New Macan S in Greece

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nass
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:33 pm

Post by nass »

Good day to all (and wishes for Xmas and New Year)

New member in this forum and new Porsche owner, signed yesterday the order for a Macan S to be delivered March 2018.

I live in Greece so we have (apart from things you already know in the news :roll: ):
- Excellent windy country, forest, mountain and island roads with minimal policing and not too much traffic (like British "B-roads")
- Lousy tarmac, slippery, with potholes etc. (those of you complaining about UK roads obviously haven't driven here :P )
- A lot of non-paved (gravel) country, forest and mountain roads with surface quality ranging from smooth and fast to "Camel-trophy" :shock: , all open to the public, usually leading to fantastic isolated places e.g. to go here:

Image

you have to go through 30 Km of "Acropolis rally" gravel road (I have been there with my current car, see below).

The reason I am writing this is to give an idea of my requirements:
- Sole family car for me and my two daughters (11/8 yrs) (I am widowed)
- Only short (2-3 Km) trips in-town (Athens suburb) to get the kids to school, activities etc.
- Apart from school runs, it is a week-end car, my daily commuter is a motorbike (also recently upgraded to a KTM Adventure 1090), no need to regularly drive in thick traffic
- Main use is trips all over Greece and possibly abroad, both highways and in the twisties driven from fast (with the kids) to really fast (alone) (see my current car below)
- Go off-road, up to "Acropolis rally" gravel (not "Camel trophy" OK you need a Land Rover or similar for that) road, no requirement to go fast there, only go through to the other side safely -mud and snow also possible
- No diesel 8-)

My current car is a Mitsubishi Evo X GSR SST with Ohlins suspension, upgraded to 350 hp, which I love but I wanted a change to something different and an upgrade to a more "premium" car and expand the off-road capabilities, without losing too much of the handling and performance I am used to (I know it wont be the same for sure... compromises...).

I have test-driven Posche Macan, Jaguar F-Pace, Mercedes GLC 300, Alfa Romeo Stelvio 280, Volvo XC60 T6. All petrol and I have come to the conclusion, that a Macan S is the best choice for me. I have driven the 2.0T and it felt really slow, I had to whip it hard 5-7Krpm to get any decent performance. Still it was the best car of the above.

(Be advised however, that the Greek tax system really punishes engines > 2 lt for example for 3 lt I will have to pay, apart from the €650 yearly road tax a €1780 yearly "luxury tax" :evil: )

So my order includes, and I am asking for your views:
- Macan S (maybe remap the ECU after 2-3 years)
- Volcano grey
- Black/Luxor beige interior (no leather package / interior)
- 18-way sport seats (the basic seats were comfortable but unsuitable for fast driving) -I am a big guy BTW . Leather+Alcantara centres.
- Air suspension + PASM this is my biggest concern I like the off-road capabilities and the flexibility of the AS and also its flatter turning without too much roll but I am afraid it would be too soft even in Sport/Sport+ I do like a firmer ride (no I have not driven it, there is no test drive Macan with AS) -also I am a bit skeptical about long-term reliability, as I plan to keep the car for at least 5 years (warranty = 2 years, yearly extension = €2000 so thanks but no thanks)
- PTV+ (similar to Evo AYC I reckon) Is it really worth it ?
- Sports Chrono retrofit (I don't like the clock on the dash) I don't need the Launch Control but I like the more aggressive settings for PDK, PASM, PSM
- 19'' turbo wheels (as a compromise between 18'' = gravel and 20'' = tarmac)
- Park Assist (sensors only, no camera)
- Alarm
- Xenon headlights
- Rear airbags
- 75 lt fuel tank (really hated the small autonomy of the Evo)

Lockdown 5/1/2018.

Thanks in advance for all the replies

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Wing Commander
Posts: 19871
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:43 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Post by Wing Commander »

Welcome nass! :)

Congrats on picking the right car! ;)

Have you tried a Macan with 18 way seats? If not, I would do so, before lockdown to ensure you fit and they're comfortable, especially as you plan on keeping car for 5 years or more.

