1st world problem - choosing a Macan

[Pivot]

Clive, I had similar considerations, except I was looking at X4 M4.0I vs Macan S vs X3 M4.0i.

I was impressed with all three vehicles for diff reasons. The X4 is a coupe, my pref body style, however my small Schnauzer couldn’t see anything out the trunk of the vehicle and with the parcel shelf closed, he was in a dark room, rattling about. The X3 is a bread-van, most practical, and the Schnauzer had a nice play-pen at the back. The Macan S is in between, ie, semi-coupe/semi-van, with useable trunk and with parcel shelf removed my Schnauzer can see forward and backwards. Now everyone is happy to travel.

Also, I prefer BMW straight-6-zyl motor and dash/controls, but I prefer Macan S handling and seats. On balance, I am not going to the races with a van, the 3.0V6 has plenty of torque at lower rpm and for me it is a better package. £10k diff amortised over useful life, in my case 5-years is <£200 per month. So I got me a Porsche, best handling van on the market and a comfortable cruiser. Sorted.

Given the size of your hound, you might have slightly different conclusion, but I would take the hound for a long drive in a Macan and see his reaction [emoji41]

[PaulR]

Silver is a safe choice and needs the least cleaning. Swirl marks don't show either. Silver certainly is not discounted yet. So why monochromatic white? It's not too hard to keep clean vs say black though not as easy as silver. White with black trim and dark pano show off the lines of the car, the contrast adds some drama without it being an in-you-face colour such as Mamba Green. Really strong colours can become tiring and I plan to keep this car for several years so I don't want to tire of it.

I wasn't previously a fan of the colour, but I think silver looks pretty good on the Macan. Silver was what Porsche used across the globe to announce the GTS at various motor shows. (The other GTS halo colour was carmine red.)

I agree silver paintwork is brilliant for keeping clean, in particular hiding swirl marks. However, together with gold, light silver is the worst colour when it comes to fixing stone chips. In comparison, black is a nightmare for swirl marks, but the best colour for fixing stone chips.

[Kleynie]

Come on.............. where is this lesson on Bose tweaking?

So what I mean by tweaking is tailoring to your ears.
The standard Macan system is quite bass heavy as the frequencies are set to account for the lack of sub in the boot. So trying a Macan with the standard set up with the bass on 0 would sound more bass heavy than the Bose system with the bass set to 0. That is why IMO some Macans with the standard set up can sound quite powerful, giving the impression that the Bose system is not worth buying.

However, if you sit in a car with the Bose set up you soon learn that by tweaking the various settings, not just the bass and treble, you can achieve something quite special. For me I have the bass and treble turned up and all the surround options ticked, this gives a nice crisp sound for the type of music I like. Its not bass heavy, but very accurate - some may like a bass heavy sound and then Bose is not necessarily for you.

There is no ideal set up for everyone as people like different types of music and different levels of bass. If you listen to dance music then I would say Base is a waste, but if you like detail and crisp bass then Bose is great (for me).

[ianst]

Come on.............. where is this lesson on Bose tweaking?

So what I mean by tweaking is tailoring to your ears.
The standard Macan system is quite bass heavy as the frequencies are set to account for the lack of sub in the boot. So trying a Macan with the standard set up with the bass on 0 would sound more bass heavy than the Bose system with the bass set to 0. That is why IMO some Macans with the standard set up can sound quite powerful, giving the impression that the Bose system is not worth buying.

However, if you sit in a car with the Bose set up you soon learn that by tweaking the various settings, not just the bass and treble, you can achieve something quite special. For me I have the bass and treble turned up and all the surround options ticked, this gives a nice crisp sound for the type of music I like. Its not bass heavy, but very accurate - some may like a bass heavy sound and then Bose is not necessarily for you.

There is no ideal set up for everyone as people like different types of music and different levels of bass. If you listen to dance music then I would say Base is a waste, but if you like detail and crisp bass then Bose is great (for me).

What about buttery bass?

[lamaktak]

Great options

I'd go for 18 Way adaptive you wont regret the bolster can be adjusted its like the car is cuddling you
on the subject of seats the vented seats a super cool

18 way adaptive
seat ventilation
privacy glass

[bennachie]

Cheers for that, just looking for some direction, as, as you well know, you can veer off at a tangent and take the sound to crazy places and consume a lot of time if you 'go the wrong way'....

[Kleynie]

Great options

I'd go for 18 Way adaptive you wont regret the bolster can be adjusted its like the car is cuddling you

I don’t agree, I would go for 14 way seats as the 18 way are too hard to get in and out of.

[Tracky]

Where is Clive with his decision !?!?

[Clive]

I'm struggling between Macan S and X3 M40i. Both are great machines. The X3 is less attractive but does have extra space which will make our trips away that much easier, I'm we can make Macan accommodate but we'll have to work at it whereas the X3 is the perfect size. The X3 tech is much more advanced but Macan handling/ feedback is that bit better. A much better spec X3 is 11k less expensive than a reasonable spec Macan S - though the Macan S will have better residual value to compensate.

Heart and head are in conflict. They are both heart really but my head is making me reconsider the BMW. I'm taking time to consider, there's no need to rush my decision.

I've asked the Porsche dealer if I can borrow the demo car overnight. Getting into my home environment will help greatly. Pivot's post at the top of this page sums up my dilemma perfectly.

[Pivot]

Hey Clive, another few considerations (somebody accused me of over-analysing things [emoji3166]), but I don’t like spending money unnecessarily:

1. What should be your last ICE vehicle, before you switch over to EV?

2. Rumour has it that from 2021(?) all new cars will be speed governed to the road-signs. If this scenario is likely to happen then I would buy Porsche ahead of time and keep it for as long as I can.

If the rumour is unlikely, then perhaps buy cheaper X3 and switch to Macan EV when it comes out and then keep it for as long as you can.

3. I just came back from a road trip to Lugano, CH. I saw many X3s, X4s, Q5s on the road, we noded politely, but none of them had a grin-factor nowhere near close to my uber-van! There was one exception - Alpha Stelio - but that is not a retirement material [emoji38]