Friday 11th October 2013

Porsche Macan preview: Time For Tea?

Sneak peek at Porsche's new SUV ahead of its motor show debut

---

'Intelligent Performance is our commitment to the future of the Sports Car [sic]. And is the fundamental principle behind the new Porsche Macan'.

Ergo Porsche's Macan teaser becomes a bit of a gratuitous nostalgia fest, with Porsche claiming a link between Le Mans victories with the 917 and its new baby Cayenne. We're all for a bit of Porsche history, but it seems rather excessive to occupy a minute of a 90-second clip on a new car with heritage footage.

But anyway, what can we glean about the new car? The styling is very much Cayenne Nano, with the prominent grille and headlights instantly familiar. But it's noticeably lower and more compact too, which is reflected in how the Macan drives; it looks poised and eager to change direction. It even manages to lift an inside wheel cornering as well, implying a fair bit of rigidity.

But it will off-road too. Porsche shows us a pair of Macans battling with sand dunes and appearing to hold their own.

Expect plenty more Macan hype from Porsche ahead of its LA show debut next month and its launch next year. Which we will wholeheartedly support. Let's not forget, of course, it has been the Cayenne's success that has allowed Porsche to continue building wonderful sports cars like the 991 GT3. But can we have a bit more of the actual car next time Porsche?

 

[Behemoth]

Rommel needed this one back in July '42

[Riyazc]

what a rubbish add..

motorsport heritage ... the key purchasing decider for all mums on the school run.

[Garlick]

Someone said this will always be known as the Madeline, sadly that is now stuck firmly in my head.

[jamespink]

Riyazc said:

what a rubbish add..

motorsport heritage ... the key purchasing decider for all mums on the school run.

Just picked my 5 yr old up from school and was shocked to see no less than 6 Cayennes (all black) in the car park.

[Dr Interceptor]

Garlick said:

Someone said this will always be known as the Madeline, sadly that is now stuck firmly in my head.

Just don't leave it parked alone in Praia da Luz.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Hercule Clouseau said:

You can't prove the vehicle was designed by Porsche. I think it appeared spontaneously out of nowhere.

etc etc

[Ozzie Osmond]

jamespink said:

Just picked my 5 yr old up from school and was shocked to see no less than 6 Cayennes (all black) in the car park.

It is extraordinary how a "big, black, 4x4" has become the aspiration of 90% of people with cash.

[Zod]

'Intelligent Performance is our commitment to the future of the Sports Car [sic]. And is the fundamental principle behind the new Porsche Macan'.

but it's not a sports car, Porsche. It also looks like a (slightly) scaled down Cayenne, just as the Q3 and Q5 look like inner cars from a Q7 Matryoshka.

[vsonix]

Pork's rival to the Nissan Juke and the Toyota RAV4?

[Twoshoe]

Pity they had to push-start one of the cars in the vid. Reminds me of my old Morris 1000.

[r11co]

Stupid name. I keep thinking of Paul McCartney (Macca), or nuts (macadamia) when I see it.

The wrong badge. Evoque is king of this sector, regardless of power figures etc.

[405dogvan]

vsonix said:

Pork's rival to the Nissan Juke and the Toyota RAV4?

In the same way the Cayenne was a 'rival' to a Shogun (in the same way the asteroid was a 'rival' to the dinosaurs )

[toerag]

• More memories per victory*

wat?

[marcosgt]

Macan? Presumably when you can't remember where you left it, you'll pretend it was stolen and you were only a few feet away and stone cold sober....

M.

[DanielSan]

marcosgt said:

Macan? Presumably when you can't remember where you left it, you'll pretend it was stolen and you were only a few feet away and stone cold sober....

M.

Beautifully put

[Wills2]

I think this is going to be great, the Turbo sounds interesting just hope it isn't 60k+ but it will be!

I quite like the thought of a compact SUV with decent handling (I said decent not great) + a pokey turbo motor under the bonnet.

To those of you that haven't driven a Cayenne they are very good cars, not everyone lives life one apex at a time, but even if you did it's the only SUV that would allow you to hit any.

I'd wager no one would get out of one and say well that was st, well apart from cmoose.

Never understood the hate for them on PH, it's almost like we've been infiltrated by greenpeace at times on here.

[kambites]

Wills2 said:

Never understood the hate for them on PH, it's almost like we've been infiltrated by greenpeace at times on here.

I think it's less that people hate the car and more than people hate what its success says about the direction the car market is taking. There's something faintly depressing about the fact that Porsche's best selling car weighs two tonnes and has a centre of gravity at roughly the same altitude as the moon.

[lusopiston]

Schhhh... let's not complain too much. With the Panamera and Cayenne, another cashcow (moooooo!) to subsidize the sportscars that made Porsche the icon it is...

[Behemoth]

Wills2 said:

Never understood the hate for them on PH, it's almost like we've been infiltrated by greenpeace at times on here.

Hardly. It is because they are like restyled commercial vehicles. They are bought by people who think that a higher viewpoint makes them a safer driver. They are the white vans of wealthy suburbia.

[Wills2]

kambites said:

Wills2 said:

Never understood the hate for them on PH, it's almost like we've been infiltrated by greenpeace at times on here.

I think it's less that people hate the car and more than people hate what its success says about the direction the car market is taking. There's something faintly depressing about the fact that Porsche's best selling car weighs two tonnes and has a centre of gravity at roughly the same altitude as the moon.

But it's engineered to the point that most won't notice that or come even close the cars limits to even feel the weight, "they" see a big comfy safe car with very good road manners even at fast road speeds.

You can blame China for the rise in SUV production and the EU for insisting on such stringent build quality/safety that cars have become bloated, would we prefer no Porsche cars because that is the alternative.

For me it's not depressing in the slightest, all the cars they make are very good examples of their type, I can't see what is depressing about that.

As for the direction the car market is taking it's a damn sight better than the crap pushed on to the masses in the 70's and 80's in my opinion. (there are exceptions obviously)

In fact it's never been healthier you can have anything you want from Radical to RR Ghost, from Elise to FFRR and everything in between.

There is an amazing selection of cars to choose from.