2014 Porsche Macan
Baby crossover Porker packs some serious bite under the hood
By Imthishan Giado
Be under no illusion: Porsche is not a sports car company. Nor has it been for some time. What modern Porsche AG is, is a hugely successful SUV maker that channels profits from that division into keeping one very perverse idea – the rear engined sports car – alive. If Porsche only sold 911s, Boxsters and Caymans it would not exist today. In the United States, the Cayenne makes nearly 44% of all Porsches sold and you’d better believe that percentage is higher in our market.
With that justification out of the way, it makes obvious sense for Stuttgart to grow their SUV portfolio. And so 50 years after the birth of the 911 we arrive at this, the Macan crossover. Aimed squarely at the house that the the Range Rover Evoque built, it’s a sporty SUV with more of an emphasis on ‘sport’ than mud-plugging performance. The latter matters little as no one is likely to take their Evoque into the dunes either; the Macan will have a baseline of performance that will ensure it can survive a sandy beach and thrive in low traction environments like snow for key markets like Russia.
The design is exactly as you’d expect a small Cayenne to look like. I’m not kidding – it looks like a shrunken Cayenne from the front, though the squat, haunchy stance means it looks like a jacked-up station wagon from the rear. Two models will comprise the launch line-up: a Macan S and a Macan Turbo. S will come with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 good for 340bhp and a 0-60mph time of 5.2 seconds and will no doubt comprise the bulk of Macan sales globally. Want the beef? Get the Turbo, with its erm, twin-turbo 3.6-litre 400bhp V6 which demolishes 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds. All-wheel drive and Porsche’s seven-speed dual-clutch PDK are standard, as is (sadly) electric power steering – I shed a tear for the wonderful hydraulic feel of the old Cayenne.
Unsurprisingly, the interior is traditional ‘new Porsche’ with its oversized transmission tunnel housing all the known buttons in the universe while the center console is cleaner with a large 7-inch display. Gotta say, the new steering wheel is a thing of beauty to look, even if it apes the new BMW M-wheels a little too closely.
No word on pricing for our region yet and don’t expect to see Macan in the region before Q3 next year – production at the Leipzig factory is capped at 50,000 units which is no doubt a keen strategy – like everything else – on the part of Porsche to ensure demand outstrips supply.
Check out the pictures below and let us know what you think!
