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-   -   Macan Turbo (http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showthread.php?t=154650)

equ 09-30-2018 10:56 AM

Macan Turbo
 
I had been shopping for the JGC replacement for a while, irrespective of the accident. I genuinely like diesel. Criteria were:
- Snow capability: AWD a must, clearance a plus
- Better ride/handling than the JGC
- Tow hitch a must, roof rails a plus

Touareg TDI was where I started. It handled better, but did not "pop" enough. I could also feel strange rpm/shift/warm-up/sluggishness post-emissions diesel fix.

This made me move to Cayenne Diesels. Similar space to T-reg. Better drive (not by much but a bit) and much better interior. Much better warranty.. In case you guys are interested, they are now going for 4/50 + 2/unlim diesel warranty extension for all of them. With CPO, that takes it to 8 years...

I drove a few, the color/options of the close ones weren't right. I was getting ready to make a distance purchase. I thought I'd drive the Macan after a so-so Cayenne test. And wow, it was no baby Cayenne, it drove like a reasonably sporty car that had been reasonably well set up for the world. Neither audi nor bmw awd sedans have as good turn-in and steering unwind on slow turns. It felt good.

Drove the 4-banger, it felt peppy-ish, but reminded of the same engine of my A4 of yore and C's current GTI, pass. Drove the S a few times. Not bad engine, but not enough torque at low rpm. Hardly any, actually. The way to make it feel ok is to constantly work the PDK. I wasn't in love with that experience.

Found a lower priced CPO Macan Turbo. I imagined that the 3.6 instead of 3.0 would give it better bottom end, and it does. Even without high revs, the car gets going smartly. And since it's a turbo it has pretty much every option once a package or two are specified. The Turbo I drove had the hitch and the roof rails. It had steel suspension (but with adjustable PASM shocks) and I felt a connection to the road. "Steel is real". I wasn't particularly interested in air suspension. I liked the idea of having both as the Macan is not a very large car. Luggage space is reasonable, back seat space is tight if the front seats are pushed back.

I looked at several colors. I absolutely disliked it in black. Grays were meh. I thought blue, white and silver were the best. Having two silver cars as it is, I limited to blue and white. Between that, the roof rails and tow hitch, I found two white ones at Porsche of Conshohocken. The hotter one had a red/black interior, 20" RS Spyder wheels and air suspension. I passed on that one (it also had 42k miles) and got a sleepier stealthier spec, beige interior with 30k miles. Ida's shedding won't show as much. I also like that the 19" tires will be much cheaper to replace. 235/55/19 and 255/50/19 front and rear vs. 265/40/20 and 295/35/20 front and rear.

It feels a bit strange to be driving a CUV, capable or not. Magazine tests put it at about 0.90g and it does have 400hp/406tq. Gets about 22 to 23mpg on the highway, which is a bit low but it is very comfortable in the front row and very confident at high or low speeds.

rumatt 09-30-2018 11:43 AM

Nice. I'm curious to hear how you like it as you drive it more.

And most importantly... Which snow tires are you putting on it? :)

FC 09-30-2018 11:45 AM

Very nice! Congrats. That's a sharp car.

ff 09-30-2018 12:27 PM

Congrats!

Jeff_DML 09-30-2018 05:48 PM

Congrats .

Yeah the 3.0 s was soft at start so 3.6 turbo sounds like a good choice.

Enjoy

kognito 09-30-2018 08:13 PM

Congrats! and . . . .


:needpic:

equ 09-30-2018 08:35 PM

2 Attachment(s)
It does have a big schnoz. It's not really about looks. I have to admit the car looks pretty much a sleeper in white, no black accents and no large wheels. Who'd think it's packing 400hp?

It's about the drive. For me, while all Macans drove better than the Cayenne Diesel, the Turbo was much better than the S, mainly due to the accessible low rpm torque. It helps the chassis click into place. The PASM shocks help. It's genuinely nice to wring out on turns. Even in 2nd gear/tighter corners, the steering wheel unwinds just right, something many AWD cars struggle with. It's simply so surprising for a tall-ish heavy-ish vehicle, it plays tricks on your mind.

Alan 10-01-2018 03:38 AM

That has to be a great car to drive, I know how I felt about the Macan S and the turbo takes it up a couple of notches. Congrats... it is a really nice find plus I love it in white. Coincidentally my sister just traded in her macan S and it was white as well ... I think her car had 12 k miles but it was an ‘S’ so it would not have been what you wanted.

One quick note, I never saw a Macan without the side blades by the doors ... looks cool !!

ZBB 10-01-2018 03:56 AM

Cograts!

A guy who works for me has a Macan S that he bought CPO earlier this year. He loves it.

kognito 10-01-2018 08:37 AM

Going to need a roof rack for skii's ?


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