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Porsche announced Tuesday its Macan GTS crossover; a harder, faster version of its Macan S, but without encroaching too far on the Macan Turbo.
The twin-turbocharged 3-liter V-6 boosts output from 340 horsepower in the Macan S to 360 horsepower in the Macan GTS, and 30 more foot-pounds of twist from 339 to 369 pounds-feet of torque. The difference is nominal; Porsche says the Macan GTS will run up to 60 mph in 5 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than a Macan S.
The Macan GTS also finds improvements in its air suspension and is 10 millimeters lower (0.4 inches) than the Macan Turbo. The model also sports 20-inch shoes as standard.
The interior is awash with dead Alcantras and GTS logos everywhere. The Sport Chrono Package shaves 0.2 seconds off of its 0-60 mph time and navigation will be reserved for well-heeled buyers who opt for the package, thank you very much.
Porsche carefully didn’t encroach on territory of its Macan Turbo, which sports 400 horsepower and 406 pounds-feet of torque. Presumably the Macan GTS would compete with the Audi SQ5, BMW X4 M and Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 — the latter two of which are probably in the mail.
The Macan GTS is on sale in Germany, but won’t arrive on U.S. shores until next March with its $68,195 price tag.
If I were rich and an urban dweller who could only have one car in the parking garage of his fancy condo, this would be a very strong contender.
I’d argue that it’s actually the perfect daily particularly if you can afford multiple toys.
It’s not huge (remember, parking is hard where there’s lots of old money and little space,) it carries stuff, and it’s faster than anyone really needs a car to be. Forget reliability, lease it for 24 months and forget about it. And if you don’t even have a pickup to trailer your race car to the track, you poor bastard, it’ll tow 4,409lbs.
I’ve never liked “CUVs”, but I still can’t convince myself to hate the Macan, because it’s just such a perfect expression of intent. What could it do badly, besides last for more than three years? And does that matter if you’re happy to spend another 70k when it’s no longer a hot item?
Although I can’t pretend to be unbiased…I’d say the Audi SQ5 is a better choice than the Macan. Exact same size on the outside – but the Macan is significantly less roomy inside.
Perhaps you give up a tiny bit at 10/10ths, but with over two tons of metal lets be honest – most of the time you aren’t pushing it like that.
Also, rumor has it that the next gen SQ5 will get the sport vectoring differential or somesuch that the other S models have. If the talking heads are to be believed that will get rid of some understeer.
Macan is TINY on the inside with very little rear legroom and a vestigial cargo area. Not to mention that the interior doesn’t feel very special and the S model doesn’t feel very quick off the line. All of these are reasons why I chose the SQ5 over the Macan but I freely admit that the Macan is dead sexy and offers lustworthy performance options like the air suspension, torque vectoring, and chrono package. To be honest though, the SQ5 handles just fine for bombing down the highway and taking off ramps at speed. The only place where I notice its heft and wish for the Porsche’s superior dynamics is during spirited mountain driving about a half dozen times a year.
I hope that we see some of the Macan’s styling cues and performance options migrate to the Cayenne but I shudder to think what the purchase price will be for one with any grunt.
agree with this.
the SQ5 is cheaper and gives you more features, too. You know it’s the same car, too when Porsche actually lists reasons about how it’s different. And I’ll take the supercharged Audi 6 over the turbo Porsche 6 anyday of the week. It’s dead reliable.
SQ5 is a nice car, but it is all but identical to the same 2.0T CUV 1000s of soccer moms every where drive. I’d rather have a Porsche.
Personally, I like the sleeper aspect of the SQ5. It draws a lot less attention to itself – which I suppose could be a downside for some.
This. The Macan is about 89% more upscale looking, and you don’t see 35 similar ones when you go get your Starbucks.
This would be an easy choice for me, and pretty much for all the reasons that brenschluss already mentioned. Beastly power, lots of utility, and it’s small – I’ve found that I like smaller cars.
If I was a rich urban dweller I’d use uber and zipcar, and rent real nice stuff for longer trips.
I’d dare say the Mercedes GLA45 AMG would put the Q5 mashup into the weeds.
On the straights yes, on the twisties most emphatically no.
As the saying goes there’s as a$$ for every seat. This one isn’t for me but I can see the appeal. At first blush, a S model is the better deal but when you began adding a few options, the GTS becomes more and more attractive.
It’s just that for 70K, there are other vehicles I’d rather have. Just off the top of my head.
1. Cayman S/Stingray
2. M3 et al.
3. M2/GT350 and a Tacoma
4. Golf R/Focus RS, a Tacoma, and Kawasaki Z1000
If I needed the (limited) space that the Macan provides, I’m sure the bottom three choices will do just fine. The top, while being 2 seaters and not able to carry bulky items, does have around 16 cu. ft. of trunk space which is more than some compact cars.
Ultimately I’m glad the choice is available even though I most likely wouldn’t choose it.
Will be interesting to see if this Macan variant does any better wrt the moose test and/or CU’s emergency avoidance maneuvers (prev. tested Macans dynamics controls then locked the front wheels to minimize chance of turnover).
I’m glad they added black wheels and black plastic trim to make the uplevel GTS look cheaper than the base model, in typical Porsche fashion.
That’s a lot of money for something this size. The RR Sport starts at $64,900.