Porsche Macan S 2014 review

Porsche Macan is only the second crossover SUV from the German sportscar maker in modern times. Interestingly, Ferdinand Porsche probably designed the first ever 4WD. In 1900 he came up with a vehicle that used an all-wheel-drive system in the Lohner-Porsche racing car, which had four electric wheel-hub motors. 

In the 2014 Le Mans 24-hour race the Porsche racers used electric motors in their drivetrains to achieve all-wheel drive – seems the old man was right all those years ago.

Anyhow, onto the all-new Porsche Macan. The name Macan comes from the Indonesian word for tiger.

STYLING

The Macan joins it's older, bigger brother Porsche Cayenne on the showroom floor. It certainly looks as though the stylists have learned a lesson from their first attempt. Cayenne received plenty of praise for its dynamics, but a fair bit of criticism about the 'jacked-up 911' shape. Macan does it so much better in our opinion.

The stylists have given us many design elements from Porsche sportscars, not just the Cayenne. The large grille takes the bulk out of the front, while still giving the Macan a recognisably Porsche bonnet and headlights look.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS

Porsche Macan S is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine delivering 250kW. This lets the Macan S we tested accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, even better is the 5.2 seconds with the installation of the optional Sport Chrono package. These are sportscar numbers, which probably doesn't come as a surprise given the Macan's roots.

There's also a turbo-diesel as well as a full-on high-performance model in the Macan Turbo. Wouldn't mind getting our backsides into them as well. Stay tuned while we contact the PR man at Porsche...

Every model has Porsche's seven-speed double-clutch PDK transmission with shifter paddles for driver overrides.

SAFETY

It goes without saying that the all-new Porsche Macan gained five stars from the testing authorities. It has eight airbags to top off many other safety items built right into the body. 

We also don't need to say that this Porsche will do everything it can to avoid a crash, not only by having excellent chassis dynamics, but also through the use of numerous electronic crash avoidance or minimisation aids.

DRIVING

Front seats are well shaped and provide good support, the rears are okay for adults but tall folks in the front may have to give up a little leg space at times. The sloping roof is probably designed more for cruising at 175 km/h all day in Germany, than in providing maximum cargo space.

The rear-end looks great and is probably our favourite area of the overall design. The slope does limit the volume of boxy items unless you are able to put the 40/20/40 seatbacks down. Having said that the overall volume is good and the Porsche wagon can swallow plenty of normal luggage.

While high-speed aerodynamics are wasted in most of Australia, those who visit the Northern Territory can enjoy what's sure to be a very satisfying experience.

Road grip and the general feel of this mid-size wagon are most impressive. The latest evolution of Porsche Traction Management (PTM) helps make the best use of the power on offer.

Porsche Vectoring Plus distributes the ideal levels of drive torque to the correct wheels and works in conjunction with an electronically controlled rear-axle diff lock.

Ride comfort is very good and the engineers have probably set their sights just to the sporty side of the eternal sports/comfort compromise.

An interesting feature is Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS Plus), which continuously adjusts the headlight level in keeping with oncoming traffic as well as vehicles ahead of yours. This will be an added safety feature when you make the aforementioned trip to the NT.

Official European fuel consumption figures for the Macan S are between 8.7 and 9.0L/100km. On road we found that these numbers could be obtained on motorways, but around town, admittedly with a fair bit of spirit to our driving style, 11 - 13L/100km seemed to be the norm. Anyway, these are still impressively low numbers for wagon with the performance and enjoyment Macan provides.