Others have provided sufficiently detailed reviews so I’ve tried to avoid duplication and provide a different perspective. The forum was really helpful when I was trying to figure out the value of particular configuration options so equally, hope this might help someone else out with their choices.
It’s probably worth starting at the beginning and providing some background as to why I bought this car. Other than a MKVII Golf GTD which is our London car, the other cars I own are Porsches and are all two seater GT cars with full lightweight bucket seats (which don’t fold). If we do a road trip or day out, we more often than not want to take our Welsh Terrier along and the bucket seats do not allow deactivation of the air bag so on longer trips, it’s also not practical, safe or comfortable to have 12kg of dog on my wife’s lap. Notwithstanding what muddy paws and claws can do to alcantara and leather. So back in December, I went into the dealer for a social visit which is typically fatal. I had it in my head that a sports purpose but not hardcore 911 would be the answer. I was offered a build slot on a 911T or 911 GTS with a week till lock on the spec. I needed more time and the GTS was too much for what I wanted so I put together a spec true to the design concept of the T. My wife thought it looked great. I thought it looked great. The dog probably thought it looked great. Then my wife saw the manual gear stick. It needs to be PDK, no negotiation. I didn’t want to compromise the 911T with PDK so I suggested a Macan GTS. The rest is history and yes, you could probably say that we bought it for the dog. The 911T spec if you’re interested: http://www.porsche-code.com/PJC7MYK2 and the GTS spec for reference: http://www.porsche-code.com/PJ1RMPE5
I didn’t bother with the cheerleaders and choir on collection - it took me 15 minutes dealing with handover paperwork before I turned the key in the ignition. Couple of gifts, flowers and umbrella were in the car to speed my getaway. Probably would have been there a bit longer if my SE wasn’t on his Easter holiday.
I had the car professionally detailed to my requirements - I didn’t want the dealer’s valet touching the car so just asked for the transit seals to be taken off. When I got home, I washed the car with snow foam and deionized water and blow dried it clean with a Metro Blaster. I used a ScanGrip inspection light to check the paint under two colour temperatures. It was excellent under both, cold light is especially unforgiving and under both, they had fantastic depth and lustre. I normally prefer flat colours but I am really pleased with Volcano Grey. Absolutely no orange peel on a single panel. There was some light swirling on a corner of the tailgate and a couple of small scratches on the driver door but other than that, the car was in excellent condition. The only issue I discovered which was missed in PDI is that the gasket on the driver side headlight was deformed. I can’t figure out how it was damaged because it doesn’t come into contact with the clam of the bonnet. Waiting on my SE to arrange a replacement part.
The car was dropped off at the detailer who washed, decontaminated (mechanically and chemically) and then Gtechniq treatments were applied to the car. Some are certified detailer application only - Crystal Serum Ultra and EXOv3 (which carries a 9 year warranty). Gtechniq C5 wheel armour to alloy wheel faces and internal areas. Gtechniq G1 applied to all glass. Gtechniq leather and fabric protection and I also had ACF-50 (anti-corrosion compound) applied to all metal underbody parts. I also had XPEL film applied to the boot lip and top of the rear bumper. I went for Gtechniq partly due to the warranties but will probably maintain the car with a combination of Gyeon, Gtechniq and Kamikaze. I’m delighted with the ceramic coat - it’s like glass and is slick and glossy. Hardly have to do anything after snow foam, pressure wash and drying it. I'd particularly recommend a coating for the Spyder wheels due to the more intricate spoke pattern.
Still running the GTS in and observing the manufacturer instructions for doing so. I’ll do an oil change as well once run in is complete. The OPC says you don’t need to do this but swarf and debris from component mating hasn’t magically disappeared and for the cost of some oil, I’d rather have peace of mind and look after the car. I have a private track day at Silverstone in May and I should be run in by then and am seriously thinking about taking the GTS for a laugh. It might be more fun at somewhere like Bedford but it will go on a track this year, even if just to wind up the purists. The dog might sit that one out.
The engine note and start up sound is fabulous - it has that thuggish throb of an American V8 muscle car. I wouldn’t spec the sound insulating glass as it deprives you of some of that wonderful sound track.
The car really is physics defying - a car like this shouldn’t perform in the way it does. I find perception of speed is masked by the comfort and quietness of the cabin and I have to really keep an eye on how quickly I'm moving. Throttle response is excellent and this is the first turbo Porsche I've owned, all others being NA. While it feels much wider than a Cayman or 911, I realised that it’s only about 10 cm wider than my other cars. It feels much larger than that when you’re hustling it down A and B roads and I’m a lot more conscious of the size of it but it’s likely perceptual and also due to the fact that I’m keeping it much further away from the verges due to terrible rutting. Steering weight is great and feel is judged much better than I’d expected for an SUV. Potholes seem to be multiplying where we live and I’ve found the rack to be really responsive and accurate in helping avoid the craters riddling our area’s B roads.
I opted for the 14-way versus 18-way seats at the recommendation of the dealer who warned that the 18-way wear really badly due to the wire frame in the side bolsters. I guess as you climb up and over them, you create more wear than bucket seats which you drop into on a lower vehicle. They hold you well but probably not as well as the 18.
We stayed away from alcantara options - I have it all over my other cars and never have any issues as it’s looked after but as the SE pointed out, women like lotions and creams and alcantara doesn’t.
Despite not specifying the lane departure warning, it arrived on the car as standard. I wouldn’t have minded the lane change warning indicator or dynamic cruise control but the former I’ve lived without my entire driving career and never had a problem. The dynamic cruise control is handy, particularly on the M1 but it’s paired with automatic braking which I despise having nearly headbutted the steering wheel in the GTD due to a plastic bag blowing across the front of the GTD and freaking the car out. Probably the only spec option I debate not ticking. Usually debated when I am on the M1!
I am running Car Connect on an iPhone 8 Plus and it’s quite primitive and lacks refinement. It looks like something that Vodafone have developed and the scaling suggests it wasn't designed for the larger screen. The remote functions are lethargic in their responses but quite often, I have issues which end up with me running diagnostics. According to the diagnostic, the failure is caused by slow response times from the PCC server to the car. You get into an infinite loop quite quickly when the diagnostic fails and suggests you run a diagnostic on the diagnostic failure. The integration with the Vodafone telematics for the tracker is quite useful with stand down functions that save phone calls. The geofence function is quite useful as is the speed alert. That said, the speed function is a bit blunt as you can only set it to one parameter. I set it to 10mph initially so I knew if the vehicle was moving but it bombarded me with alerts every single time I went over 10mph stating that I was exceeding the speed limit. It's now turned off.
Looking forward to finishing the run in period and hopefully the advent of some reasonable weather which will allow me to use the sun roof!
Alex
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