Porsche’s Macan promises to set a new
benchmark for sporting SUVs
The Centaur, half-man half-horse, and the
Porsche Macan are not very different types of beasts. The former combines the
lethal intelligence of man and the raw speed of a horse, whereas the Macan
blends ‘sportscar-like performance’ and off-roader practicality. In fact, the
German sportscar company calls the Macan ‘the sportscar among compact SUVs’.
And that, coming from the high priests of performance, is not a claim to be
taken lightly.
What the Macan also seems to be is ideally
suited to Indian conditions. Our poorly surfaced roads might drive away droves
of would-be performance car buyers, but if the Macan can live up to all the
hype, it could serve as a genuine alternative; one you could actually drive
flat-out over just about any road surface here in India.
The
Porsche Macan S is a stout all-round choice
Question is, can the Macan manage all these
contradictions without serious compromise? It has to be quick in a straight
line, incredibly agile when driven hard, spacious on the inside and useable off
road too. Also, please remember, what Porsche is talking about here is not just
car-like driving manners, which its own Cayenne already manages, but something
beyond that. So can the Macan, ‘tiger’ in Indonesian, leap up to the next
level? Can it live up to the sportscar-and- SUV-in-one-car hype; can there really
be such a thing?
Design And Engineering
While most car makers are busy making their
full-fat SUVs as ‘sporty’ as can be, Porsche has moved to the next level. Split
the Macan clean in two along the shoulder line and it’s quite apparent – the
areas below and above the door handles are very different from each other.
Twin
projector headlights similar to those seen on the Cayenne
The SUV-like lower bits are easy to spot –
the grille up front is near vertical, the sides of the car are block-like and
the rear is vertical too. The wide open air inlet also gives the nose of the
Macan that much sought after ‘truck-like’ look. Other SUV details on the car
include a scuff plate under the chin and there’s even a bit of cladding along
the bottom of the doors.
The upper half of the Macan, however, is
all sportscar. The bonnet and headlights look like they have been taken from a
Cayman, the rear windscreen is severely raked and the designers have also added
918 Spyder tail lights – neat. Also adding a bit of muscle are the quad exhaust
pipes that poke out of the back; and don’t you just love those wide rear wheels
that help impart that 911-like tail-heavy look? The Macan, however, lacks the
Evoque’s road presence and it isn’t as attractive either.
LED
rear light clusters are designed to ape the high-tech Hybrid 918 supercar
Under the skin, the Macan and the Audi Q5
are related. The Audi, however, is a distant relation – a cousin once removed.
So while both are built on the same platform and use similar components, Porsche
claims only 30 per cent of the parts are the same. This is because, as the
engineers say, a Porsche has to drive like a Porsche. The wheelbase may be the
same and some bits of the body shell and floorplan too, but that’s about it.
The wheel arches have been fleshed out to make space for bigger wheels, air
springs have been added, and there’s a new faster-acting four-wheel-drive
system. The Macan gets torque vectoring for the rear wheels and there’s an
all-new braking and steering system too.
