First trip abroad in MY2018 Macan S

oldpilot · Post by **oldpilot** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:56 pm

Despite having taken delivery last September (and bits missing under the bonnet as mentioned elsewhere) I didn't get the opportunity to really get in a decent trip until last week, when we did a return mission to The Hague.

Spent a slightly frustrating hour or two the day before trying to update the Nav database. Downloaded SE England, NE France and Belgium/Luxembourg without difficulty, but Netherlands was greyed out - together with all other countries. Rang my OPC (Tonbridge) and he said it must be a data restriction issue - but was unable to tell me what the limit is and suggested I call the helpline (have not done this yet).

Following advice given elsewhere in this excellent Forum, we booked the Shuttle as a High Vehicle and I was delighted to cruise through the stomach of the snake without fear of dinging my lovely alloys on the kerbs. We then spent the 35 minutes finding out how to adjust the dipping and the speedo for foreign soil.

However, IMHO all the onboard Nav is seriously disappointing. We used the Porsche built-in system on the way out, until it got us into serious traffic on the outskirts of Antwerp. Knowing the area well, I fired up TomTom on my iPhone and we were routed via the toll tunnel on the ring-road and saved a load of time. On the return trip, I tried Apple Car Play and was initially impressed, until I realised that there is no speed limit display available - which I find essential. The eventual fix was to leave Apple Car Play connected (for the TuneIn Radio app) and use TomTom on the phone, which I have had to mount using a Rinnspeed magnetic mount, as you can't see the screen when the phone is in the armrest slot - and my iPhone 8 + is too big for the slimline slot! (First World problem).

Apart from that, the car is just wonderful and starting it up in an underground carpark is just magic! Keeping to the speed limit (difficult) gave us an mpg figure of just over 26.

Dandock · Post by **Dandock** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:27 pm

Sorry to hear about the Porsche Nav tainting your trip. Apart from struggling to find a French country Relais, a couple of unenterably narrow side streets decisions in Cahor and not recognising very recently open stretch of autoroute around Montpellier, it served us well last year.

Having said that it blatantly couldn’t find Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons last December!

Wing Commander · Post by **Wing Commander** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:46 pm

Dandock wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:27 pm
Having said that it blatantly couldn’t find Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons last December!

Maybe Kitty had seen the prices on the menu and was trying to save your wallet!

Dandock · Post by **Dandock** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:14 pm

Wing Commander wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:46 pm
Dandock wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:27 pm
Having said that it blatantly couldn’t find Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons last December!

Maybe Kitty had seen the prices on the menu and was trying to save your wallet!

Compared to many mainstream chains (The Ivy etc), gastropubs etc. I’d say it was a bargain or at the very least damn good value.

Wing Commander · Post by **Wing Commander** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:20 pm

Good to hear!

Maybe I should add it to my bucket list!

Dandock · Post by **Dandock** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:48 pm

Wing Commander wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:20 pm Good to hear!

Maybe I should add it to my bucket list!

Just make sure to pack the Garmin.

Wing Commander · Post by **Wing Commander** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:51 pm

Dandock wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:48 pm
Wing Commander wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:20 pm Good to hear! . Maybe I should add it to my bucket list!
Just make sure to pack the Garmin.

My passenger can use Google maps on the mobile.

Semerka · Post by **Semerka** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 8:44 am

We find that the PCM's SatNav does choose really odd routes at times, always worth checking which way it's taking you.
It's not the best, I agree. I often wonder why car manufacturers do not use the established marques like TomTom, etc in their cars.

But then the Macan itself makes up for that shortcoming!

Glad you enjoyed the trip overall.

Nuclear Nick · Post by **Nuclear Nick** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:05 am

A SE at my OPC told me that the nav software is TomTom, much to my dismay. It would explain why it is so difficult to add routes, waypoints, etc. If it was Garmin based I'm sure it would be much easier to use, particularly preparing routes on the computer and loading them to the car, for example as a .gpx file.

I'm booked in to the OPC on Friday for a 'Masterclass' on the PCM so will be interesting to see if that sheds some light.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:14 am

Nuclear Nick wrote: ↑Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:05 am A SE at my OPC told me that the nav software is TomTom, much to my dismay. It would explain why it is so difficult to add routes, waypoints, etc. If it was Garmin based I'm sure it would be much easier to use, particularly preparing routes on the computer and loading them to the car, for example as a .gpx file.

I'm booked in to the OPC on Friday for a 'Masterclass' on the PCM so will be interesting to see if that sheds some light.

(perhaps we could sneak in a quick shandy one evening to share your new-found knowledge?)

First trip abroad in MY2018 Macan S

Porsche Macan Owners Club

Follow Porsche Macan Forums