sharper than its predecessor with deeper creases and a bulging hood. Audi skipped the A4/A5's clamshell hood opening for the A6, but the larger sedan offers exterior lighting borrowed from tonier models. The A6 has its own lighting "signature" in the front and rear that takes cues from the larger cars, although it's unclear if the A6 will offer the same startup routine as the bigger sedans. The A6 should make its first appearance at the 2018 Geneva auto show next month and will go on sale in Germany in June.

What's under the Porsche Macan's bonnet? As with other Porsche models, the diesel engine option has quietly disappeared from price-lists. So, the base-model Macan gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine with 185kW of power and 370Nm of torque. The Macan S gets a 3.0-litre V6 engine with 260kW and 480Nm. Aside from the capacity and cylinder-count, the big difference is in the way turbocharging has been applied to the engines. While the four-cylinder has a single-scroll turbocharger, the V6 gets a twin-scroll unit which is mounted inside the engine鈥檚 vee for swifter throttle response and faster light-off times for the catalytic converter. Both engines make use of Porsche VarioCam variable valve lift and timing system which increases the spread of useable power. Our launch drive of the Macan involved just the S model, so we can鈥檛 tell you what the base-model four-cylinder is like. But the V6 is impressive in terms of its outright urge without ever feeling as though it will overpower the platform. The V6 is at its best on full throttle when it develops a proper snarl and gives forth plenty of mid-range grunt served up in a refined way. If you listen carefully, you might also hear (and feel) a degree of less-than-silkiness in the form of a slightly grainy sound between about 2500 and 3000rpm at moderate throttle inputs. Porsche鈥檚 techs reckon what you鈥檙e hearing is the operation of the turbo鈥檚 wastegate that now, instead of being located low down in the engine bay, is now sat almost in your lap, just the other side of the dashboard.

Nordschleife Autoblahg was started in March of 2010 from a small group of VW, Audi, and Porsche enthusiast friends. Throughout the day we would send related stories, rumors, and videos to each other on email. Anything related to VW, Audi, or Porsche since we are all big fans. These mails became very long and cluttered our inbox, so we came up with the idea to post all in one central location. From that the site was born! With all of us having access to post in one place it made for a much easier way to read each report and was more organized. Since the site was public, we noticed we were soon being followed by others all over the world and the need to create a more professional site was necessary including a FaceBook and Twitter page. We had a site "refresh" at our one year mark that enabled ease of access over all types of media. The site has been growing at a considerably quick rate and we are pleased to offer the latest info with our fellow VW, Audi, and Porsche fans. Fortunately, all of us work our day jobs out of a computer and the idea to have an office where we all can work and continue the Blagh together was developed. What can be better!