Porsche 930 Reviews

As the automotive industry's peak body warns of challenging times ahead for the new-car market in Australia due to rising costs and high interest rates, there is one corner of the market that is thriving.

This is the list that's most fun to write but it’s sometimes hard to pick winners when you review as many cars as I do!This year has proven (once again) that the market is ruled by SUVs and Australia’s love affair with them isn’t slowing down any time soon. So, you may be surprised that only a few of them made the cut.Out of all of the cars I’ve been cruising in this year, these were my favourites (in no particular order).The LandCruiser got me good. There are enough old-school elements mixed in with premium tech and features to satisfy everyone (it has a CD/DVD player!). Rear passengers enjoy the same luxurious comforts as front rowers and you get one of the most practical shaped boots I’ve sampled. For adventuring families, it has great off-road and towing capabilities with effortless power and grunt. It also drives like a dream and is a comfortable road tripper. I love it and miss it.Station wagons are my favourite type of family-hauler. Technically this sits in the same category as a Toyota Prado (ahem) but it looks and behaves like a wagon. This is one of the smoothest driving experiences you can have. It has AWD and the old-school elements are seamlessly blended with easy-to-use tech. High comfort for longer journeys and its only downside was being a bit thirsty.It hurt my soul to hand the keys back. The driving experience is finely tuned with great power delivery and on-road comfort. The sedan/wagon hybrid style took a little while to get used to, but the practicality was a big win for my little family of three. It could fit the hubby’s golf clubs, do a big grocery haul and carry all the junk my eight-year-old seems to accumulate over a week. The boosted sound experience on the engine is one you simply have to hear once in your life.The Touareg is a great looking family SUV that caters to everyone with comfort and tech. It’s smooth to drive with power that is promptly delivered. The on-road experience is also a lesson in refinement, which a few other European brands can take notes on. Efficiency and ongoing costs are also good – what’s not to like?It made the list last year and the updated model won my heart again. Just a solid all-rounder that delivers great on-road comfort, steers well, has decent power and good features for a base model. The hybrid efficiency is hard to question and it’s a smart-looking sedan thanks to the substantial facelift. Annoyingly, it is heavily associated with ride-share and taxis but I’d have one in a heartbeat.It’s only fair to include my eight-year-old's top-five cars, as he tests them with me and is very loud with his opinions on them.He loves the ambient lighting in Mercs and whooped with joy whenever I had to get up to speed. The engine sounded cool and there were enough comforts in the rear.He loved all of the features in the second and third rows, including cupholders that are well-positioned on the doors.He loves a good ute and the manly internal styling won him (and my husband) over. The tray was the winning feature and acted as a cubby house.His nickname for it was the Batmobile. That really sums up how much he liked it.

Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new. In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.

The Macan Turbo is a true EV monster. We’re talking 430kW (470kW with launch control), 1130Nm and a sprint to 100km/h that’s as fast as a Carrera Cup race car – just 3.3 seconds.It’s twin-motor, all-wheel drive and offers the kind of brutal acceleration that gives you a little facelift every time you step on the accelerator.The cost is a not-insignificant $184,400, but because it’s the performance model, you get performance kit as standard, like the 'Porsche Electric Sport Sound', the 'Sport Chrono Package' and a performance-focused 'Sport+' drive mode.Every Macan is fitted with a big 100kWh lithium-ion battery, which helps deliver a 616km claimed driving range, while its 800V architecture is set up for 270kW DC high-speed charging, which will take 21min to go from 10 to 80 per cent. It will also accept 11kW AC charging, which should take 10 hours to go from empty to full.

The 4S is probably the performance sweet spot in the Macan Electric range, with its dual-motor set-up generating 330kW (380kW with launch control activated) and 820Nm, and a blistering sprint of just 4.1 seconds. That’s not as powerful or as fast as the Macan Turbo, but it sounds like plenty to us - plus it’s substantially cheaper. You’ll be parting with $149,300, and for that you’ll get the same 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, and a second 10.9-inch central touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as the lesser models, as well 20-inch alloys and the 'Porsche Active Suspension Management' (PASM) system as standard, but you’ll also find LED matrix headlights, a better Bose stereo, a panoramic roof and four-zone climate control.Every Macan is fitted with a big 100kWh lithium-ion battery, and rides on a 800v architecture, and in the case of the 4S, you can expect a claimed 619km driving range.But there is a downside. While the cheaper Macan’s boot opens to reveal 540 litres, that number drops to 480 litres in the 4S or Turbo.

The Macan 4 ($134,400) is the second rung on Porsche’s new electric SUV ladder, and is also the cheapest way into a dual-motor, AWD version, with a second electric motor upping the grunt to 285kW (300kW with the launch function) and 650Nm — enough to complete the sprint to a brisk 5.2 seconds.Apart from the second motor, it largely mirrors the spec of the entry-level, and rear-wheel-drive, Macan, meaning a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, and a second 10.9-inch central touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Outside, there are 20-inch alloys, while inside you’ll find synthetic-leather seats that are heated up front, and Australian cars get things like the clever 'Porsche Active Suspension Management' (PASM) system as standard.Every Macan is fitted with a big 100kWh lithium-ion battery, which in the 4 means a claimed 624km driving range.When it comes time to recharge, the Macan rides on an 800V architecture, and is set up for 270kW DC high-speed charging, which will take 21min to go from 10 to 80 per cent. It will also accept 11kW AC charging, which should take 10 hours to go from empty to full.

The new Macan Electric range opens with the simply named Macan, which lists at $128,400, before on-road costs. A reminder here that the old entry-level Macan with an ICE powertrain would have set you back less than six figures, so this one represents quite the jump.That money gets you 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, and a second 10.9-inch central touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.It rides on 20-inch alloys, has synthetic-leather seats that are heated up front and Australian cars get things like the clever 'Porsche Active Suspension Management' (PASM) system as standard.The entry-level Macan is the only model equipped with a single rear-mounted electric motor, and it will make a total 250kW (265kW with launch control activated) and 563Nm, which is enough to push the cheapest Macan to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds.Every Macan is fitted with a big 100kWh lithium-ion battery, which helps deliver a solid driving range. In the case of the entry-level Macan, that’s a claimed 654km.

The Porsche Macan is the German brand's best-selling model in Australia. Or it was, at least. Before the bold decision to ditch the internal-combustion powertrains and shift the entire range to an EV-only offering. Was that a mistake? Or a masterstroke? We put the new Macan Electric to the test to find out.

Porsche might have just made its biggest gamble ever, vowing its new and all-electric Macan will remain its best-selling vehicle in Australia and around the world, despite it consigning its internal combustion engines to the history books.

After the launch of the Taycan facelift in August, Porsche has brought two more lower-spec variants into the fray in the Taycan GTS and Taycan 4.