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The one option I love is adaptive cruise control (ACC). Warning: if you get this you will never want to have a car w/o it. It makes driving on trips so easy and stress free, especially at night and in fog and other reduced visibility situations. It is basically just a few steps behind autonomous cars.
I also looked for sport + and air suspension.
An upgraded sound system would be nice as the base system is not the best.
If you find a car with those options it most likely will follow that the car is pretty well optioned and will have much of what you are looking for.
CPO or extended warranty is nice too.
Last edited by missmy993; 06-20-2019 at 02:53 PM.
Reason: added "have"
The one option I love is adaptive cruise control (ACC). Warning: if you get this you will never want to have a car w/o it. It makes driving on trips so easy and stress free, especially at night and in fog and other reduced visibility situations. It is basically just a few steps behind autonomous cars.
I also looked for sport + and air suspension.
An upgraded sound system would be nice as the base system is not the best.
If you find a car with those options it most likely will follow that the car is pretty well optioned and will have much of what you are looking for.
CPO or extended warranty is nice too.
Between ACC and a heated steering wheel I am in nirvana.
I know. Everyone is gonna have an opinion. But here goes.
Sold my Cayman so it’s time for a Macan. Would like input on best options and must haves. Parameters:
1. Looking for an S. Budget is sub-50k. That puts me in the 2016-2018 range.
2. I think I want the fancy adjustable seats. Not sure what package those come with.
3. Cooled seats are close to a must.
4. Most used Macans come with the ugly 18” wheels. It seems cost prohibitive to buy larger wheels and tires separately.
5. Moonroof—worth it?
6. PASM—don’t see too many Macans out there with this option. How big of a difference does it make?
What else should I be considering? I love the GTS, but can’t find any in my price range. Truth be told, I love the options packages and builds of the Macan Sport Edition. But I don’t think I can live with the 4 cylinder. I know Cobb makes a tune, but would not go that route under warranty.
Has anyone cross-shopped a Cayenne S or GTS? Used Cayennes seem much better value than Macans.
Hit me with your opinions and suggestions!
From a former Macan S and current Macan Turbo owner:
1. The base 4-cyl is fine if you are mostly going to be cruising around in an urban area / traffic most of the time, but the car won't be especially quick (I've only test driven it, not owned it). Get the S/GTS/Turbo if you expect to have regular opportunities to enjoy that power. Coming from a Cayman I highly doubt the base Macan will satisfy you.
2. The seats are extremely important to match to your personal preference. It's not just about how many control ***** they have, they are actually quite different. (I can only sit in the 18-ways for a long period of time, the 14-ways are too firm for me.)
3. If you live somewhere hot and you expect to park in the sun, then I see how ventilated seats could be a must...
4. Wheels are something you can swap long after you buy a pre-owned, so I wouldn't reject an otherwise perfect build based on the wheels. Ride quality degrades as you size up all the way to the 21". I've owned or test-driven Macans with 18", 19", 20", and 21" wheels - I went with the 20".
5. I found that I never opened the roof, so I specced without the roof on my second Macan. Plenty of headroom either way, though. I'd buy a pre-owned Macan based on everything else first, the roof is irrelevant to me.
6. PASM plus Air Suspension - I've owned two Macans (one with these and one without) and these are the options that I think transform what's fundamentally an Audi crossover into Porsche territory. I'd sacrifice every other option if I found a pre-owned that had these options in the build. All the other options are really whatever suits your budget, taste, or how you intend to use the car.
The GTS really is the sweet spot in the Macan line-up - maybe hold out for another year and wait for one to pop up in your price range?
Cayenne is really a different beast - they're nice, but bigger - and I find them to be much less engaging than a Macan (especially with the suspension options) and the Macan's PDK is excellent. The Macan really is a bit more cramped, though, in both the back seats and cargo area.
My Cayenne has been in the shop for two weeks and I have a Macau without air suspension. The Macao I own HAS air suspension. After a two week experience I wouldn’t have a Macau without air suspension. The difference I’d dramatic.
From a former Macan S and current Macan Turbo owner:
1. The base 4-cyl is fine if you are mostly going to be cruising around in an urban area / traffic most of the time, but the car won't be especially quick (I've only test driven it, not owned it). Get the S/GTS/Turbo if you expect to have regular opportunities to enjoy that power. Coming from a Cayman I highly doubt the base Macan will satisfy you.
2. The seats are extremely important to match to your personal preference. It's not just about how many control ***** they have, they are actually quite different. (I can only sit in the 18-ways for a long period of time, the 14-ways are too firm for me.)
3. If you live somewhere hot and you expect to park in the sun, then I see how ventilated seats could be a must...
4. Wheels are something you can swap long after you buy a pre-owned, so I wouldn't reject an otherwise perfect build based on the wheels. Ride quality degrades as you size up all the way to the 21". I've owned or test-driven Macans with 18", 19", 20", and 21" wheels - I went with the 20".
5. I found that I never opened the roof, so I specced without the roof on my second Macan. Plenty of headroom either way, though. I'd buy a pre-owned Macan based on everything else first, the roof is irrelevant to me.
6. PASM plus Air Suspension - I've owned two Macans (one with these and one without) and these are the options that I think transform what's fundamentally an Audi crossover into Porsche territory. I'd sacrifice every other option if I found a pre-owned that had these options in the build. All the other options are really whatever suits your budget, taste, or how you intend to use the car.
