Base, basic Macan

[MCDK]

Or an X2 35i petrol? Great engine and pre reg can be got for way less than your budget.

[GWL]

Power steering plus is completely unnecessary. I don't have it, car is perfectly fine during low speed manoeuvres.

Disagree in this case. My wife found the standard power steering quite heavy for parking. I got PSP added and it much improved the situation. I think the OP's wife may find the same. (I take it you're a man, Doug?).

[Rab J]

Why brand new?

A base 2.0 Macan with no extras isn’t going to look great and won’t be a strong reseller come time to move it on. Wouldn’t be my choice and would go for either a nicely specced used one or else some other brand with a higher standard specification

Yes I fully get that although having checked out the spec there is a lot of things now standard, heated seats, parking sensors etc. I was thinking Sapphire blue or Carrera white and little else.

The wheels will be the biggest issue on a basic car as they look very small with huge tyre walls. Add to that all the unpainted black plastic and you are left with a car that looks a bit basic. Will drive nice of course and be a nice enough place to sit but for me the looks would kill it.

I understand what your saying about the wheels but my wife can be a little hard on wheels so a bit of extra tyre is no bad thing. I do actually like the base wheel better than any of the 19" multi spoke options. Also the amount of plastic is similar to a S so you would have to go to a GTS to get better. I understand it wont be the best looking Macan but very functional and it A Porsche in the end of the day. This is my conundrum??

[Rab J]

Power steering plus is completely unnecessary. I don't have it, car is perfectly fine during low speed manoeuvres.

Disagree in this case. My wife found the standard power steering quite heavy for parking. I got PSP added and it much improved the situation. I think the OP's wife may find the same. (I take it you're a man, Doug?).

My wife drove my GTS with 21"s and no PSP where it takes a bit of low speed manoeuvring to turn and get out of the yard and never complained. I cant see with 18"s and a lighter four cylinder engine it would be an issue. With it being retrofittable if for some odd reason it became an issue I could get it added. I personally hate it on the Cayenne.

[Madelvic]

Q5 is the comparable car size wise to the Macan (they share the same platform). Macan will hold it's value better, be nicer to drive. I've followed a couple of 2 litre Macans recently (in my Boxster and in a Taycan 4S) and both times I've been shocked how quick off the mark the 2.0 Macan is

[Rab J]

Discounted a Q5 right away when I say the ipad carbuncle on top of the dash

[kmacuk]

Ok folks, I know this question is going to be akin to scratching your nails down a sheet of glass to some extra junkies here but lets hear your opinion. I am in the process of looking for a replacement for my wife's Audi TT. A new car I might add. With a number of grandchildren appearing in the last year or so she wants an SUV to make getting them in the back easier. With this in mind I started to look at a Q3 either normal or possibly sportback. Now I find myself in a rather odd position that by going 2L and a nice spec i have ended up with a Q3 costing in the late 40K region. This got me thinking with a basic Macan at 48k or so would I be better buy one of those. So the question is Base Macan with only metallic paint or well specked Q3 ?

I would be interested to know what you added to the Q3 to get it to the spec you wanted? - What were the must have’s vs the nice to have and how many of those options are on the Macan base?

My wife moved from a TT to a Cayman, we looked at a 2l, but she thought it too big; we have had a few Audis.

Comfort pack with Bose I guess is on your list and for me the base Macan sound system is better than the Bose. It comes with Led lights and the large screen. We had the sat nav virtual screen and it was cool for a while, but not a fan now - not worth the upgrade for me.

PDK is much better than S-tronic. Porsche handling is on another level and overall quality is much better. You are comparing not just a brand premium hike, but you are not comparing like for like, as it should really be compared to a Q5 rather than a high spec Q3. Why are you not looking at a Q5?

If you are buying PCP then GFV on the Porsche will also make a big difference. Low options on a Porsche vs high spec on an Audi is a big win for the Porsche too. Payments on the low optioned Porsche may well be lower than the Audi.

I would say just adding paint and keeping as a base spec would not be optimal, but agree a better option than a Q3 (IMHO) and if you could add some options mentioned previously it would help at time to trade and you get the benefit during ownership:

Reverse camera, bigger wheels and pan roof, maybe PASM and better seats.

[Rab J]

Ok folks, I know this question is going to be akin to scratching your nails down a sheet of glass to some extra junkies here but lets hear your opinion. I am in the process of looking for a replacement for my wife's Audi TT. A new car I might add. With a number of grandchildren appearing in the last year or so she wants an SUV to make getting them in the back easier. With this in mind I started to look at a Q3 either normal or possibly sportback. Now I find myself in a rather odd position that by going 2L and a nice spec i have ended up with a Q3 costing in the late 40K region. This got me thinking with a basic Macan at 48k or so would I be better buy one of those. So the question is Base Macan with only metallic paint or well specked Q3 ?

I would be interested to know what you added to the Q3 to get it to the spec you wanted? - What were the must have’s vs the nice to have and how many of those options are on the Macan base?

My wife moved from a TT to a Cayman, we looked at a 2l, but she thought it too big; we have had a few Audis.

Comfort pack with Bose I guess is on your list and for me the base Macan sound system is better than the Bose. It comes with Led lights and the large screen. We had the sat nav virtual screen and it was cool for a while, but not a fan now - not worth the upgrade for me.

PDK is much better than S-tronic. Porsche handling is on another level and overall quality is much better. You are comparing not just a brand premium hike, but you are not comparing like for like, as it should really be compared to a Q5 rather than a high spec Q3. Why are you not looking at a Q5?

If you are buying PCP then GFV on the Porsche will also make a big difference. Low options on a Porsche vs high spec on an Audi is a big win for the Porsche too. Payments on the low optioned Porsche may well be lower than the Audi.

I would say just adding paint and keeping as a base spec would not be optimal, but agree a better option than a Q3 (IMHO) and if you could add some options mentioned previously it would help at time to trade and you get the benefit during ownership:

Reverse camera, bigger wheels and pan roof, maybe PASM and better seats.

Ipod dash on a Q5 rules it out.
It would be easy to start adding extras to the Macan but thats not the point. Big wheels would just be more vunerable, pano roof I don't like and can cause problems, PASM not needed with 18"s etc. No extra on a Macan would be worth what you paid for it come trade in.

[kmacuk]

OK,

Macan is a much better car than a Q3 no debate. The built in extras cover most of what you appear to want. PASM is indeed not required, even on bigger wheels.

To get close to the 2L performance you need to spec the 45 engine which forces you to take the 20" wheels and all the toys plus the roof you don't want. Even if 0-60 is close (slower) it will drive nothing like a Porsche (I have driven a Q3), so I agree the base Macan would be my choice every time over a high spec Q3, even with nothing added.

You wont get money back on extra's - agree, if the base suits you and you are happy with 18" wheels its the way to go; some extras are however expected on a Porsche and depending on how long you are keeping, it could be worth adding some that you might like.

[mark-yorkshire]

If you want a well built car and not fussed about options I would say go for the base car. You can always sell it to Webuyanycar who don’t give you one penny extra for your optional extras. If I were going for base the only thing I would add would be heated steering wheel and reversing camera. At least heated fron seats are now standard. A friend of mine recently took delivery of a Macan and I was surprised that the standard alcantara seat centres and leatherette bolsters looked quite acceptable. Power steering plus is quite nice ( I have it on my car ) but the standard power steering is fine. The ride on standard springs is also excellent and you really don’t need PASM.