Porsche Macan in Manila’s wild

FROM THE top-model Turbo to the base model, the Macan is still as formidable and as ferocious as ever.photos by botchi santos

SUVs and Porsches aren’t normally associated with one another. Neither is a four-cylinder engine. Sure, there have been a number of race cars powered by four-cylinder engines, as well as a few road-going sports car models from Porsche. But mixing the two together does indeed seem heretic, does it not?

Fear not, as despite the Macan being a thoroughly capable and practical SUV, it loses none of its Porsche attributes in the process. Cynics can rest easy, as the Macan thoroughly feels like a proper Porsche from the ground up to flat-out, and to flying through dirt roads in some deserted forest.

Critics can attribute the Macan to a number of things: With corporate-parent Volkswagen wanting to maximize volume and profits from its existing lineup, a mini Porsche SUV was always going to be in the works.

Secondly, with a growing demand for SUVs, particularly in China where the new moneyed wanted to show off their newfound wealth and affluence but still desire a capable luxury vehicle that displays their wealth despite somewhat dismal road conditions, a traditional Porsche sports car would probably give up.

SIMPLE, somber and well-laid-out interior

Plus of course the ethos of a highly capable, performance-oriented vehicle will always add street cred, even if the average user would never utilize more than perhaps 30 percent of a Porsche’s performance potential.

Nope, in the 21st century, overspecification is indeed the name of the game.

The Macan is the Javanese word for tiger, and flat-out, the Macan is ferocious indeed! I witnessed the unveiling of the Macan at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and soon after I had a chance to try the 3.6-liter, 395-horsepower twin turbo V6 Macan Turbo earlier this year in and around the German State of Badden-Wurtemburg, home of Stuttgart, and specifically Zuffenhausen, where the old Porsche factory and corporate offices are located.

It was amazing, driving on the autobahn, finding some narrow winding country roads leading to Solitude Castle up the Solitude Strasse, and exploring the many forest reserve dirt trails in Lowenstein.

But what happens when you lop off 1.6 liters, two cylinders, a turbo and 161 HP from the equation? To make it even more interesting, throw in Metro Manila traffic, pockmarked, pothole ridden roads—as opposed to Germany’s finest wide-open, baby-smooth-tarmac-like autobahn? And sweltering high 30 degrees versus cool 5-10 Celsius ambient temps? Surely, there’s a risk that the Macan might lose its ferocity and shy away in some corner like a (sweaty?) wet kitten.

Of course not! With the Macan being German (who are obsessive about their engineering) and this being the 21st century, plus the fact that Porsche sees hot and humid Asia being the Macan’s largest market, it felt right at home in Metro Manila’s roads.

From the top-model Turbo to the base model, the Macan is still as formidable and as ferocious as ever. The chassis is derived from the Volkswagen Group’s MLB/MLP platform, which sees use in the Audi Q5 and Volkswagen Tiguan, and is also related to the Audi Q3.

It is made in Porsche’s Leipzig Factory alongside the Panamera and Cayenne, two of the more nontraditional models from Porsche.

2.0 TFSI engine

Power comes from the Volkswagen Group’s 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder, turbocharged engine that produces 235 HP and 350 Newton-meters of torque, delivering power to all four wheels via Porsche’s seven-speed dual clutch transmission. Curb weight is right around 1,770 kilograms (base model), with a top speed of 223 kilometers per hour, and accelerates to 100 kph from rest in 6.9 seconds.

Inside, you get the typical Porsche interior: simple, somber, well-laid out, but crucially, still very much a driver-focused environment. The steering wheel manually adjusts for reach and rake, and looks similar to the three-spoke steering wheel in the 918 hybrid hypercar.

It has paddles mounted behind to change gears manually, plus auxiliary buttons for the cruise control and audio system. Soft leather covers almost everything, with alcantara/leather particularly for the seats, piano-black wood/plastic trim, and some chrome accents to liven up the interior.

The RPM gauge dominates your view in the instrument cluster, and underneath it is a digital speed readout. To the left is the analog speedometer, and to the right is a small LCD screen that displays the onboard fuel and trip computer—and in other countries, directions from the navigational system.

The center console houses the PDK’s gearshift lever, electronic parking brake handle and buttons for the Sport mode, traction/stability control, an off-road button for the Porsche Traction Management and the engine auto start/stop function, which shuts the engine off while idling in traffic.

On the safety side, the Macan, being a proper Porsche, has one of the very best brakes in the business. Supplied by Brembo, the Porsche Macan has four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers at the back, with higher-end models having the option of six-piston fronts and four-piston rears on massive dinner-plate-sized discs. Even carbon ceramic discs are available as a very hefty, very expensive option.

EIGHTEEN-INCH wheels

Porsche Stability Management (PSM) is standard across all models, and helps imbibe the Macan with amazing traction and stability on and off the beaten path.

Six airbags come as standard on all Macan models, with dual front airbags, side curtain airbags which can also protect occupants in the event of a roll-over, and side front airbags. Additional side rear airbags are available as an option.

So how is it to drive? In a word: amazing! It drives like no compact SUV should have any business doing so, corners like it’s on rails, and has oodles of surefooted traction despite broken tarmac, some mud, sand and running water on the road.

We had a lighter, more powerful Subaru STI the day that we shot the Macan, and while the Subaru would initially spurt ahead, thanks to its lighter chassis and more power, the Macan would close the gap quickly enough, such that power and weight became less of an issue despite the tough, narrow winding uphill roads, and skill became a bigger factor.

The steering was perfectly weighted, the brakes offered excellent modulation not unlike those of a proper 911 sports car, and the suspension, even through very rough and bumpy roads, allowed the chassis to move freely, and lets you, the driver, feel the sensitive weight transferring about all four corners of the car.

Being a very capable high-speed, long-distance tourer, the Macan, when cruising at a relaxed pace on the highway, elicits minimal wind and tire noise. But you can always ever so slightly feel the extra edge, the ferocity, the almost wild side of the Macan raring to break free from legal limits and normal sensibilities.

Porsche bills the Macan as a practical, four-door sports car with a raised ride height and voluminous cargo space, and it rightly fits the bill. The smaller 18×8-inch wheels shod with Michelin 235/60R18 Latitude all-terrain tires help give the Macan even more compliance over rough stuff, yet doesn’t seem to suffer from excessive tire noise on the tarmac, even when pushed sensibly hard as fast as weather and road conditions permit.

The Macan isn’t for everyone. I fear it won’t appeal to the core Porsche sportscar buyer because, well, it is an SUV and not a sports car—in shape and stance at least. But it answers a question everyone else seemed too afraid to ask, for fear of being a pariah, or worse, a heretic: What to drive when looking for something that has the Porsche engineering, while being utterly, almost comically, fast yet having a sense of practicality? The Macan fits that bill perfectly.