Post by racingteatray on Nov 6, 2021 20:27:03 GMT
So I saw this Macan Turbo come up and toddled off for a test-drive and a natter this afternoon:
finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/details/porsche-macan-turbo-preowned-1PO6GG
It's not short on miles for a four year old car, but it is the proverbial immaculate 1 owner car - pretty much like new inside and out - the owner is a long-time customer of theirs who has upgraded to a new Cayenne Turbo. And it's really quite a pretty car for an SUV - I don't think the Macan photographs well - it's much better-looking in the metal.
It's my preferred colour and has a spec sheet as long as my arm with all the key options (which for me are the fancier lights (they just look nicer apart from anything else), full leather, a pano roof, air suspension, no roof rails and privacy glass). The only oddity is the omission of Sport Chrono, which seems an strange thing to skip if you've bothered with pricey driver's options like the Ceramic brakes and the Exterior Package Turbo (which brings multifarious things but importantly the Sports exhaust).
I was granted a decent half-hour test drive including back roads and dual carriageway, and an opportunity to launch it to test the power. It drove brilliantly and has very punchy performance. 0-60 is a claimed 4.8 seconds which sounds about right because it definitely doesn't feel any more potent than my 440i and I think that dusts 60 in around 4.8 seconds with the MPower kit fitted. Perhaps it's the 4wd and air suspension that conspire to rob a bit of drama - the BMW definitely feels lairier and snortier under power. But you absolutely feel that you're in a large tall hot hatch rather than an actual SUV. The handling is extremely good full-stop - you don't need to add the caveat "for a truck" - it has better body control than my car and is very confidence-inspiring.
My 440i though does decidedly have the better pair of lungs. Oddly not if you put it in Sport or Sport+ mode, which just adds too much bass blare and crackles, but in normal Comfort mode where, if you provoke it at the right moment at the right speed, it has developed the most magnificently strident thoroughbred yowl - like you've stamped on a leopard's balls and how an M4 should sound and for some reason doesn't. Don't get me wrong, with the Sports exhaust, the Macan Turbo sounds great too. But with the MPerformance exhaust now properly bedded in, the 440i sounds fabulous and way better than you'd expect from a modern turbo engine.
Where the Macan was decidedly better was the ride, even on 21" alloys. Even in Sport mode the Macan's ride was no worse than my car with the adaptive suspension set to Comfort. In it's normal setting, it's almost plush.
I was worried about the ceramic brakes, fearing they would be grabby but actually whilst of course very powerful (and I'd not like to try this car straight from driving a manual car), they weren't actually a problem.
Inside is a faintly mixed picture. It's a significantly more luxurious environment in terms of material (this car has the full leather - and it's proper soft leathery leather not the dubious rhino-hide in my car - and alcantara rooflining etc) than my car which feels spartan and slightly low-rent by comparison, but the BMW counters with significantly better ergonomics in all respects barring the steering wheel (which is a lovely little thing in the Porsche). Given the Macan and the 4-series were launched around the same time and my 440i is pre-LCI, it was surprising that the slightly newer Macan's switchgear felt more cluttered and a more dated. I mean this example has every tech toy going, including keyless entry, full surround view cameras and a sound system worthy of a top nightclub, but the interfaces aren't up to what BMW offered at the same point in time. It is a good thing that it has Apple Carplay because after the slick iDrive navigation that even my five year old BMW has, the Porsche system just isn't as up-to-date to look at.
Practicality-wise, I do appreciate the higher ride height in terms of getting in and out, and I reckon space-wise, it's pretty much a dead heat with the 4GC - rear leg room is on a par and allegedly the Porker has a boot that is 20 litres bigger with the seats up. Parked side by side with the tailgates opened, it unsurprisingly looked identical to me.
So all in all, I have re-confirmed that a Macan would be a worthy successor to my car, which is a machine I am still extremely fond of - I love the design, the performance, the noise and the unexpectedly good fuel economy.
Question Number 1 is whether this is the right one. The deal seems quite a good one - they'll do me £1k off the asking price and £23k as a part-ex for the 440i, which isn't bad. Basically I would just give them the car and start paying £280/month on a 3yr PCP. And that's with quite a low GFV (£23.5k), which is also good all things considered.
Downsides...mainly the fuel economy - ok I was testing it, but the 3.6 V6 averaged 17.7mpg during the test drive and it demands 98-octane at 15p/litre more than normal 95-octane, making filling a 75 litre tank quite a scary undertaking. Also, while the salesman (who I otherwise liked) assured me that the new set of tyres it's wearing were All Seasons jobs, in fact it transpires they aren't. I made a note of what they were - Michelin Latitude Sport 3s - and looked them up when I got home - t'interweb makes it clear those are normal summer jobs. Also the mileage is perhaps higher than I'd like and I'm never the biggest fan of carbonfibre trim. I mean it's fine - way better than silver metal slabs and nicer than piano black as well. But not what I'd pick.
