The do-it-all vehicle: new Porsche Macan compact SUV

So Porsche has finally taken the wraps off of the Macan. Cynics are probably snickering at how Porsche, the once hallowed bailiwick of hard-core, track-addicted, uncompromising  sports car enthusiasts, has finally succumbed to the wide and easy path of the wicked, milking the sacred badge for all its financial worth—which is quite substantial, indeed.

 

And yet here I am utterly impressed and amazed at the Macan.

 

Built at Porsche’s Leipzig factory, the Macan (the Indonesian word for “tiger,” but also close to the Indonesian word for “eat”) sits on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform. Indeed, it utilizes 75 percent of its main parts from other MQB platforms such as Audi’s excellent Q5 and Volkswagen’s Tiguan, but the remaining 25 percent is very much Porsche. The parts that you see, touch, hear and, crucially, feel are unique to Porsche. The sloping rear end helps distinguish it further from the more abrupt and utilitarian hatch section of the Q5 and Tiguan. It helps that it is slightly longer (by 1.7 inches) and wider (by 1.4 inches) than either MQB-based VW-Group platforms, too.

 

More and more SUVs

 

SUVs are in high demand all over the world. And it isn’t seen to taper off anytime soon. All the premium brands recognize this, which is why even firms like Bentley and Lamborghini are showing concept SUVs, and

 

Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are introducing even more niche SUV models. China is the primary country fueling demand for SUVs. And not just regular SUVs, but super high-end, premium and even exotic SUVs due to the uber-rich still living in Third World roads. Porsche sold 80,000 Cayennes last year, more than half of the total Porsche production. Expect the Macan to add another 50,000 units worldwide for 2014 alone, with the numbers rising each year.

 

Keyhole is on the left, just like any Porsche sports car, and you step on the heavy brake pedal and twist the key. The top-model’s 24-valve, 3.6-liter 4-cam dry-sump V6 starts with modest bark and pipes down to a smooth idle. It sounds very much like a Porsche: heavy mechanical symphony of beautiful German-engineered noise, overlaid with the bassy exhaust note not unlike a 911’s flat-six.

 

It’s the heft in the controls that tells you you’re riding in something special: The Macan has substance you won’t find in an Audi or, especially, in any regular Volkswagen. You need to be very deliberate, very decided and very sure of what you want to do with the Macan.

 

Overcome the trepidation, stick the seven-speed PDK into drive and then cautiously move. Again it starts feeling more like a proper P-car—worlds apart from an Audi Q5 and a Volkswagen Tiguan—and, crucially, not a cheap pillaging of the company’s logo and brand equity for the sake of money.

 

From Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart’s district which Porsche calls home, I head out northwest toward Lowenstein (“lion stone” in German) for some nice, narrow roads to try out the Macan’s onroad abilities. In Sport+ mode, PDK slotted to manual, I flick through the gears, running through second, third and fourth continuously. With the optional winter tires fitted, there’s some loss in sharpness, but you notice it only past 200 kilometers per hour or going more than 8/10  on your favorite twisting road. I back off after a few hairy, “wet pants” moments, not wanting to be the first journalist to trash the all-new Macan. Marko Krmpotic, my inside man and Porsche Works driver, suggests we go deep into the woods for some exploring and, perhaps, to try out the Macan’s offroad ability.

 

Mind-bogglingly fast

 

While taking shots outside with Marko driving on a deserted forest trail, I say the Macan is mind-bogglingly fast and stable: The Porsche Traction Management System is an all-in-one traction, stability and offroad climb/crawl control system that ensures you have traction when and where you need it. The Torsen-based all-wheel drive system shuffles torque front and back seamlessly. With the air-sprung Porsche Active Suspension Management, Marko flows through the undulating dirt roads faster each time I ask him to go circle back for me to take more shots.

 

After the fifth time and with some decent shots taken, Marko asks me to drive through the same route. While speeding up, I see a crest followed by a large dip and backed off the throttle, but Marko tells me to go faster. I initially hesitated but decide to boot the throttle, the Macan’s PDK slipping two gears down and accelerating with all the vigor  394.52 horsepower and 550 Newton-meters of torque endow you. I expect the suspension to bottom out, but what happened is that the Macan magically floated through the dip!

 

I was awestruck by the body control that I reacted late to a sharp curve rounding out our narrow 2-meter trail. Marko told me not to brake and keep stepping on the gas, turning in slowly but surely, and the Macan slid gracefully, tail stepping out a wee bit before we found ourselves accelerating faster yet again.

 

‘It wasn’t a fluke’

 

By the time our little SS rally stage was done, my eyes are wide-open, mouth dry, hands trembling, knees shaking. Marko is laughing at the dumbfounded look on my face. We repeat the process again for sh-tes and giggles, and to be sure it wasn’t a fluke. Success!

 

Back on terra firma, we head out to the Autobahn for some A-road driving and to Ludwigsburg for lunch. From 200, 220, 240, to nudging just under 260 kph before I realize my winter tires are only rated for 240 kph. Flat-out, the Macan will top out at 275 kph easily.

 

We stop by the Ludwigsburg Palace to get some more photos. Ludwigsburg Palace was home to the royal family of the House of Württemberg, and the royal crest of the House of Wurttemberg, featuring the galloping horse and grains, forms part of the Porsche Crest.

 

After more shots were taken, we stop for lunch then headed out to our final stop. Solitude Palace was our destination, which was another impressive castle. Originally built as a hunting lodge, it became a retreat for the House of Württemburg. The road leading up to Solitude Palace, which sits atop the hill, is Solitude Strasse. As legend goes, on a clear night you could see Solitude Palace from Ludwigsburg Palace, and vice versa.

 

Either way, I didn’t really notice as the road to Solitude Palace is something that needs the amounts of concentration akin to meditation: Marko tells me to pull over at the start of the uphill climb to give space between me and the cars ahead. We wait for two minutes, then Marko instructs me to get on the road, press the Sport+ mode, keep the PDK in manual and floor it! Sport+ increases steering heft, gives greater throttle sensitivity, firms up the suspension and optimizes Porsche’s amazing Torque Vectoring Control: By braking the inner rear wheel, you get a bit of tail-out action to feel like a hero, which in reality keeps you very safe and allows you to corner much faster than your sensibilities allow.

 

Like a hill climb specialist

 

With winter tires squealing, the Macan covers the narrow twisting mountain road like a hill climb specialist and rounded out the last bend reaching Solitude Palace. We parked in front of the Palace, exhaust ticking and heat haze forming, with Solitude Strasse clearly seen  for miles behind us. More pictures are taken, and we call it a day.

 

As we head back to Zuffenhausen, I reflect on the Macan. While it’s no sports car, it feels very much like a proper sports sedan. In Sport+ mode, roll is nonexistent, the electronic power steering is brimming with feel, the brakes provide eye-popping stopping power with impressive modulation and feel. Crucially, it’s a vehicle for people admittedly too old to go too low to enter a traditional sports car but demand the performance of one.

 

The Macan isn’t an idea meant to merely make more money to help Porsche survive or fund more 911 specials. No, the Macan is the answer to the burning question everyone is just too embarrassed to actually ask but always wanted to. It lives up to its performance credo, truly deserving its Porsche badge. Imagine a real performance car with a small size, tackling the worst types of roads with supreme confidence, stability and comfort. And with space for five plus luggage. This is the future, now.