Seven years and 600,000 sold, the Macan has been a phenomenal success story for Porsche,
so you would think about now it should be ready to roll out an all new version,
and it will, but this... This, isn't it. So the all new, all electric version arrives in 2023.
Now, the car beside me is actually a third facelift of the current car
that was introduced in 2014 that will aid the transition from Porsche from petrol
to pure electric power, so expect it to be on sale for a few more years yet. But the question is,
has Porsche done enough to keep the Macan relevant to Australian buyers? Let's check it out.
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So as I said, this is the third facelift of the first generation Macan that was
introduced back in 2014, so the headlines are that it gets some design tweaks,
it gets more equipment, more power, but more expensive.
Ahead of its launch down under in early 2022,
Car Sales has been given an exclusive first drive of the revised Macan line up.
I think since we're at the front of the Macan, we should probably talk about
some of the exterior tweak shouldn't we? This particular car is a GTS, so it gets this really
prominent sort of black masses of plastic across the front of it, which basely gives the impression
that the car is wider, let's come down... Oh, it's got these side stripes here, which
I think Porsche comes in blades, now they can be available in this sort of matte gray finish or a
body colour fill. Now, at the back of the car, there's also the rear spoiler from the turbo,
more on that later. And there's also a redesigned rear diffuser that extends further up on the
body to make, again the car look wider, and well, different from the car it replaces.
Other changes for 2022 include new LED headlights and a dynamic light system,
and a sport design exterior mirror. There's also 14 colours and a total of seven new wheel designs.
For the standard Macan it now rides in 19's, the Macan S rides in 20's, and it's GTS as you can see
rides on these nice big 21-inch black gloss rims.
Inside the minor updates continue, there is a 10.9-inch infotainment screen, there is a
re-design touch sensitive console, a new gear lever and a steering wheel from the Porsche 911.
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All three cars come with Porsche's seven-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission and it's
Porsche traction management which is basically their all wheel drive.
For the 2022 updates, the Macan GTS ride on 10 millimetre lower sport suspension,
which is claimed to be around 10% firm at the front and 15% stiffer at the rear.
It's fair to say since the Macan was introduced back in 2014, it's led it's small SUV class for
dynamics, and nothing should change in 2021 says Porsche because it's re-engineered all the models,
whether it's the 2L the Macan S or the flagship GTS we're driving now, so they all have a distinct
new chassis tune. Now, for the GTS, that includes a new sports suspension that introduces
air springs that are around 10% stiffer up front, 15%
at the rear and thicker anti-roll bars, and it also rides around 10 millimetres lower.
And you know what, on roads like these, you can really tell that this thing is pretty special.
Like before the 2.9L V6 twin-turbo, it doesn't quite sound as good as some of its rivals, AKA
the Jaguar F-Pace SVR. It's also down in power. Things like the F-Pace SVR offers 404 kilowatts.
This only manages 324 kilowatts, but that said, I think the performance gap narrows
on a country road because well, just the sheer speed you can hustle this.
It's also worth mentioning that the PDK seven speeds, well, it's as good as ever. It's so
quick and so responsive. But better still when you're calming down, you flick back to normal.
I think it's also smoother. There's less of the drive-line shunt that we had before.
It's a really, really good combination.
I do really worry about the ride though, on the roads we're driving now
they're just so smooth. So it's difficult to judge, but it does feel really, really firm,
which does make me worry about what would happen when you get this Macan GTS
on our typical Australian country roads. But that said, Porsche is already ahead of
us because it will offer Australian buyers a second comfort suspension.
So after a couple of days of driving all the new Macan variants, I think it's fair to say
that the Porsche SUV remains as involving as ever. So it's probably safe to say that
in 2021, if you buy a Macan, you can be very confident that you're buying the best
handling small SUV on the market. I think it's also worth pointing out that even today,
after seven years on sale, the Macan, whatever variant you choose, remains the best looking
small SUV money can buy, but there is a sting in the tail for the 2022 updates, and that's price.
Well, the entry Macan list price increases by a modest $500. The Macan S now costs
$105,800. That's five grand more than before. Worse, still the Macan GTS price rockets by
$17,500 to a substantial $129,800. Another way of looking at it is you get the same performance
as the old Macan turbo, better handling, more kit with a healthy saving of $12,000.
But I think the important takeaway from today is the updated Macan's blend of it's looks,
it's drive, and it's increased performance means somehow it's still as relevant today
as it was back in 2014. But if that doesn't sound enough for you, we think it's probably well worth
waiting until 2023 when the all new, all electric Macan will arrive because well, we think it will
look just as good as this car, drive equally as well, be even quicker, have a decent range
and against cars like the Tesla model Y, I think it would have the competition lit.