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Old 10-09-2019, 08:04 AM   #1
John V
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Macan Turbo

I had customers in for a review yesterday and one of them has a Macan Turbo. He volunteered to drive between buildings so I got to ride in it.

Interesting car/truck. It felt pretty quick off the line, but didn't seem to have much top end. He gave it a quick blast up an entrance ramp to the highway and it leapt off the line but then got pretty wheezy. It makes farting noises on every shift. This seems to be a new thing that carmakers are interested in, and I simply don't understand it. I guess this thing has a V6, which doesn't sound great by itself, but the farting noises just ruin the experience. The BMW M2 does this as well. Who honestly likes the sound of that?

It rides really well. Easily as comfy as our CX-5 but clearly the Macan has higher cornering limits. I don't really understand the desire to have high cornering limits in an SUV, but as far as SUVs go the Macan is pretty low and relatively lithe, and without the typical bad ride associated with sporty BMW SUVs, it makes sense.

The interior quality seemed to be really nice. Typical Porsche-quality leather, suede/alcantara headliner and accents, nicely screwed together.

He offered to let me drive but I passed. Didn't seem like any upside could come from that
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Old 10-09-2019, 08:48 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by John V View Post
I had customers in for a review yesterday and one of them has a Macan Turbo. He volunteered to drive between buildings so I got to ride in it.

Interesting car/truck. It felt pretty quick off the line, but didn't seem to have much top end. He gave it a quick blast up an entrance ramp to the highway and it leapt off the line but then got pretty wheezy. It makes farting noises on every shift. This seems to be a new thing that carmakers are interested in, and I simply don't understand it. I guess this thing has a V6, which doesn't sound great by itself, but the farting noises just ruin the experience. The BMW M2 does this as well. Who honestly likes the sound of that?

It rides really well. Easily as comfy as our CX-5 but clearly the Macan has higher cornering limits. I don't really understand the desire to have high cornering limits in an SUV, but as far as SUVs go the Macan is pretty low and relatively lithe, and without the typical bad ride associated with sporty BMW SUVs, it makes sense.

The interior quality seemed to be really nice. Typical Porsche-quality leather, suede/alcantara headliner and accents, nicely screwed together.

He offered to let me drive but I passed. Didn't seem like any upside could come from that

Did you offer to let him drive the RX-8 when it's back together?

Yes, the farting thing is weird. The Stelvio QV that I drove did the same thing, and it really was kind of embarrassing.
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Old 10-09-2019, 09:04 AM   #3
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It makes farting noises on every shift. This seems to be a new thing that carmakers are interested in, and I simply don't understand it. I guess this thing has a V6, which doesn't sound great by itself, but the farting noises just ruin the experience. The BMW M2 does this as well. Who honestly likes the sound of that?
I hate that about the M3. Sadly, I don't think there is a way to get rid of them except to put it in eco/comfort/whatever mode and that numbs the throttle/drivetrain responsiveness and cuts power too much.
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Old 10-09-2019, 09:17 AM   #4
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Is it part of some sort of anti-lag strategy? I'll give the Macan this... it didn't have any perceptible turbo lag. The powerband was impressive, but not particularly thrilling.

We talked a little bit about the RX-8. He's a smart guy, and he's a car guy, but he's not super knowledgeable about cars per se. He asked how much power it made but in the context of modern cars that figure is just not that impressive.

Interestingly he's an O-4, the Macan is not a cheap vehicle so I was kind of surprised he had one.
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Old 10-09-2019, 10:55 AM   #5
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Is it part of some sort of anti-lag strategy? I'll give the Macan this... it didn't have any perceptible turbo lag. The powerband was impressive, but not particularly thrilling.

We talked a little bit about the RX-8. He's a smart guy, and he's a car guy, but he's not super knowledgeable about cars per se. He asked how much power it made but in the context of modern cars that figure is just not that impressive.

Interestingly he's an O-4, the Macan is not a cheap vehicle so I was kind of surprised he had one.
No, I am pretty sure it is just to make noise.

I wouldn't mind it as a option on my turbo since it is so quiet.
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Old 10-09-2019, 11:14 AM   #6
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Disagree on the top end. Not sure what you had it loaded with but if you give the beans and stick to it; triple digits are easily within reach. There is a lot of torque though, so it's easy to short shift.

The Macan has very well-weighted and perhaps even communicative steering; it has a good amount of weight up front (56-57% ?) but has plenty of power on the rear and as such drives quite well in everyday situations. It's not large enough to provide much utility. Almost all of its utility can be captured by a 3-series wagon. Happens to be high and heavy, which means it eats more expensive tires, more brakes and more fuel. The weight & height are well-hidden in most reasonable driving, even somewhat spirited.

I miss the JGC diesel, utilitarian and economic in comparison, more. Too bad, idiot 20-year old crashed into it so hard. And that sloppy handling. I never lined up the right spec, color, condition Cayenne diesel in my area as I was originally shopping for to replace the JGC with. It was going to be a midwest purchase that was made difficult by the JGC accident. That and the macan turbo test drive made me pull an easier trigger. I don't regret my flight of fancy, but I don't miss the Macan either. I do think I'd have a higher chance of keeping a Cayenne diesel had I stuck to plan.
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Old 10-09-2019, 11:18 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by FC View Post
I hate that about the M3. Sadly, I don't think there is a way to get rid of them except to put it in eco/comfort/whatever mode and that numbs the throttle/drivetrain responsiveness and cuts power too much.
Interesting. That must be part of the "Competition" package tuning. My car is loud AF (so much so that my son asked me the other day "dad, does this car have a muffler?"), but it doesn't fart between shifts, thank god.
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Old 10-09-2019, 11:25 AM   #8
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@FC I bet you could code it out pretty easily. Might want to check out mycarly/bmwhat app and or bimmergeek to see what coding options are available.
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Old 10-09-2019, 11:33 AM   #9
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@FC I bet you could code it out pretty easily. Might want to check out mycarly/bmwhat app and or bimmergeek to see what coding options are available.
Yes, I need to look into that.

JST, I think I've mentioned it before, but the ZCP is a bit louder, and universally people claim it sounds better. I've actually been complimented on the exhaust. I don't think it's particularly awesome, but it is nice enough and an improvement over the non-ZCP. I do think the stiffness of the suspension (and I'm always in comfort mode) coupled with the exhaust makes the car a bit too sporty for some/most passengers, but oh well. We have a nice, comfortable SUV if we want to transport guests in comfort or go on vacations.

The farting, OTOH, I hate all the time. I've always said I prefer smooth, high-revving sounds. To this day I miss the exhaust of the 987S when revving up to and shifting at redline.
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Old 10-09-2019, 12:23 PM   #10
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He offered to let me drive but I passed. Didn't seem like any upside could come from that
I'm surprised you have any interest whatsoever in this vehicle.
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