The one good thing about having an ex-motoring scribe and total petrol-head as the new media-liaison for the local guardians of the Porsche brand in Malaysia, is that you can expect a perfect sound-byte sooner or later, and sure enough, I got one. “It’s the perfect everyday Porsche” he enthused, when handing over the keys to the new Porsche Macan, which was mine for a day.
Wait a sec. Isn’t a known automotive fact that the 911 is the absolute embodiment of the ‘everyday Porsche’? Thinking that perhaps the very unfamiliar tie around his neck was knotted just a bit too tight, I grabbed the keys and was off, perfect everyday Porsche it seems. But it soon dawned on me that he was right…
The Macan is unchartered territory for Porsche. It’s the first ‘compact’ SUV that the brand has ever produced, perhaps targeted at those who want the Cayenne but feel it’s a bit too big for the daily grind, and in that respect, the Macan trumps the former, in spades.
I’ve always felt that the Cayenne was indeed too big and cumbersome for daily use, thus the more compact dimensions of the Macan (4681 x 1923 x 1624 – LWH in mm; it’s slightly bigger than a Honda CR-V, but lower in overall height) could immediately be felt whilst snaking my way around the area to exit the Porsche premises, and its congested vicinity.
Speaking of dimensions, the Macan does feel like a compact SUV in every sense, especially the interior. It’s unmistakably ‘Porsche’ of course, both in terms of look and feel, but it’s the kind of familiarity that does not breed contempt. Amazingly upmarket and simply oozing tactile feel, the fit and finish is second to none. Bourne from decades of fine-tuning the perfect driving position, it’s obvious right off the bat that ergonomics in the Macan have been thought out to the nth degree.
Granted the centre console – which houses 30 buttons and switches, yes, thirty – might be a tad too wide and tends to eat up a bit of thigh room, but that inconvenience is soon glossed-over by the more than accommodating electrically operated front seats. The driving position is commanding to say the least, offering a very good view out the front and over the tops of other cars. And while it may not seem like it would – thanks to the 45-degree angle rear windscreen – the view out the back is adequate as well. An absolutely massive tilt/sliding sun-roof with retractable shade further helps to aerate the interior.
It all sounds very pleasant and accommodating, which it is, and if this was GoodHouseKeeping.com I might have left it at that, but just when you start thinking that the Macan (and don’t forget this one is just the ‘Macan’; there’s also the Macan S and Macan Turbo) is just another ‘soccer-mom’ runabout like the aforementioned Honda, it tells you just how wrong you are.
I actually had to send a text to the aforementioned Porsche media liaison to confirm that I was indeed in the seat of the entry-level Macan-Macan, because flooring the accelerator pedal made me think otherwise. Get this, when it comes down to it, the engine is a fuel-efficient 2.0-litre, in-line 4-cylinder unit. Yes, you read that right. Turbocharging and various ‘tweaks’ by Porsche however, allow it to produce 237bhp and 350Nm though, and accelerate from 0 – 100kmh in 6.9sec, topping out at 223kmh. An NEDC measured combined fuel-consumption of 7.2L/100km ensure trips to the petrol pump are less frequent.
Power goes to all four wheels with an Active All-Wheel-Drive system via a 7-speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung); another first for Porsche as all Macan models will be equipped with this system. Other aspects of the drivetrain include an electronically controlled, map-controlled multi-plate clutch, Automatic Brake Differential (ABD) and Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR). Active all-wheel drive is part of the Porsche Traction Management (PTM) system and comes as standard for all Macan models.
Being an SUV, the Macan is capable of ‘light off-roading’, its suspension can be raised electronically up to speeds of 80kmh via a button on the centre console for a maximum ground clearance of 230mm. In this off-road’ mode, all the relevant systems are geared (pun intended) to a traction-oriented off-road programme. For example, the shift revolutions and shift speeds are adapted for a greater level of traction, the all-wheel clutch is pre-tensioned to a greater degree in order to provide the front axle with the appropriate drive torque more rapidly, and even the standard torque split between the front and rear axle as well as the accelerator pedal response are adapted to off-road conditions.
The elevated ride height is especially useful for traversing flood-waters, and works up to 80kmh, after which the Macan automatically resumes its default ride height setting. The aforementioned weather calamity is perhaps the only time when the advantages of the Macan’s off-road capabilities will ever come to play, for I doubt many (if any) would ever want to venture away from terra-firma in it. It may be capable of it, but I reckon the Macan is strictly an ‘urban-jungle’ only SUV.
I’ve always propagated the virtues of reviewing a vehicle for what it was primarily created and intended to achieve, thus I refrained from any off-road jaunts, and stuck mostly to paved roads. My choice for this day-long drive was the infamous Karak highway, with a detour to Berjaya Hills. This may not be the most favoured of roads at the moment, but it did offer a fine mixture of fast highway and tight, twisty and downright vicious turns.
Needless to say, there was more than enough power on tap to keep the Macan moving at a rapid and yet relaxed pace. Its excellent ergonomics and brilliant NVH allowed only the sounds that matter to permeate the cabin, and of course I’m referring to the engine and exhaust note, which for a 4-pot sounds very good indeed. If I had to sum-up the Macan in a couple of words, based solely on how it handles the highway, I would say it’s an ‘effortless performer’. It never feels stressed or out-of-breath; it just saunters along, the only hint of its pace comes by way of how quickly other cars disappear from its rear-view mirrors.
Peeling off the highway and into Berjaya Hills, the roads tighten-up, corners stop being long-sweepers and turn into hairpins. A quick prod of the suspension setting to stiffen things up a bit, hit the ‘Sport’ button and the Macan transforms from an SUV to something that has no business being this tall and yet so manoeuvrable. It actually feels very planted for a vehicle in this category, steering feedback is precise and it feels engaging. Chucking the Macan from corner to curve, it feels surprisingly nimble, and while it’s possible to play with the gear-changes via the paddles, in ‘Sport’ mode the revs and shifts are so precisely matched, simply leaving it in ‘D’ results in a very rewarding drive. Just remember to have mercy on your passengers; they’ll lose their lunch long before the Macan loses grip…
Settling back to a less frenetic and more sedate pace on the way back to KL, the Macan yet again transforms itself into a very comfortable SUV, and getting caught in a downpour as well as the requisite traffic jam that goes hand-in-hand, did little upset the Macan in any way. It just puttered along with the rest of the traffic, in total contrast to the tyre-shredding activity it just went through an hour earlier. A chance encounter with a stretch of road that had flooded gave me to opportunity to raise the ride height of the Macan before crossing, to which it seemed to defiantly thumb its nose at. With water sloshing around its door-sills, the Macan simply strode through the flood like it wasn’t even there.
In one day, I had managed to drive this SUV in just about every possible scenario it was created to overcome, or better yet, take in stride, and it performed flawlessly. And despite my best efforts, there was still more than half a tank of petrol left. ‘The perfect everyday Porsche’, those words suddenly came to mind as I handed the Macan key back to Porsche, somehow the words made more sense now, and with prices starting at RM420,000 for the basic Macan (it spirals to RM486,739 for all the optional extras that come with the test car as pictured), it’s an enticing proposition indeed.
For even more info and specifications of the Porsche Macan, Macan S, Macan Turbo and Macan TurboDiesel, check out the full Press Release below:
Macan_Press Information_English
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