Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2020 16:07:02 GMT
Today I tried out another SUV - a black 20-plate Macan S. Again for 40 mins or so around West London, but this time I took it out along the M4 to Stockley Park and back.
And what would you know....another case of "right car, wrong engine".
This one had just 500 miles on the clock.
I didn't see a spec sheet but it was quite nicely kitted out - soft black leather (albeit not extending to the dash), electric seats, a panoramic opening sunroof and 21" wheels.
First off, I like the styling in the metal. And in a dark colour I actually prefer the facelifted back. Also, the size is pretty perfect. It feels like the GC with heels on, size-wise. It's a bit wider for sure, but not problematically so. I like the interior a lot which, with the notable exception of the column stalks, looked and felt lovely and premium and solid. Those are three adjectives which cannot be applied to the column stalks which are noticeably horrid and cheap. Such an oversight. Also felt a bit prehistoric to start a car like this by inserting and turning a key.
It was easy to get comfortable thanks to every which way leccy seats and also a leccy steering column. Apparently this car had "comfort access" where everything motors out of the way when the car turns off so that fat Chermans don't get stuck. Then pulling away it was all terribly civilised and smooth - much like the Velar but even quieter. And I was expecting a brittle ride given the giant wheels, but it was absolutely fine. On par with the GC in Comfort at a guess.
Cruising along the elevated A4 at a cruise-controlled 40, it was still all smooth and lovely and feel good. And quiet, so I opened the sunroof.
And when we got to the bit where the M4 starts and the limit rises to 70, I put it in Sport+ via a rotary dial on the perfect steering wheel and stomped on the accelerator. And with the minimum of fuss and noise, off it went. All I can say is what a disappointment! 330bhp in a Macan has no answer to 360bhp in a 440i. Not in terms of raw lunge or noise. It felt no more powerful than the Velar P300 and even in Sport+ I could barely hear the engine. Just a faint cultured hum that if prodded emitted a distant snarl that was as much imagined as real. Far better in this respect than the Velar but about as exciting as well, a non-S (let alone RS) Audi.
My wife would love this car. She'd think it had ample poke, looked good and didn't make chavvy noises.
Problem is that I like chavvy noises. Exactly what I like about the 440i is that it plays Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde really rather well. I can waft about in an unstressed elegant way with my wife, or I can wind it up and make banshee noises interspersed with gunshots. And there are grades in between too. Call me a child but I do like a bit of that. From time to time. The Porsche Macan S doesn't know of Mr Hyde. It's so refined it's practically genteel.
I couldn't spend this much on a car which doesn't even raise a grin let alone a chuckle. Between this and the Velar, I'd rather have the Velar. That doesn't feel like it should make you chuckle so it's not a problem that it doesn't. Instead you just enjoy that Range Rovery waft and feel-good factor.
So, I need to try a GTS (the Turbo is much too expensive - lists at £10k more than a GTA). They don't have a GTS (which in facelifted form now has a detuned 380bhp version of the Turbo's 2.9 V6, rather than a wicked-up version of the S's 3.0 V6 as the pre-facelift GTS did) at the moment, but they'll call me back for another test drive when they get one in. I had a look at the stats for the GTS and it matches the 440i pretty neatly, plus it comes with a standard schporty exhaust, which hopefully helps matters.
This shouldn't matter since by the time I'd finished playing the configurator there wasn't much in it between an S and a GTS. About £3-4k from memory. And the GTS looks better and has better residuals.
Until then, we shall see.
And what would you know....another case of "right car, wrong engine".
This one had just 500 miles on the clock.
I didn't see a spec sheet but it was quite nicely kitted out - soft black leather (albeit not extending to the dash), electric seats, a panoramic opening sunroof and 21" wheels.
First off, I like the styling in the metal. And in a dark colour I actually prefer the facelifted back. Also, the size is pretty perfect. It feels like the GC with heels on, size-wise. It's a bit wider for sure, but not problematically so. I like the interior a lot which, with the notable exception of the column stalks, looked and felt lovely and premium and solid. Those are three adjectives which cannot be applied to the column stalks which are noticeably horrid and cheap. Such an oversight. Also felt a bit prehistoric to start a car like this by inserting and turning a key.
It was easy to get comfortable thanks to every which way leccy seats and also a leccy steering column. Apparently this car had "comfort access" where everything motors out of the way when the car turns off so that fat Chermans don't get stuck. Then pulling away it was all terribly civilised and smooth - much like the Velar but even quieter. And I was expecting a brittle ride given the giant wheels, but it was absolutely fine. On par with the GC in Comfort at a guess.
Cruising along the elevated A4 at a cruise-controlled 40, it was still all smooth and lovely and feel good. And quiet, so I opened the sunroof.
And when we got to the bit where the M4 starts and the limit rises to 70, I put it in Sport+ via a rotary dial on the perfect steering wheel and stomped on the accelerator. And with the minimum of fuss and noise, off it went. All I can say is what a disappointment! 330bhp in a Macan has no answer to 360bhp in a 440i. Not in terms of raw lunge or noise. It felt no more powerful than the Velar P300 and even in Sport+ I could barely hear the engine. Just a faint cultured hum that if prodded emitted a distant snarl that was as much imagined as real. Far better in this respect than the Velar but about as exciting as well, a non-S (let alone RS) Audi.
My wife would love this car. She'd think it had ample poke, looked good and didn't make chavvy noises.
Problem is that I like chavvy noises. Exactly what I like about the 440i is that it plays Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde really rather well. I can waft about in an unstressed elegant way with my wife, or I can wind it up and make banshee noises interspersed with gunshots. And there are grades in between too. Call me a child but I do like a bit of that. From time to time. The Porsche Macan S doesn't know of Mr Hyde. It's so refined it's practically genteel.
I couldn't spend this much on a car which doesn't even raise a grin let alone a chuckle. Between this and the Velar, I'd rather have the Velar. That doesn't feel like it should make you chuckle so it's not a problem that it doesn't. Instead you just enjoy that Range Rovery waft and feel-good factor.
So, I need to try a GTS (the Turbo is much too expensive - lists at £10k more than a GTA). They don't have a GTS (which in facelifted form now has a detuned 380bhp version of the Turbo's 2.9 V6, rather than a wicked-up version of the S's 3.0 V6 as the pre-facelift GTS did) at the moment, but they'll call me back for another test drive when they get one in. I had a look at the stats for the GTS and it matches the 440i pretty neatly, plus it comes with a standard schporty exhaust, which hopefully helps matters.
This shouldn't matter since by the time I'd finished playing the configurator there wasn't much in it between an S and a GTS. About £3-4k from memory. And the GTS looks better and has better residuals.
Until then, we shall see.
