Macan T

[Porsche4Live]

Has anyone ordered or looking to get the Macan T?

Got a chance to test drive the Base (given no T is available) and the S for the 2021 model year. I know 2023 is different and that S is basically GTS from 2021.

Am I crazy for going for the T? Money is no issue for me but I did find the Base Macan a little bit more nimble and that was worth more to me than the power bump of the S.

I do have a 911 so both a slow mammoths to me.

[Tom]

They always give me a base Macan when I take my 992 in for servicing, and that 2 liter motor always feels like it's unhappy in a 4,200 pound car... Everyone has their own priorities, so take it with a grain of salt, but for an extra ~$5k, you can get over 100hp more with the S, which seems like a bargain to me.... Can't you add the nimble back to the S with PASM, etc.? Or, if the price isn't a factor, then jump to the GTS and have the best of both worlds?

[toddinmd]

I agree with Tom, the base Macan needs to really rev to make any power. When my wife had her Macan S, she hated getting the base loaners. And she's no speed queen. The base is workable, you just have to adapt and plan when you want to have power.

[Porsche4Live]

100% agree you need to rev it. I'm still very torn though as I felt like the extra weight on the nose of the S affected the handling a bit too much for me.

[rasetsu]

I would still buy a T, but I would immediately have an APR tune installed on it. The base engine is okay for in town runabouts but when power is required for those flashing yellow lefts or highway merges, it struggles a bit. It just doesn't have enough low end torque to move that much car for me.

[rasetsu]

100% agree you need to rev it. I'm still very torn though as I felt like the extra weight on the nose of the S affected the handling a bit too much for me.

Did the S you drove have air suspension? I know the S and T both have PASM standard but if the S didn't have air suspension like the T, then that could account for some this this "extra weight over the nose" sensation. I'm surprised you could really feel the weight difference between the 2.9 V6 vs the 2.0 I4 on the street.

[Porsche4Live]

100% agree you need to rev it. I'm still very torn though as I felt like the extra weight on the nose of the S affected the handling a bit too much for me.

Did the S you drove have air suspension? I know the S and T both have PASM standard but if the S didn't have air suspension like the T, then that could account for some this this "extra weight over the nose" sensation. I'm surprised you could really feel the weight difference between the 2.9 V6 vs the 2.0 I4 on the street.

Actually it was a base that I drove and not a T sorry.

I felt like the base was adequate, but only when I drive it in manual mode with the shifters. When I do that it performed quite admirably from a power perspective - and it may be weird but it was actually fun to have to do that to get the power I needed.

I definitely could feel the extra 130lb??? of the S on the nose. The handling wasn't bad with the S but when I switched to the base, it clicked more for me.

With all that said, I have been seriously struggling with the decision as you get more than 100hp more with the S - and not getting that for a few Ks (~10k after accounting for included options on the T vs what you need to add on the S) is really something I am struggling with. Although, I do have a 992 C2S and have a 992 GTS coming in a few months - so then I realize that whatever Macan I get as my second car doesn't matter because it will never compare.

So then I am back with the T!

I can report back to this group once I get a bit of time to drive the T

[rasetsu]

100% agree you need to rev it. I'm still very torn though as I felt like the extra weight on the nose of the S affected the handling a bit too much for me.

Did the S you drove have air suspension? I know the S and T both have PASM standard but if the S didn't have air suspension like the T, then that could account for some this this "extra weight over the nose" sensation. I'm surprised you could really feel the weight difference between the 2.9 V6 vs the 2.0 I4 on the street.

Actually it was a base that I drove and not a T sorry.

I felt like the base was adequate, but only when I drive it in manual mode with the shifters. When I do that it performed quite admirably from a power perspective - and it may be weird but it was actually fun to have to do that to get the power I needed.

I definitely could feel the extra 130lb??? of the S on the nose. The handling wasn't bad with the S but when I switched to the base, it clicked more for me.

With all that said, I have been seriously struggling with the decision as you get more than 100hp more with the S - and not getting that for a few Ks (~10k after accounting for included options on the T vs what you need to add on the S) is really something I am struggling with. Although, I do have a 992 C2S and have a 992 GTS coming in a few months - so then I realize that whatever Macan I get as my second car doesn't matter because it will never compare.

So then I am back with the T!

I can report back to this group once I get a bit of time to drive the T

What about the S that you drove? Did that have PASM?

