What is it?
Porsche used to have a habit of keeping models around forever, giving them a big update every so often, but sticking with the same basic car. The original 911 ran from 1964 to 1989 and the 928 stuck around from 1978 to 1995. The brand is in considerably better financial health these days, so they tend to have normal seven-year model cycles, but the Porsche Macan has been around since 2014 and has just received its second facelift. The reason is that it must hold the fort until an all-new electric Porsche Macan arrives in 2023, and even then, Porsche expects to sell it alongside the newer EV, until 2024.
The exterior revisions are subtle, as is so often the way with Porsche facelifts. The main change is to the front bumper, which has a more horizontal style. The indicators have moved up and LED headlights are now standard, too. The Porsche Macan GTS, meanwhile, appears to be entering a gothic phase and has also broken out the black lip gloss. At the back, there’s a redesigned diffuser.
Inside, the Volkswagen Group’s war on buttons has found its way to the Macan, as the cascade of buttons in the centre console has been replaced by a touch-sensitive and fingerprint-attracting panel. It does look more up to date, and haptic feedback ensures it’s relatively easy to use, but it’s no step forward for usability. The gear selector in the middle is still a physical lever, but it has lost its leather gaiter, exposing the naked plastic.
The mechanical changes appear a lot more substantial. At first sight, at least. The Macan Turbo has been dropped, while Porsche’s press release talks about power boosts for the Macan S and GTS. What has actually happened is that the new GTS gets the old Porsche Macan Turbo’s 434bhp 2.9-litre V6, while the Macan S gets the old Porsche Macan GTS engine – a 375bhp version of the same V6 – instead of the old 3.0-litre unit. At the bottom of the range, the plain Macan retains its 2-litre four-cylinder that’s derived from the Volkswagen Golf GTI’s, but gains 20bhp for a total of 261bhp, thanks to a new turbocharger.
Chassis-wise, the adjustable air suspension that was previously an option is now standard on the GTS, putting the body 10mm lower to the ground, and making it 10% stiffer at the front and 15% stiffer at the rear.
And if all that wasn’t enough, Porsche now also offers ParkAssist on the Macan, so it will park itself if you want it to.
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I must admit I like the Porsche Macan although the facelifted front styling is heavy handed and cheap looking and I am undecided on the rear tailgate strip light that connects the rear lights. The original styling design was perhaps more effective. The less said about the black lower side panels (or decals) the better. My main reason for buying a Cayenne and not a Macan is the name. I wish Porsche had stuck with original (development) name proposal Cajun and not the name of a sadly still missing British child. The Cajun (Cayenne-Junior?) moniker was even copyright/patented in advance. Very strange.
Not sure what happened to the front. Stelvio Quad is faster similar priced real world option. Guess air suspension is an option pasm is Standard would be interested to see how that goes.