The main consideration is actually used vs new.
They had the new facelifted Macan S in the showroom and I had a good poke around that too. Obviously it was everything that was good about the Turbo I drove but with a much more modern infosystem and the new haptic button set-up. And also the one in the showroom has the middling leather upgrade option where the dash is leather but the door tops aren't. This is what my father opted for in his S and I can see why - the plastics in the Macan are better than the BMW and I'm not sure I'd mind terribly not having leather on the door cappings since unlike the dash they aren't in your line of sight when driving. It could be a useful saving.
Chatting to the salesman (who was an enthusiastic petrolhead), he was very clear that the S was the one to go for, not the GTS, which I liked - he definitely didn't try to push me into the more expensive model. He pointed out that the new S has the same engine and power (385bhp 2.9 V6) as the outgoing GTS and only 15bhp down on the Turbo, so you merely need to add a sports exhaust to more or less than the performance and sound of the old GTS (which as you will recall I liked a lot when I tried one in France over the summer). His view was that it would drive every bit as well as the Turbo. Wouldn't sounds as good post-WLTP but would be more economical.
You can't get an online quote on a new Macan so I had him run one for me. Even chucking a good £12k's worth of FG at it (pano roof, air suspension, sports exhaust, full leather every-which-way seats, BOSE and various other bits and pieces), the monthlies came out at an actually quite reasonable £430 over 4 years even allowing for Porsche's outrageous 6.9% APR on new cars (exactly the same as they charge for used ones). Ordered now, I could expect to receive it in September next year.
So, I have the weekend to think about it.
The other consideration is Mrs RT, who is ever so slightly focussed on our new flat right now, and would need significant persuasion that a change of car is particularly appropriate right now even if it wouldn't actually nab any capital away from the bottomless pit of fixtures and fittings. Next September would undoubtedly be more politically palatable.
But the used car is nevertheless significantly cheaper, very nice and the small boy in me really fancies a Porsche Turbo, even if it is on stilts. Now, before they ban them.
Question No.2 is....do I really want to change my car. Driving it there and back I wasn't sure. I still really like it.
Time for a drink I think!
finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/details/porsche-macan-turbo-preowned-1PO6GG
It's not short on miles for a four year old car, but it is the proverbial immaculate 1 owner car - pretty much like new inside and out - the owner is a long-time customer of theirs who has upgraded to a new Cayenne Turbo. And it's really quite a pretty car for an SUV - I don't think the Macan photographs well - it's much better-looking in the metal.
It's my preferred colour and has a spec sheet as long as my arm with all the key options (which for me are the fancier lights (they just look nicer apart from anything else), full leather, a pano roof, air suspension, no roof rails and privacy glass). The only oddity is the omission of Sport Chrono, which seems an strange thing to skip if you've bothered with pricey driver's options like the Ceramic brakes and the Exterior Package Turbo (which brings multifarious things but importantly the Sports exhaust).
I was granted a decent half-hour test drive including back roads and dual carriageway, and an opportunity to launch it to test the power. It drove brilliantly and has very punchy performance. 0-60 is a claimed 4.8 seconds which sounds about right because it definitely doesn't feel any more potent than my 440i and I think that dusts 60 in around 4.8 seconds with the MPower kit fitted. Perhaps it's the 4wd and air suspension that conspire to rob a bit of drama - the BMW definitely feels lairier and snortier under power. But you absolutely feel that you're in a large tall hot hatch rather than an actual SUV. The handling is extremely good full-stop - you don't need to add the caveat "for a truck" - it has better body control than my car and is very confidence-inspiring.
My 440i though does decidedly have the better pair of lungs. Oddly not if you put it in Sport or Sport+ mode, which just adds too much bass blare and crackles, but in normal Comfort mode where, if you provoke it at the right moment at the right speed, it has developed the most magnificently strident thoroughbred yowl - like you've stamped on a leopard's balls and how an M4 should sound and for some reason doesn't. Don't get me wrong, with the Sports exhaust, the Macan Turbo sounds great too. But with the MPerformance exhaust now properly bedded in, the 440i sounds fabulous and way better than you'd expect from a modern turbo engine.
Where the Macan was decidedly better was the ride, even on 21" alloys. Even in Sport mode the Macan's ride was no worse than my car with the adaptive suspension set to Comfort. In it's normal setting, it's almost plush.
