Porsche Macan S Diesel: sports car in SUV clothing

ONROAD performance is a real blast.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: SUVs are booming. It’s not just here, or China and the United States, but in Europe as well, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe.

SUVs just offer more versatility and better mobility, even with adverse road and weather conditions.

But does driving an SUV mean you have to give up on performance, and on driving pleasure and excitement when you’re not going through the rough stuff?

Porsche’s ever-impressive Macan, launched two years ago at the 2013 LA Auto Show and, after a few minutes, at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show via a satellite broadcast, has received critical acclaim from buyers the world over.

The third 4- and 5-door model to join Porsche’s lineup, the Macan offers the Porsche driving experience in a compact SUV body.

Previously, we’ve reviewed the Macan’s base-model variant, a 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder gasoline turbo engine. We were impressed by the driving feel and performance, despite being considerably watered down on the looks department.

The S Diesel variant, however, looks very much like a Macan S or Turbo model but with a very desirable (and very fuel-efficient) diesel engine—the same unit fitted in Porsche’s Panamera and Cayenne which we featured a few weeks back.

The Macan is related to Audi’s Q5, based on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB architecture. But don’t think the Macan is an overpriced Audi clone.

THE INTERIOR is crowned by the 918 Spyder steering wheel.

It’s its own car, with an identity, driving traits and feel that can only be described as Porsche despite the body shells coming from the VW Group’s main body-pressing plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, before final assembly in Porsche’s Leipzig factory.

The Macan offers 198 millimeters of ground clearance, and can go as high as 240 mm in Off-Road II mode.

Flood wading depth is a modest 300 mm—not as high as its rivals, but still far more than most sedans and MPVs.

In Sport and Sport+ modes, the suspension lowers itself by 15 mm. And it goes up by

40 mm in Off-Road II, so that’s a lot of play with the air suspension that comes standard in the local Macan S Diesel variants.

THE MACAN looks mean with its 20-inch RS Spyder Design forged aluminum wheels shod with high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport Latitude tires.

So we know offroad performance is slightly compromised, but onroad performance is still a real blast! The Macan looks mean riding on the 20-inch RS Spyder Design forged aluminum wheels shod with high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport Latitude tires sized 265/40R20, the French company being Porsche’s preferred tire partner.

The Macan rides decently in Comfort mode, but feels a little disjointed. Switch to Sport Mode, put the dampers in Sport as well, lower the suspension, and the ride becomes firmer and slightly bouncier, but feels much more cohesive, ready to make sudden directional changes in hunt of prey, just like the Javanese tiger the Macan takes its name from.

The engine is the same mill found in a variety of Volkswagen-Audi Group vehicles, but feels fantastically well-suited to the Macan’s sporty nature. It’s a common rail direct-injected V6 engine which places the single large BorgWarner variable-geometry turbo in the valley of the V formation, producing 262 horsepower and 580 Newton-meters of torque through Porsche’s ever-excellent PDK dual-clutch seven-speed transmission, supplemented by Porsche’s PTM or Porsche Traction Management system to deliver the best grip on- and off-road while delivering a top speed in the region of 230 kilometers per hour, accelerating from rest to 100 kph in 6.3 seconds.

Fast indeed, and frugal too, as my drive yielded an impressive 9.8 km per liter on mostly urban city driving with a lot of traffic.

Safety is high on the list, as the Macan S Diesel comes with six airbags as standard (front, front/side and curtain airbags from the A- to C-pillars), ABS EBD/BA brakes with PSM (dynamic traction and stability control), a body shell engineered with aluminum on the external panels to help lighten weight, and high-boron steel in crucial impact areas to help maintain the cabin’s safety.

The interior is crowned by the 918 Spyder steering wheel, and the center console houses a row of buttons similar to the Cayenne and Panamera.

You get a choice of interior leather combinations, and carbon-fiber, aluminum and plastic color accents if you go crazy on the configurator.

Driving position is excellent; sportier than its VW relative and Audi sibling but with a more premium feeling—sporty, and seemingly better-built, and a better screwed-together package.

The local Macan S Diesel variants get a reverse camera, parking sensors, and a nice multimedia system as standard, plus black leather seats—unless you indent order your own specific Macan.

The powered seats offer 14-way electronic adjustment with memory settings. I like the Macan’s seats because they offer impressive support without compromising comfort on long drives; you can really set them very low, like a sports car, which is in the very core of the Macan and of every Porsche model.

On the highway, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) isolation is excellent; the Macan has a somewhat high aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.36 but you hardly notice it, thanks to the solid interior.

The steering is light, but offers great feel despite being electrically assisted.

The brakes are also softer, if you’re used to a 911 or any Porsche sports car, but still offer impressive feel, feedback and fade-free performance.

Six-piston front and four-piston rear Brembo calipers clamp down on 360-mm front and 340-mm rear ventilated discs. You can even spec out for even larger carbon-ceramic brake discs, if you feel that the standard brake setup isn’t enough.

The Macan is really a certified, honest-to-goodness driver’s car. It’s sharp, alert, willing and focused, yet it has the comfort, compliance and versatility one expects from an SUV.

Admittedly, offroad performance is compromised, but it still offers greater range in bad weather or on poor surfaces, as compared to a regular sedan, a hatchback or even an MPV.

But onroad driving is simply unparalleled; I can’t imagine any of its rivals coming close to the Macan’s performance on paved roads and on the track.

It’s predominantly RWD to give it better steering feel and fuel economy, only sending power to the front when there’s noticeable slip.

Its rivals feel much more nose-heavy and understeered because of the full-time all-wheel drive, or they simply didn’t engineer enough feedback and excitement into the package.

You also get stop/start function to improve fuel efficiency further.

Crucially, the Macan is the perfect choice if you are limited by budget or by parking space, but desire a car that is engaging and exciting to drive.

It’s easy to get used to the Macan’s size and dimensions: It is decently roomy inside.

Want both a sports car and an SUV but can only afford one? The Macan S Diesel is perfect for you!