Macan - a sports car, a hot hatch, a luxury cruiser or ???

[DJMCUK]

I quite liked the Volvo XC40 B4 loaner we had after a Cat's Protection league van backed into my wife's BMW.
Our son thought this funny s my wife's name is... Cat.

Anyway, the liking for the XC40 wore off quickly when someone cut in front at the lights, into a car's length space, making me think they thought I must be old and doddery as I was driving a Volvo.

They may be right, but that's not the point!

[Moriarty]

Yes, I looked at all of the above except for the Volvo - decent 4-pots are very hard to come by and certainly aren't flogged by Volvo.

MB GLC43 - expensive, chintzy interior, not much cop to drive. 63 version a bit too OTT.
X3 M40i - yes but it felt like having the same car as we had before - just taller, uglier and more expensive. Wonderful engine though - better than the Macan's V6 without question. The senior X3M version is very quick but has a remarkably poor ride.
F-Pace - too large and the 3.0 P400 was pricey and depreciates like a stone, plus question mark over reliability. SVR was tempting but a bit shouty.
Velar - as above but with nicer styling inside and out and more worries about reliability - I was also worried about insurance costs. A P400 one of these would have been my second choice though.
Stelvio - too large, never been quite sure about the styling, second-rate interior and anything less than the full Quadrifoglio is a bit meh...
Q5 - very meh. No go-faster version.
RSQ3 - in principle yes, in practice no. Terrible ride, cheap interior. 5-pot didn't sound as fabulous as I remembered from an earlier RS3.

Macan just turned out to be the Goldilocks option...even if in this part of London they are somewhat ubiquitous - it's the Chelsea equivalent of a VW Golf...

Forgot about the BMW , had two E36 series coupes in late 90's , current styling is terrible. Velar and F Pace too big , Macan size is about right for my needs.

My main problem with all Audis are the seat bolsters on the front seats , they crease terribly even after a few thousand miles.

I’m hearing that BMW is progressively reducing the interior quality as they release model updates. It’s a pity because their interiors have been really good recently. It almost seems like the German brands benchmark against one another and if they are superior in some way they reduce the quality so they have comparable margins and comparable prices. You have to check out the cars each year to see which one is temporarily the best.

[Wolands Advocate]

It's the styling with the latest BMWs and it's not like I'm not totally fussy on that front. My back catalogue (and just sticking with BMWs) includes an M135i, an E60 M5 and a Z1, all cars with what you might term "marmite" styling.

[dammitjanet]

I quite liked the Volvo XC40 B4 loaner we had after a Cat's Protection league van backed into my wife's BMW.
Our son thought this funny s my wife's name is... Cat.

Anyway, the liking for the XC40 wore off quickly when someone cut in front at the lights, into a car's length space, making me think they thought I must be old and doddery as I was driving a Volvo.

They may be right, but that's not the point!

Shocking, seen as the UK police forces have shed loads of these and the 60s as unmarked

[DJMCUK]

My main problem with all Audis are the seat bolsters on the front seats , they crease terribly even after a few thousand miles.

Ah... just like the Macan 18-ways you mean?

(stir... stir... )

[Ntense]

What a wonderful and thought inspiring series of posts on this thread. I m often perplexed when driving my Gen 3 S as to what it is exactly, one one hand it's fast, handles wonderfully, loads of space, has a sublime ride (BMW note) and a cracking engine. It just feels special. However it's that wonderful 2.9L engine and handling that goads me into driving in a way that an SUV should not be driven and when I do, I am aware of its mass and height as well as the laws of physics.

However, as many have commented, it's not a sports car but has many of the attributes of one and this cofuses me. If I'm in a RR Sport, I know it's a cruiser but my Macan almost straddles both sectors and on our public roads, has way more power than can be deployed. This then leads to that point that the important thing is how it makes you feel when driving, it's not engaging enough in a way a 911is, to have that sports car feel, it's way too cosseting for that. Whereas the Macan is awesome for 90% of the time a 911 I think would be awesome for 10% so I am still undecided. In summary, I can't fault he Gen 3 Macan other than it confuses me because it is an SUV and when driven like a sports car, which it can emulate in pace, one is aware of the shortcomings due to its weight, height and size but you do have to be getting on some which is rare in the South East. SO in my opinion, it is one of if not best SUV's available with an emphasis on 'Sport'

I think I just have a 911 itch...but would miss the Macan as a daily driver

[Wing Commander]

Ntense, I have used my 911 as daily driver and sole car for very nearly 6 years, and love it! I have even made it louder and more stiff!

However, I’m single and my kids are grown up, so I very rarely need more carrying capacity than my 911 has (which is actually quite impressive).

A 911 can carry a driver and four 20” wheels inside the cabin!

[Ntense]

Ntense, I have used my 911 as daily driver and sole car for very nearly 6 years, and love it! I have even made it louder and more stiff!

However, I’m single and my kids are grown up, so I very rarely need more carrying capacity than my 911 has (which is actually quite impressive).

A 911 can carry a driver and four 20” wheels inside the cabin!

Great looking cars there but the real star is the cat! Likewise I don't have to carry kids, my aged mum really likes the 992 lol! so I think I will go for it, I'll see how the 992.2 pans out but Porsche has dropped Aventurine Green today, not happy as a result.

[Wing Commander]

Ntense, I have used my 911 as daily driver and sole car for very nearly 6 years, and love it! I have even made it louder and more stiff!

However, I’m single and my kids are grown up, so I very rarely need more carrying capacity than my 911 has (which is actually quite impressive).

A 911 can carry a driver and four 20” wheels inside the cabin!

Great looking cars there but the real star is the cat! Likewise I don't have to carry kids, my aged mum really likes the 992 lol! so I think I will go for it, I'll see how the 992.2 pans out but Porsche has dropped Aventurine Green today, not happy as a result.

Good luck & keep us posted!

Shame about Aventurine. I saw a 992 Carrera in that colour on FB earlier and it looked classy.

[PJV997]

+ I love sports chrono, it makes a big difference for me.

When you say "love sports chrono" do you love it just because it gives you a small knob to play with OR for lap timing and launch control?

I first tried SC (without the mode control) in a loan Boxster 981 in 2015 which I had for 2 days and found Sports Plus a weird unnecessary setting which gave me manual control but caused me to keep maxing the revs out. That may be ideal for someone racing but surely Sports manual is enough on the road?
This test drive confirmed to me there was no point whatsoever to SC.

What am I missing, apart from my tiny knob?

The reason I love sports chrono is that I can tailor the driving settings to my own preferences which I don’t think is possible without SC. My wife’s TTS and my M cars had this option as well. We always drove my wife’s TTS in our own individual setting, but with the Macan and my M6, most driving is in a normal or comfort type mode, but the press of an M button or a twirl of my little SC knob will give me a different (more sporty) set up.

And I don’t use Sports plus, too harsh for me, but that still leaves normal, sport and individual in the Macan.