Nelson999

Hi guys, shopping for a 2015 to 2017 Macan. I'll start by saying this car will be the wife's daily driver, so the added power of an S, while cool to me, would not make any difference to her. And since she does drive a lot due to working in real estate, the little extra MPG of the base may be nice for her. My question is this: with the engine not considered, if the cars are optioned out in a similar manor, are there any other major differences between the base model Macan and the S that would make it worth while to spend the extra money on an S? We are looking at getting a CPO car with 20k to 30k miles and it seems the base models can be had for 5k or so less than a comparable mileage S.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

uniqueMR

Go with base.
You have answered your question, "while cool to me, would not make any difference to her".

Good Luck!

Pavegeno928

We ordered a 2008 Cayman Base in 2007 for my wife. I asked her if she wanted the S. She said, "No the extra power doesn't mean anything to me. I just love the styling and driving the car. Put the $10K towards your next car." Pretty cool. If she's happy, save the money for your next car or a rainy day. Good luck.

Nelson999

Thanks guys. That's what I was thinking but just wanted to check and see if there were any big features or options the S had that the base doesn't outside of the engine. For example if the base interior is lacking something important that the S has that's where she may care.

tk-porsche

Consider a 2018 Macan Sports Edition that incorporates a number of extra features that are overall discounted from what you'd pay for them by adding features to a base model. You may of course not care about some of those features or it may be overkill, but it can't hurt to take a look.

PJ Cayenne

We have an '18 Sports Edition and love it. The air suspension provides a nice ride and the extra features are a hoot. After 8 months, the wife has discovered the Sport and Sport plus button and said "it's just so fun, I get the Porsche thing now". She said this after 6 years in a Cayenne Diesel. For local driving, the power is more than adequate. Don't expect an overwhelming beast, just plenty of oomph to be fun. By the way, feels as fast as my Hemi Jeep, only much more fun to drive.

Thinc2

I got a base Macan as a loaner a few weeks ago and hated the brakes - they felt inconsistent and mushy and grabby at the same time. When I turned the car i, I asked the service guy if the S had different brakes, since I am considering an S for the wife. His response was: 'Totally different system in the S versus the base".

Not sure if that is true, but wanted to pass it along.

HooosierDaddy

Agree with these two!

Just gave my wife an 18 Sport Edition for Christmas. They are currently selling close to what a normal Base will, and you get all the nice features!

I'm very surprised at how well this thing goes, it's so quiet and smooth that you don't really notice that you're actually rolling along pretty quickly. The Air suspension and a couple other included options were what pushed me in the direction of the SE. Ours even had the Sports Design Package... So visually it's GTS, but with the baby engine.

I feel like the SE to a Macan is the same as a "T" in a 911 or 718 line... If that makes sense?

cometguy

I know that changes were made for the 2019 model year, but my 2019 base Macan has great brakes -- they work really well, strong grip.

rasetsu

I really don't know why Porsche deviated from the traditional naming order for the Macan like going with a Turbo Performance Pack instead of Turbo S and Base Sport Edition instead of Macan T. Giving it a T moniker would have been perfectly appropriate and probably would have given the trim more respect and more sales.

cometguy

I don't like Porsche's use of "Turbo" for a trim level within a model; it's absurd, given that all Macans and Panameras and Cayennes are turbo-charged. I'd rather see the top levels labelled something like "GT" and "GTS", and I wouldn't care in which order (i.e., I wouldn't care if the "top" trim were GT or GTS, and the "second-highest" trim were the other of the two). If I were ever to shell out the big bucks on a "Turbo" trim (and I wouldn't), I'd definitely delete the rear badging as embarrassing (to me, anyway).

As to the original posting of this thread: I wouldn't buy a pre-2019 Macan simply because the revised version is just way better, to me (improved suspension, vastly improved infotainment screen, new transfer case that should prevent the TC failure problems that are too common, etc.). And while I wouldn't spend the money on buying anything more than a base Macan when buying new now (except that I'd buy a Macan E-Hybrid in a heartbeat), I would probably buy a Macan S if I was buying CPO, with the purchase price well below $50k...

tk-porsche

Great choice and I really prefer also the lighter color interior (anything but black!) if you live in a hot, sunny area. I'd be interested in what real-world mpg you get for city/highway driving. The air suspension package alone seems like a huge plus. Looks like you also got the roof rail package. The wheel design is also way better than the stock Macan plus you get the bigger diameter tires, as well. Overall, the Sports Edition is a very smart package which sadly has not reappeared since the 2018 model. Congrats and Merry Christmas.

CarGuyNVA

The explanation from Porsche for ‘Macan Turbo Performance Package’ versus ‘Macan Turbo S’ is because it did not come standard with PCCBs. As of a few years ago, Porsche includes PCCBs as standard equipment on all Turbo S models. Porsche did not include the PCCBs as standard on the Macan Turbo PP because it would have surpassed a price point that marketing deemed too high for the base price of that model.

rasetsu

Haha! Not at you but at Porsche. All other GTS models come standard with Sport Chrono and PTV except the Macan but they still called it the Macan GTS.

CarGuyNVA

Very true, in fact I’ve mentioned that in another thread. The Macan is the only GTS model now that doesn’t come standard with Sport Chrono.

And no Turbo S....yet....however I’ve read recently that a Turbo S will be coming to the Macan lineup finally. We’ll see.