With the 911 having survived with subtle design changes for
almost half a century, Porsche doesn’t want to let go of its typical, not
necessarily pretty looks with the Macan as well. The grille is wide, with big
air dams, and depending on the engine variant, has a different-looking chin.
The headlights are large and remind you of the 918 Spyder. The bonnet is again
wide and all-encompassing like a clamshell, leaving space for the headlights on
the sheet metal. Incidentally, that’s aluminium. The side is typically SUV,
with a high waistline but a sloping roof towards the rear.
The Macan S Diesel's
V6 turbo diesel engine is a strong puller, with 427lb ft of torque
Almost like a coupe. Here too it borrows design elements
from the 918 – the side panels on the doors. Unlike the front, the rear is
easier on the eye. The designers have kept it simple and clean here. So much so
that even the hatch-opening power switch is hidden at the base of the
windscreen wiper. Clean, signature 3-dimensional tail lights, placed
horizontally, wrap around the edges. It’s no Evoque-beater when it comes to
looking good, but the Macan manages to ensure road presence even when
stationary.
But being stationary is not what this vehicle has been built
for. Porsche has packed practically every conceivable and feasible piece of
technology into the car to make sure the Macan can give its stablemates popping
out of the parent factory at Stuttgart, something to notice. Starting with the
engines.
Most of the
Macan's infotainment functions can be controlled from the steering wheel
There are three on offer – two petrol and one diesel. The
latter uses the same 3.0-litre turbo-diesel unit that we see in the Q5. Of course,
a reasonable amount of hardware and software has been altered on this to make
sure it delivers roughly 14bhp more. With 255bhp and 580Nm, even this ‘slowest’
Macan can hit 100kph from standstill in just 6.3 seconds. Top speed is an
equally impressive 230kph, which means even in the base power spec, the Macan
will be seriously faster than most other cars on Indian roads, not just SUVs.
But if you want something fancier, then the two bi-turbo
petrol options are the ones to tick on the spec sheet. Starting with the Macan
S, which too gets a 3.0-litre unit that can churn 460Nm of torque from as low
as 1,450rpm and go on to deliver a maximum 335bhp for a 0-100 time of 5.4
seconds and a top whack of 254kph.
Despite the
sloping roofline, space for back-seat passengers in the Macan is pretty good
And, if even that doesn’t put a smile on your face, the
insane Macan Turbo will, with its 3.6-litre, 394bhp, 550 Nm engine. And as they
don’t say in Hollywood, with great power comes great performance – 4.8 seconds
from standstill to a ton and a top speed of 266kph for the Macan Turbo. Of
course, you can even shave off a couple of tenths of a second more on the
acceleration time by opting for the Sports Chrono package that even better
utilises the chassis, engine and 7-speed Porsche Dopplekuplung gearbox. And you
do that with the Sports Plus button sitting on the centre console. It’s that
simple.