I was worried about the ceramic brakes, fearing they would be grabby but actually whilst of course very powerful (and I'd not like to try this car straight from driving a manual car), they weren't actually a problem.
Inside is a faintly mixed picture. It's a significantly more luxurious environment in terms of material (this car has the full leather - and it's proper soft leathery leather not the dubious rhino-hide in my car - and alcantara rooflining etc) than my car which feels spartan and slightly low-rent by comparison, but the BMW counters with significantly better ergonomics in all respects barring the steering wheel (which is a lovely little thing in the Porsche). Given the Macan and the 4-series were launched around the same time and my 440i is pre-LCI, it was surprising that the slightly newer Macan's switchgear felt more cluttered and a more dated. I mean this example has every tech toy going, including keyless entry, full surround view cameras and a sound system worthy of a top nightclub, but the interfaces aren't up to what BMW offered at the same point in time. It is a good thing that it has Apple Carplay because after the slick iDrive navigation that even my five year old BMW has, the Porsche system just isn't as up-to-date to look at.
Practicality-wise, I do appreciate the higher ride height in terms of getting in and out, and I reckon space-wise, it's pretty much a dead heat with the 4GC - rear leg room is on a par and allegedly the Porker has a boot that is 20 litres bigger with the seats up. Parked side by side with the tailgates opened, it unsurprisingly looked identical to me.
So all in all, I have re-confirmed that a Macan would be a worthy successor to my car, which is a machine I am still extremely fond of - I love the design, the performance, the noise and the unexpectedly good fuel economy.
Question Number 1 is whether this is the right one. The deal seems quite a good one - they'll do me £1k off the asking price and £23k as a part-ex for the 440i, which isn't bad. Basically I would just give them the car and start paying £280/month on a 3yr PCP. And that's with quite a low GFV (£23.5k), which is also good all things considered.
Downsides...mainly the fuel economy - ok I was testing it, but the 3.6 V6 averaged 17.7mpg during the test drive and it demands 98-octane at 15p/litre more than normal 95-octane, making filling a 75 litre tank quite a scary undertaking. Also, while the salesman (who I otherwise liked) assured me that the new set of tyres it's wearing were All Seasons jobs, in fact it transpires they aren't. I made a note of what they were - Michelin Latitude Sport 3s - and looked them up when I got home - t'interweb makes it clear those are normal summer jobs. Also the mileage is perhaps higher than I'd like and I'm never the biggest fan of carbonfibre trim. I mean it's fine - way better than silver metal slabs and nicer than piano black as well. But not what I'd pick.
The main consideration is actually used vs new.
They had the new facelifted Macan S in the showroom and I had a good poke around that too. Obviously it was everything that was good about the Turbo I drove but with a much more modern infosystem and the new haptic button set-up. And also the one in the showroom has the middling leather upgrade option where the dash is leather but the door tops aren't. This is what my father opted for in his S and I can see why - the plastics in the Macan are better than the BMW and I'm not sure I'd mind terribly not having leather on the door cappings since unlike the dash they aren't in your line of sight when driving. It could be a useful saving.
Chatting to the salesman (who was an enthusiastic petrolhead), he was very clear that the S was the one to go for, not the GTS, which I liked - he definitely didn't try to push me into the more expensive model. He pointed out that the new S has the same engine and power (385bhp 2.9 V6) as the outgoing GTS and only 15bhp down on the Turbo, so you merely need to add a sports exhaust to more or less than the performance and sound of the old GTS (which as you will recall I liked a lot when I tried one in France over the summer). His view was that it would drive every bit as well as the Turbo. Wouldn't sounds as good post-WLTP but would be more economical.
You can't get an online quote on a new Macan so I had him run one for me. Even chucking a good £12k's worth of FG at it (pano roof, air suspension, sports exhaust, full leather every-which-way seats, BOSE and various other bits and pieces), the monthlies came out at an actually quite reasonable £430 over 4 years even allowing for Porsche's outrageous 6.9% APR on new cars (exactly the same as they charge for used ones). Ordered now, I could expect to receive it in September next year.
So, I have the weekend to think about it.
The other consideration is Mrs RT, who is ever so slightly focussed on our new flat right now, and would need significant persuasion that a change of car is particularly appropriate right now even if it wouldn't actually nab any capital away from the bottomless pit of fixtures and fittings. Next September would undoubtedly be more politically palatable.
But the used car is nevertheless significantly cheaper, very nice and the small boy in me really fancies a Porsche Turbo, even if it is on stilts. Now, before they ban them.
Question No.2 is....do I really want to change my car. Driving it there and back I wasn't sure. I still really like it.
Time for a drink I think!
