Lincs Pride FEBRUARY 235.qxp 06/01/2022 13:42 Page 112
MOTORS
Big reputation for a
Small Wonder It’s the most successful model in Porsche’s lineup. The Macan may be its smallest SUV, but it’s wildly successful and offers a magical driving experience... this facelifted version only adds to its already huge appeal!
BACK IN 2019, before the world fell apart, Porsche was having a great year. The company saw record worldwide sales of over 280,000 vehicles, and 99,944 of those sales were of its small SUV model, the Macan. The car even outsold its larger sibling, although not by much; sales of the larger Cayenne 4x4 that year were just over 92,000; UK Macan sales totalled over 95,000 models, an increase of 18% on 2018. The Macan is an important model for the firm, because it’s the most accessible Porsche model for those considering one of the many small SUVs on the market today, and a way for the brand to pilfer sales from other mainstream manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover, Audi, Mercedes and BMW... more so than, for example, its Boxster or 911 which are less 112
likely to steal sales from those other brands. There’s another reason it’s so popular though, namely the fact that the Macan is so awesome to drive. The physics of taller SUVs are sometimes at odds with good handing characteristics, but Porsche has absolutely nailed the driving involvement of the Macan: it truly is dynamically gifted.
The Macan gets warmer and warmer as you move up the range to S and GTS versions. Our preference though is the firecracker of a 2.0 engine, turbocharged and fettled to produce 265ps, in the entry level version. At just under £49,000 the Macan looks like good value, but beware the options list. One of the nicest elements of the Macan is the ability to customise it to the nth degree. Gold or body colour wheels, custom colours, and lots of leather shades and dash finishers, all are available... for a price. What does come as standard, though, are stunning driving dynamics, a decent sized boot (488 litres; a Ford Focus has 341 litres) plus five seats. There’s a premium feel and a great badge too. The best things, its appears, really do come in compact packages! n