I get the logic that whatever Macan you get won't compare to any 992 but the flipside of that coin is that you've developed a certain standard and level of expectation when it comes to a car, specifically a Porsche. All of my cars need to be engaging to some degree regardless of their assigned duties. I had a GTI with only 200hp as a daily (same motor as a base Macan) but I also had a 300hp G35 and a 350hp STi at the time so my GTI stayed stock for maybe 6 months before I was modding the engine and the suspension.

Personally, I've driven several base base Macan loaners and one Macan Sport Edition (same as the T but it was called Sport Edition during its one 2018 model year production run). The base power is what I would consider barely adequate when it's called up for a mix of highway and suburban driving. If it's all urban driving, then it's completely fine. It was the way-too-soft suspension of the base base that would be a non-starter for me. I much preferred to have been back in my GTI.

If I were to do my cars over, I would have gotten a Macan Sport Edition and tuned it pretty much immediately and would have gotten a Cayman GTS or maybe even a Cayman GT4. So if it were today, I would order a Macan T and expect to tune it as the power deficiency is much easier to resolve via aftermarket solutions than the suspension tuning and in general, I prioritize handling over brute power when it comes to my cars. I could probably adjust my driving style to make do with the base engine power like how I adapt to most rental cars but I hated how I had to adjust my driving to accommodate the discrepancy in handling confidence from the base suspension. For how I drive my cars, anything over 500hp would only be for bragging rights but I like taking turns and corners with gusto.

[Porsche4Live]

Did the S you drove have air suspension? I know the S and T both have PASM standard but if the S didn't have air suspension like the T, then that could account for some this this "extra weight over the nose" sensation. I'm surprised you could really feel the weight difference between the 2.9 V6 vs the 2.0 I4 on the street.

Actually it was a base that I drove and not a T sorry.

I felt like the base was adequate, but only when I drive it in manual mode with the shifters. When I do that it performed quite admirably from a power perspective - and it may be weird but it was actually fun to have to do that to get the power I needed.

I definitely could feel the extra 130lb??? of the S on the nose. The handling wasn't bad with the S but when I switched to the base, it clicked more for me.

With all that said, I have been seriously struggling with the decision as you get more than 100hp more with the S - and not getting that for a few Ks (~10k after accounting for included options on the T vs what you need to add on the S) is really something I am struggling with. Although, I do have a 992 C2S and have a 992 GTS coming in a few months - so then I realize that whatever Macan I get as my second car doesn't matter because it will never compare.

So then I am back with the T!

I can report back to this group once I get a bit of time to drive the T

What about the S that you drove? Did that have PASM?

I get the logic that whatever Macan you get won't compare to any 992 but the flipside of that coin is that you've developed a certain standard and level of expectation when it comes to a car, specifically a Porsche. All of my cars need to be engaging to some degree regardless of their assigned duties. I had a GTI with only 200hp as a daily (same motor as a base Macan) but I also had a 300hp G35 and a 350hp STi at the time so my GTI stayed stock for maybe 6 months before I was modding the engine and the suspension.

Personally, I've driven several base base Macan loaners and one Macan Sport Edition (same as the T but it was called Sport Edition during its one 2018 model year production run). The base power is what I would consider barely adequate when it's called up for a mix of highway and suburban driving. If it's all urban driving, then it's completely fine. It was the way-too-soft suspension of the base base that would be a non-starter for me. I much preferred to have been back in my GTI.

If I were to do my cars over, I would have gotten a Macan Sport Edition and tuned it pretty much immediately and would have gotten a Cayman GTS or maybe even a Cayman GT4. So if it were today, I would order a Macan T and expect to tune it as the power deficiency is much easier to resolve via aftermarket solutions than the suspension tuning and in general, I prioritize handling over brute power when it comes to my cars. I could probably adjust my driving style to make do with the base engine power like how I adapt to most rental cars but I hated how I had to adjust my driving to accommodate the discrepancy in handling confidence from the base suspension. For how I drive my cars, anything over 500hp would only be for bragging rights but I like taking turns and corners with gusto.

We think pretty much alike. Handling over raw power. If HP was the focus, I would go with a Tesla.

I'll report back on the Macan T experience as my SUV vs the 911 S.

If I end up sick of the lack of power in the Macan, I may go with the Taycan or the Macan EV next time if that one handles well.

In the meantime, I'm pretty excited about my incoming T. I'll be doing the Europe delivery experience. Should be a blast to do a 2 week roadtrip in this car across Europe.

[jas21462]

I'm driving a Macan T as a loaner while waiting on my S (see my thread on Macan S Engine Trouble). I can't wait to get my S back. The base engine is not enough unless you are a city driver stop light to stop light. Not enough HP for this 4200lb car.