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Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Col Lamb wrote: Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:26 pm One thing about the SD that I did not like with mine was the throttle and gearbox response when in Comfort mode.

The throttle was sluggish with a long prod being required on the pedal and the gearbox seemed to ask itself twenty rather long questions before anything happened.

Put it in Sport mode and the car was transformed.

I eventually only used Comfort mode for Motoraway cruising.
Same story with comfort/eco mode in my 997.2 C4S. It was very lazy and boggy, even with the 3.8L 385 hp engine. I used to drive it almost exclusively in manual mode and sport auto when I couldn't be bothered, which was a pretty good compromise. Sport Plus just revved it to the redline in every gear, not what you want for smooth everyday driving! But the Macan will be for a different purpose and I expect I'll just leave it in sport Auto for 90% of the time and manual for the occasional blast along country roads. I don't really mind if the comfort mode is not much use. I'm pretty sure I don't have any use for SC on a car like this. When I tried the Cayenne diesel a couple of years ago I didn't even bother to drive it in manual, only eco and sport auto modes but I can't remember which I preferred as It was so long ago. I do remember being a bit underwhelmed with the power though, which is why I'm still considering the petrol S.

steve w
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Post by steve w »

Peteski
Our first Macan a SD was great good fuel consumption and probably quick enough for most but for me there was something missing,the SD diesel motor is Audi soured ,the 2L petrol motor is VW sourced but the 3L and 3.6L petrol motors are Porsche derived our second Macan a GTS is in another league to the SD in every way including fuel consumption it likes a drop of the super unleaded but who buys a Porsche for the fuel consumption and it more than makes up for the extra fuel costs,imo the GTS is the sweet spot in the Macan range and if you have a test drive I'm sure you will be ordering one they really are a fabulous bit of kit.
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

steve w wrote: Fri Jul 14, 2017 7:04 pm Peteski
Our first Macan a SD was great good fuel consumption and probably quick enough for most but for me there was something missing,the SD diesel motor is Audi soured ,the 2L petrol motor is VW sourced but the 3L and 3.6L petrol motors are Porsche derived our second Macan a GTS is in another league to the SD in every way including fuel consumption it likes a drop of the super unleaded but who buys a Porsche for the fuel consumption and it more than makes up for the extra fuel costs,imo the GTS is the sweet spot in the Macan range and if you have a test drive I'm sure you will be ordering one they really are a fabulous bit of kit.
I get where you are coming from here and if this was going to be my only car then I'd probably just get the Turbo or GTS. But I still have an old-school classic 911 to play with (also thinking of buying a 997 Turbo S in the near future too) and the Macan will be strictly a family car, so the economy and relaxed driving style of the diesel will probably suit this usage best. Still considering the petrol S, but in reality the diesel will haul the family around plenty fast enough.

At £58K base price, the GTS is a step above what I really want to pay for a car that will inevitably suffer a bit of child abuse and get scuffed up in the school run. Even the £48K SD is a little off-putting in that respect (it's actually going to be around £56K with the options I need), but I can just about live with it. Our current family car is a modest £25K Qashqai and although pretty dull to drive, it is comfortable, economical and doesn't cause any stress whatsoever when it takes the odd knock on the school run. I had half a mind to just replace it with something similar (but slightly bigger) but then decided we really wanted something more luxurious for longer family trips now the kids are getting a little older. That's how we started looking at highly practical vehicles like the Disco Sport, before I steered back to quasi-sports cars like the Macan!
Col Lamb
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Post by Col Lamb »

Seek help quickly......a Disco Sport.....omg that is some serious thought, hope it passes.

By the sound of what you want the SD will do nicely, if not already done so do have an extended loan of one to fully check it out.
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Col Lamb wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2017 2:52 pm Seek help quickly......a Disco Sport.....omg that is some serious thought, hope it passes.

By the sound of what you want the SD will do nicely, if not already done so do have an extended loan of one to fully check it out.
Yes, I'm not going to decide without a full weekend test drive of both diesel and petrol S models.
I did test drive a Disco Sport for a weekend and it was actually pretty nice to drive and the space inside is remarkable considering it's fairly modest external dimensions. If it had a better quality/reliability reputation I'd probably have bought one, but the horror stories seriously put me off. My wife was totally in love with it and to be honest the Macan is significantly less practical as a proper family car. In fact my only reservation on a test drive is that we may find it lacking in space for all our gear on a trip. When we sat in a Macan in the showroom, we were both a bit disappointed in the lack of rear space and shallow boot. But hopefully it's a compromise we can live with. If not, then a Cayenne could be the final answer but I would prefer the Macan. We had a Cayenne on an extended test drive a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, but decided to go cheaper/smaller at that time as the kids were only aged 5 and 2 and long road trips were not that practical anyway. Now that they've trashed the Qashqai we bought instead and grown up a little, it feels like time to invest in a more luxurious family car with a bit more space. At least the Macan is bigger than the Qashqai, so I'm hopeful I'll get away with it!
Col Lamb
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Post by Col Lamb »