Similar with AS. Surely Porsche have a Macan in Greece with AS that you could try? :geek:

19" wheels sound like a sensible choice for you. Reversing camera is not essential. LEDs are epic, but Bi-Xenons should be fine.
Simon

Sold: 2016 Rhodium Silver Macan 2.0
Sold: 2013 Platinum Silver 911 (991.1) C2
Sold: 2017 Carmine Red Panamera 4
Mine: 991.2 Carrera T Racing Yellow 06/04/2018
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ScotMac
Posts: 5326
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 6:39 pm
Location: Scotland

Post by ScotMac »

Welcome. :D

Great photo - could nearly be Scotland :D

Great write up too. I would like my daily commuter to be a motorbike but since it rains most days that is not so good.

I like your spec. but would add the reversing camera which I like. I would also add the spare wheel (just in case).
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Nuclear Nick
Posts: 3814
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:42 pm
Location: Bristol

Post by Nuclear Nick »

Welcome nass!
An awesome location!
I think you would benefit from air suspension, particularly off road. You have three settings, softest is a little floaty on some undulating roads, but I keep mine on the second setting most of the time with the third setting used only occasionally on quick 'B' roads. You also have the advantage of raising the car for clearing larger humps etc when off road.
Xenons are fine.
PTV is most beneficial on the track, although as I don't have it others may advise better.
19" wheels make most sense for your use it seems.
I have front and rear sensors with camera but actually rarely use the camera and would be happy without it.
You're obviously a keen driver, and rider, so I wonder whether you'd appreciate the Turbo or even Turbo PP more?
Nick

Defender 90 V8

991.2 C2 GTS

Macan Turbo - sold

BMW K1300S, BMW R1250 GSA
nass
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:33 pm

Post by nass »

@Nuclear Nick
Well I would appreciate them more but they are well outside my budget :roll: (and I don't want to go the "used" way for such an expensive car and my first Porsche for that matter) already the S required increasing the original budget (but otherwise I knew it would not be good enough for my taste).

The location shown is Cape Kafireas in https://www.google.gr/maps/search/%CE%B ... .75z?hl=en and the church shown is "Church of St. Gregory" Yes it may look a bit like Scotland (and the weather in the photo looks like it too :D ) but in Greece we have ~300 days of sunny days / year :D hence the feasibility of daily commuting on a motorbike (although it's still much more dangerous than driving a car...)

The flexibility in ride height is the main advantage for the AS, if I did not need to go off-road I would probably go with just PASM, what worries me is what I have read in this forum about "wafting" over the road, "less connected" etc. The 2.0T I drove had steel+PASM+18'' and it had a bit more roll than I would like, although acceptable for an SUV (OK it's not an Evo, I know that), so my understanding is, AS actually reduces chassis roll and provides a "flatter" drive :?:

@ScotMac
About the spare wheel you are correct (and it is needed for off-road use, although it's not same size, better than nothing) and I have already included, just forgot it in my previous post.

@Wing Commander
I have not driven in the sport seats, I have only sat in them, and I liked them and felt comfortable in them, although people in Forums say they are too narrow, for me they were OK (perhaps used to the Recaros of the Evo) and much better than the standard seats for sure.

But unfortunately no AS test drive car in Greece, the salesman said, "AS is rare in Macans and almost standard in Cayennes" so their test drive cars are configured accordingly.
User avatar
VanB
Posts: 3730
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:58 pm

Post by VanB »

I have AS on my GTS and like it a lot as it gives a very smooth ride. I absolutely agree with Nick’s comments about the settings and always drive in sport or sport + settings on the suspension. There is very little body roll in corners on either setting


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Crazy diamond
Posts: 112
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2016 1:06 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Post by Crazy diamond »

Kalimera Nass,

You will love the S. Sensible choice on the wheels although I opted for 20 Spyders as I love the look. You won’t miss the air suspension, PASM is just fine and little compromise for off road, not that I would consider the Macan for real off road.

As an aside I would swap my local roads for the roads in Greece any day. Have driven all over Greece during the past 13 years, as I have property out there, the surface has very few potholes and whilst it can be slippery when wet , it rarely rains between May and October ☀️☀️☀️☀️😀
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