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Pete
Posts: 328
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 1:43 pm
Location: Wokingham

Post by Pete »

If you lived a bit closer, I'd be happy to let you give mine a drive.

You could be entering the realms of permutation fatigue here and it's easy to get caught up in the details while testing various options out and overlooking the fact that when you're driving day-to-day you tend to forget these details and just get on with it.

19" might give you the compromise between comfort and looks. Personally, I'm happy with the look of my 18s and don't give a crap about people telling me I should have larger rims..

Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Pete wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:06 am If you lived a bit closer, I'd be happy to let you give mine a drive.

You could be entering the realms of permutation fatigue here and it's easy to get caught up in the details while testing various options out and overlooking the fact that when you're driving day-to-day you tend to forget these details and just get on with it.

19" might give you the compromise between comfort and looks. Personally, I'm happy with the look of my 18s and don't give a crap about people telling me I should have larger rims..
I'm hoping I can at least try steel vs air suspension on one of the smaller rim sizes. I doubt there will be much difference in ride or handling between 18" and 19" rims in the real world and like you I'm not interested in the larger 20" or 21" rims. They'll just be harsher over potholes and noisier on the motorway, not to mention the extra cost. I actually quite like the look of larger tyre profiles on an SUV. I saw a Macan on standard 18" S wheels the other day and thought it looked great. That's probably what I'll go for in the end and save £800 on the 19" upgrade.

The other things I'd really like to compare are LED vs Xenon lights, standard vs 14-way seats and standard vs Bose audio. My gut feeling is to go with LEDs (for our dark country roads), standard seats (my bum isn't usually fussy about seating) and standard audio (not a big Bose fan and wasn't overly impressed with the Bose setup in my 997).

I know there are so many options and it would be impossible to try them all, but those are the ones I'm really keen to test in the real world before deciding. Other trim stuff I'm not so fussy about.
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Pete
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Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 1:43 pm
Location: Wokingham

Post by Pete »

There's a review on youtube that compares Porsche bi-xenons and LED headlights. The guy made some measurements and the LED lights were brighter when dimmed, but slightly dimmer than the xenons on full-beam (although this could be due to legislation).

I have yet to drive my Macan (with bi-xenons) in the dark, so I can't say how they compare with previous bi-xenon cars I've had.

I'm sure that whatever choice you'll make, you'll be really happy and not too disappointed if you went one way or the other.
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Paul
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Post by Paul »

I had xenons on my first SD (with 19s) and they were absolutely fine.

I upgraded to LED on my current GTS and, yes they are a bit better. They are probably worth the £400 upgrade on a GTS but I wouldn't pay the £000s more from xenon to LED on an S for example.
1st Sapphire SD
2nd Sapphire GTS
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Current 992 S Cab
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Sidscott
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Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2016 3:29 pm

Post by Sidscott »

Peteski wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:03 am
CharlesElliott wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:53 pm I test drove an SD and an S before buying a GTS. All are good cars. The SD is as you would expect from a performance diesel - loads of low down torque but a narrow rev band so you change up pretty quickly. The PDK certainly works hard.....and fuel economy is pretty good. The S has a much wider range and so fewer changes, but the fuel economy is not as good. Having driven diesels for the last 5 years I decided I'd had enough of the lazy torque for a while and wanted something that felt more like a petrol sports car.
I've also spent a lot of time in diesels over the last 10 years, but also always had a petrol sports car alongside. I would certainly appreciate the diesel economy in the Macan as it will cover a reasonable mileage (maybe 15K per year or more), but I'm still tempted by the petrol S with its extra power. Diesel torque is nice, but never as impressive as the paper figures suggest due to the taller gearing required to put it on the road. It gives you the impression of a really powerful petrol engine with a rev-limiter set to 3000 rpm. I've driven the Cayenne with this diesel engine a couple of years ago and I don't remember being particularly impressed with the power or torque. But it was smooth enough and relaxing to drive, which is my main goal for a car like this.
Drive an SD in sport plus mode and that will convince you... It is awesome and a must have option on the SD in my opinion.
You get best of both worlds...Performance when you want it and economy when you want it.. !
Col Lamb
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Location: Lancashire

Post by Col Lamb »

Had Xenons in my SD and have LEDs in my current Turbo.

The LEDs I have now used since last September and I have found them to be as great a leap over Xenons as Xenon are over Halogens. The LED light spread on dip is far better than Xenons and on full beam the next county is illuminated.