Do take note that a completely redesigned Cayenne will be on the road next year if you consider this car.
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Col Lamb wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:47 am Do take note that a completely redesigned Cayenne will be on the road next year if you consider this car.
Thanks for the reminder, I had already noted that. But hopefully the Macan will work for us. On a similar note I may wait for the minor Macan facelift as it looks like I probably won't be in a position to order one before Autumn at the earliest, so I'm thinking of aiming for a Spring delivery when the facelift should be imminent. Any news on the facelift timeline? I'd read Spring or maybe Summer 2018 at the latest. It's not that I'm particularly bothered about the cosmetic updates, just resale down the line. I certainly don't want to miss it by a month or two.
On-Track
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Post by On-Track »

Peteski wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:13 am
I'm pretty sold on the diesel too for economy and relaxed drive, but the 340 hp petrol does sound pretty good too. I wasn't overly impressed with the diesel Cayenne (in terms of power) I borrowed for the weekend, but the Macan must be lighter. I have to keep reminding myself that this is going to be a family car, not for track days! Ultimately ride quality, comfort and luggage space will be more important than power. In my experience of other Porsches, they usually do a great job of the ride/handling balance, so I have high expectations here. The Cayenne I drove was good in this respect too, I just prefer the idea of something a little less bulky and arguably better looking.

Good to hear that the SD is quiet and works well with steel + PASM. It would be nice not to have to fork out extra for the air suspension if not needed.
If the Cayenne you drove was a pre-facelift model then the diesel would have been rated at 243hp. I had a Cayenne diesel from 2013 to 2015 and was OK with the performance (it was down on my last E Class but that had the 265hp engine 0-62 in 6.1s). The Macan is much more responsive. It's not just being lighter but also the seven speed PDK is a more responsive box than the eight speed torque converter box in the Cayenne.

The normal tyres on my Macan are 20" Sport Design and my winter wheels are 18". The handling is better (IMHO) with the lower profile tyres and, unless you have to travel on the M50, tyre roar is not a problem. Over 19k miles, I've averaged 35.5 mpg and you will not get close to that with any of the petrol options.
Peter

Current: 2020 Carmine Red GTS http://www.porsche-code.com/PMST9ZI9
Gone- 2015 Sapphire Blue Diesel
Gone -2013 Cayenne Diesel
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

On-Track wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2017 12:14 pm
If the Cayenne you drove was a pre-facelift model then the diesel would have been rated at 243hp. I had a Cayenne diesel from 2013 to 2015 and was OK with the performance (it was down on my last E Class but that had the 265hp engine 0-62 in 6.1s). The Macan is much more responsive. It's not just being lighter but also the seven speed PDK is a more responsive box than the eight speed torque converter box in the Cayenne.

The normal tyres on my Macan are 20" Sport Design and my winter wheels are 18". The handling is better (IMHO) with the lower profile tyres and, unless you have to travel on the M50, tyre roar is not a problem. Over 19k miles, I've averaged 35.5 mpg and you will not get close to that with any of the petrol options.
Yes it was a pre-facelift Cayenne I drove, so that's good to know. Performance was so-so, but acceptable for a family SUV. I would expect the Macan diesel to be more lively and sounds like it is.

How much of the handling improvement do you think is due to tyre choice rather than rim size? I presume you have winter tyres on your 18s? Having worked extensively in motorsport I've never really seen any handling improvement with super low profile tyres. Years ago we tested 18 vs 19" BTCC tyres for Dunlop and the 18s were quicker, but marketing was putting pressure on to move to 19s in line with the cosmetic trend for larger rims. In the real world of mundane road driving and harsh potholes I'd rather have the compliance and kerb friendliness of higher profile tyres. I'm sure the handling will be fine either way. I used to prefer the ride of my 997.2 on winter 18s over its stock 19s and handling on the road was pretty much the same. Obviously the limit was higher in the dry on summer tyres. To be fair I drove a 991 GTS on stock 20s and that rode okay too in general. I don't remember it being overly harsh and I had the car for several days. Porsche seem pretty good at tuning suspension for UK roads even with big rims. So I expect the longer travel SUVs are acceptable on any rim size.
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Pete
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Post by Pete »

I have no motorsport experience at all, but I'd agree with the assessment that big rims are largely a cosmetic thing. I've been more than happy with my 18s and not fretting about them being kerbed. I guess there might be handling characteristics of having less lateral flex at the expense of greater lateral wear.

I just have to put up with comments that I should have chosen larger rims or comments like "bigger rims would fill those arches".
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