In the new Macan, Porsche has created the segment’s best SUV-sports car. Where better then to hold the UK media launch than at a motor racing circuit?
Contrary to what you might expect, Porsche new vehicle events tend to be relaxed affairs. This most recent one was my third and each time, the PR push is soft, the schedule unhurried. The company’s local importer used the Goodwood Circuit near Chichester as its base, and journalists were invited to push the new model as hard as they dared, for lap after lap. Or, just go wafting around the impossibly beautiful nearby countryside. Each of the three variants was available for driving on either the track or local roads, or both, if you wanted to. Yes I wanted to.
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Porsche never forgets its roots as an independent company and it’s had a few troubled financial years in its history, though not for a while now. Like any family firm, things are done conservatively, and there is always someone with their eyes firmly gazing at a P&L sheet. That’s surely why every new model is launched in top-spec form first, so as to maximise income, the cheaper variants eventually feeding through. For the Macan, this is going to be prove a masterstroke and if you haven’t already ordered yours, I wouldn’t delay. This is suddenly one of the most in-demand models out there in any market.
This vehicle is a Big Deal for its maker: a lot of money has been spent on R&D and at the Leipzig factory where it’s built. Don’t forget also the Macan is only the second SUV to have been launched by the VW-controlled firm. The Cayenne continues as the best selling Porsche and it seems safe for now, too, with its newer, smaller brother limited to build of just 50,000 units a year.
It’s not always the case with the wares of German premium automotive brands but all versions of the Macan are available in Britain. In fact, there will even be one that the Germans won’t be able to get their hands on. That will be the cheapest edition, simply called Macan, and priced just slightly more than GBP 40,000. It won’t be available until December and it’s mainly for China, Japan, here and a sprinkling of other markets outside North America and Europe.
The three cars which are now available in many markets are the S and S Diesel – in Britain they’re identically priced (GBP 43,300) – and the S Turbo, which lists at GBP 59,300. It’s obvious that there will be extra derivatives to slot into that pricing gap, and something else which can almost go without saying is that the V6 diesel will be the UK’s best seller. At least until what I suspect will come in 2015 or after, namely a four-cylinder, the Macan Diesel. Like the base petrol Macan, expect it to have a modified version of a 2.0-litre Volkswagen Group engine.
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By GlobalDataAnother variant I can envisage would be a hybrid or e-hybrid (PHEV) as well as a GTS to sit just below the S Turbo. So within a year to two, expect Porsche to have joined Land Rover in owning the UK’s forty to sixty thousand pounds sports-SUV segment, as the Evoque is due for its first restyle and second round of engineering changes in 2015.
JLR has made a not inconsiderable percentage of its enormous profits over the last two to three years from the Evoque. So in Britain and many other countries, the Macan represents quite a threat to the little Range Rover. Especially as it’s now close to its potential high-point in what should be a lifecycle of seven or more years. Which explains why the Jaguar XQ was made a priority, and its larger brother due in 2016, Land Rover’s L560 project (think of it as the Evoque Sport). These two additional models have taken priority over the successors for the aged XF sedan and estate. Incidentally, Porsche is said to be planning to launch an MSB platform challenger for the higher end versions of the next XF and the Maserati Ghibli – like the English and Italian cars, volumes will be modest but prices and therefore ROI should be quite tidy.
I’ve strayed from a pure focus on the Macan but the background picture of what it’s up against is vital to fully understand this new model. There has been a lot of noise about what the new model shares with the Audi Q5 and while that’s relevant, it’s not what really matters. For the record, Porsche says about 20-30% of components are shared.
This is Porsche readying itself for where it sees future vehicle demand – sports cars are still its main business but sports SUVs are increasingly where the money and demand are to be found. The company maintains that it will always try to make one less vehicle that what it believes to be the total number it could sell, which is why that 50,000 annual capacity at Leipzig matters. Of course the manufacturing operation will have been designed with expansion in mind but don’t expect a dramatic rise, at least not in the short term.
It’s been another great year for Porsche, with the US still the number one market, followed by China, Germany and the UK. The Macan will be new for North America’s 2015 model year and it hits the PRC in August. If this model doesn’t push China into lead position this year, it will almost certainly do so in 2015.
This will be the firm’s sole new model of 2014 but as ever with Porsche, the existing model line-up is being tweaked and expanded. The 911 Targa as well as GTS versions of the Cayman and Boxster are about to go on sale, while I would expect to see a facelifted Cayenne at the Paris show in October, as well as a PHEV variant. The British market continues to stay strong, and those additional cars are helping matters too. The local importer sold 914 vehicles in April, versus 735 in April 2013, a 24.35% rise, according to the SMMT. That equates to 3,054 units for the first four months, a 27.5% YoY gain. Just imagine what the Macan is going to do over the coming months.
Mike Orford, head of PR for Porsche GB, told journalists on the media launch that we shouldn’t think of it as the Cayenne company: the sports cars (Boxster, Cayman & 911) outsell the “front engined” models (Panamera & Cayenne), which is interesting to note. I would dare to suggest that this will soon be reversed.
James Eastwood, Porsche GB’s manager of Product Operations rolled out some other engaging statistics on the event. Here’s one you might not have thought much about but which is clearly very important: “Brakes are a huge key metric for us. If the car gets to 60mph in five seconds, it needs to stop in half that time.” Or this: “One of the things that we do differently is to have rear tyres that are wider than the fronts. Mixed tyres mean better handling.”
The message comes across loud and clear – yes the Macan has the ability to go head to head with Land Rovers off road, but on road, the intention is to blow the Evoque and any other rivals away. A claimed three million kilometres were logged in endurance testing of which 20,000km were racked up in just 12 days at the Nürburgring.
Whichever variant you choose, it comes as standard with full-time all-wheel drive and Porsche’s own seven-speed PDK transmission. You’ve a choice of three sports chassis, one of which features air suspension, which is said to be a segment exclusive. You also get an impressive amount of standard equipment, including some thoughtful touches such as an electrically opening and closing tailgate. This can be operated from the driver’s door or via a button at the base of the screen wiper – no dirty fingers on this car.
Options extend to things such as ceramic composite brakes, Torque Vectoring Plus (it improves driving dynamics and stability and is definitely worth the money from what I saw on the track – plus it improves traction when off roading), Bi-Xenon headlights (standard on the Turbo) and a variety of alloy rim designs.
The Macan is one of those rare vehicles with which it’s hard to find serious fault. The interior is roomy and it feels genuinely like being in a sports car, albeit one with excellent visibility though if you wanted to, you could point a finger at the blank switches on the centre console where optional controls would be – seat heaters and the like. I instantly noted the similarity between this car’s steering wheel and the one in the 918 Spyder (the dinky thumbwheels for ancilliary controls are very cool) but am I being over critical to say it’s a step down from the minimalist design of the Boxster/Cayman and 911? The shiny silver and black plastic inserts didn’t look or feel too premium either. OK, enough with sweating the minor details.
Overall, inside there is a tiny bit of room for improvement but from the outside, this vehicle looks spot-on with the right wheels and crucially, nothing like the Audi Q5 that it shares its basic architecture with. Nor does it appear to be some sort of less expensive Cayenne – it has its own unique appeal. And that’s exactly why I predict it will sell very strongly indeed. Make mine an S Diesel – love that torque.