We live in a cold climate but ordered our GTS without a sunroof. Wife and I realized that we never open sunroofs even in vehicles that had one. One downside to going sunroof-less though is resale. According to our SA, most people buying a used Macan want a sunroof so if you get rid of it at 3-5 yrs old you will take a bigger depreciation hit. We keep our cars for about a decade so not having a sunroof doesn't matter.
I'm with you. We are replacing our 2002 GMC Yukon with 228,000 miles with the Macan S...but still keeping it for when our boy starts driving. We don't get rid of our vehicles so re-sale is not an issue for us either.
I understand the appeal of PASM, but I always worried that Air Suspension would increase un-sprung weight. My parents had an Audi Allroad back in the day, the original generation with the 4.2L V8 and the air suspension. It should have been amazing, but the handling on anything but perfectly smooth roads was really poor due to the suspension. Any idea what has changed in the last twenty years wrt air suspension?
I understand the appeal of PASM, but I always worried that Air Suspension would increase un-sprung weight. My parents had an Audi Allroad back in the day, the original generation with the 4.2L V8 and the air suspension. It should have been amazing, but the handling on anything but perfectly smooth roads was really poor due to the suspension. Any idea what has changed in the last twenty years wrt air suspension?
-James
Seattle, WA
I think processing speed of computers is what's really improved. PASM and air suspension on the Macan work in conjunction to adapt to road conditions and driving dynamics very quickly. I don't know if weight is that much of a factor anymore especially on a 4K lb vehicle. I wouldn't think there is a noticeable difference in weight between air pillow springs and CUV steel springs. The compressor unit itself is pretty small now and mounts underneath the car below the driver's seat area so it's not some big air tank.
Any idea what has changed in the last twenty years wrt air suspension?
Porsche actually knows how to engineer suspensions?
I’ve got about 250,000 miles of Audi driving under my belt and that’s my take...
I suspect that on smooth roads a non-AS Macan might handle ‘better’ - slightly- than an AS-equipped Macan. But, the AS is what gives the Macan the ‘dynamic range’ to be comfortable on moon-scape New England surface roads yet be able, with a few button presses, to seemingly defy physics on smooth twisty roads.
..., but I always worried that Air Suspension would increase un-sprung weight.
That doesn’t make sense to me. Un-sprung weight is - essentially- what is connected directly or indirectly to the bottom of the spring: wheel carrier, brake caliper and disc, tire, wheel, and a few other bits. The AS components are ‘sprung’ weight.
As the comment goes about butt cracks and opinions, every one has one... So pretty subjective, but to me must haves were:
Had to be a Turbo (even if it meant waiting for a bit for prices to soften) - bespoke 3.6 Porsche-only engine, rarer, with ample mod-ability
PASM - stark difference in handling (and height), plus allowed me to further lower with the H&R Air Suspension Module and button up the handing further, which was originally the major allure of the GTS
18-way seats - don't like the feeling of throwing a hot dog down a hallway - have to feel snug
Full Leather - immense difference in feel, while I wouldn't go as far as calling it a rental interior, way too much plastics and cheap-ish feel on cars without full leather
Color combo - was not willing to compromise and chose a color/interior combo I couldn't live with in the long run
Premium package - just a lot of small goodies bundled in I like (pano sunroof, seat cooling/heating, comfort access, etc.)
PTV - note this will limit significantly the list of available cars so one thing you may need to compromise on
PSE - similar to above, a nice-to-have, but adding this 'constraint/requirement' severely limits search for available candidate with all of the above (in Venn diagram speak, very little chance for perfect union of all circles)
Nice to haves:
SC - was last on the list because it is easily retro-fitable from the dealer (just pay for 1hr labor for programming and a $50 button console)
21' Sport classic wheels (obviously can go aftermarket but these just felt right in black with the rest of the piano black exterior trim)
CF interior and exterior package - just so much nicer than the alu especially with the exterior panel in CF
Black roof rails and window trim (with rails, to me Macan looks like a terrier dog with properly cropped [vs droopy] ears )
Various small a-la-cart goodies (dark tail lights, LED ambient lighting, tow hitch, etc.)
After a patient search, found what was the closest to my ideal spec in this Agate over full Agate (prior owner was a GT3/4 owner who custom ordered it, so had most of the options I would have ticked and none that I would not have), and ended up with this:
My wife’s 2015 CPO Macan Turbo we bought a year ago does not have Air Suspension. FWIW last time it was in for some warranty work at the dealer, the Service Advisor told me to be glad it didn’t have AS and that he wouldn’t want to own one with it out of warranty due to high likelihood of failure and exorbitant repair cost. True or false I have no idea, just passing it along.
My wife’s 2015 CPO Macan Turbo we bought a year ago does not have Air Suspension. FWIW last time it was in for some warranty work at the dealer, the Service Advisor told me to be glad it didn’t have AS and that he wouldn’t want to own one with it out of warranty due to high likelihood of failure and exorbitant repair cost. True or false I have no idea, just passing it along.
Air suspension has not proven to be chronically problematic in the Macan (nor has it been in the Cayennes). Sure there’s exceptions as with everything, but overall AS has proven to be quite durable.
Not all Porsche SAs are created equal BTW....some are extremely knowledgeable, while others are...well...not.
Not all Porsche SAs are created equal BTW....some are extremely knowledgeable, while others are...well...not.
Interesting. Does that mean that SAs that are known personally to oneself are always better, more knowledgeable that other SAs one reads about on a forum, that one doesn't know personally?
06-20-2019, 02:51 PM