PASM is the key, just include it and if you are going with 18 or 19 inch rims you simply do not need Air Suspension. I have driven many permutation and owned an SD with PASM on 20 rims, the ride and handling was terrific, the roard noise minimal, there was no thump or bump from the suspension.

Standard steel springs with no PASM gives a hard ride and thumps and bumps over poor road surfaces, so please tick the PASM box at least.

Seats, only you will know what works for you, standard 8 way have no lumber support nor do they have the adjustable squab. Test drive 8 way, or just tick on the 14 way as once the 14 way are adjusted for you then you will not need to change them. 14 way for me are my own preferred seats being the best of any car I have driven.

Audio, put a few good quality mp3s on an SD card and go off to your OPC to check out the audio in the Macans they have, do keep to Macans are you will want the same environments for your listening tests. Stardard audio is pretty good, I have Bose which suits me but it was a standard inclusion in my Macan.
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Col Lamb
Posts: 9323
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:38 pm
Location: Lancashire

Post by Col Lamb »

S v SD v GTS

Can I suggest that whatever you decide you do not dismiss the GTS as once you have added some extras you will be above the cost of a GTS which has more standard fitments then the other two and is a far more desirable variant.

I had an SD and the low torque was great in town, on the country roads it just runs out of go at high speeds and I mean high speeds.

I suggest you drive an S and then an SD over the same mixed roads and I think that you will work harder with the S to make progress, the SD drive out of the corners is very very good.

Extras are subject to the law of diminissing returns, to few and the car is ver basic all the bells and whistles and a shedload of cash is lost, I would put a £10k ceiling on what I would add to an S or SD.
Last edited by Col Lamb on Tue Jul 11, 2017 1:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Sidscott
Posts: 281
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2016 3:29 pm

Post by Sidscott »

Col Lamb wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:46 am S v SD v GTS

Can I suggest that whatever you decide you do not dismiss the GTS as once you have added some extras you will be above the cost of a GTS which has more standard fitments then the other two and is a far more desirable variant.

I had an SD and the low torque was great in town, on the country roads it just runs out of go at high speeds and I mean high speeds.

I suggest you drive an S and then an SD over the same mixed roads and I think that you will work harder with the S to make progress, the SD drive out of the corners is very very good.

Extras are subject to the law of diminissing returns, to few and the car is ver basic all the bells and whistles and a shedload of cash is lost, I would put a £10k ceiling on what I would add toman S or SD.
To say that the GTS is a far more desirable variant is subjective to say the least and entirely down to an individuals needs and expectations.
The SD is a brilliant all rounder and unless you are a boy racer or driving on a race track, is more than quick enough in both speed and acceleration on our roads and motorways.
Beware of the negative trend towards diesel on this forum, I have noticed a definite shift in petrol owners, particularly GTS, trying to convince themselves and anyone else that diesel car residuals are going to get hammered any time soon and that their cars will continue to hold their value better.
Just bear in mind that the diesel variant is nearly 75% more efficient than the petrol and that it has the latest Euro 6 compliant engine.
Not everyone wants a gas guzzling 3 or 3.6 litre petrol car with the high road tax and poor fuel economy that goes with it.
Yes, they are all great cars but go for what suits you and your requirements.
It will be interesting to see how residuals pan out in the end once the fat lady clears her throat and there is some clarity on the so called "diesel tax"
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Col Lamb wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:46 am
Can I suggest that whatever you decide you do not dismiss the GTS as once you have added some extras you will be above the cost of a GTS which has more standard fitments then the other two and is a far more desirable variant.
I would have considered the GTS or Turbo had I not got a 911 to play with too. My preferred DS/S spec at the moment is hovering around £56K, so still under the £58K base GTS price and that would still need some options too. I expect a GTS would end up in the mid £60K region, which I don't think is worth it for my intended usage. I'm actually looking to get my spec down below £55K to keep it sensible. If I ditch the air suspension for steel + PASM and stick with the Xenon lights then I'm pretty much there.

Diesel is also looking like a firm favourite over petrol, but we'll see after a test drive of both.
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Paul
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Post by Paul »

...and to put a real- life experience on the "runs out of steam" comments re the diesel, I did find this .......but only once into three digits on the speedo.......so not a huge issue really.....😉
Last edited by Paul on Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1st Sapphire SD
2nd Sapphire GTS
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4296
Current 992 S Cab
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=9845&p=196465#p196465
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