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In the world of shared platforms and shared everything, really, Porsche's cars have managed to stand apart Despite sharing some of its underpinnings with other members of the Volkswagen Group, Porsche generally manages to separate itself from the family by making its cars feel more than a little special.
When it comes to the refresh 2019 Porsche McCaughan it's a very good sporting crossover, but something feels like it's missing.
Now don't get me wrong this is still a standout in its segment,t but in a world where Porsches cars are all pretty stellar.
Can the mechanic make it work with the B plus average?
Now if you couldn't tell from the badge on the hood, let me clue you into a little secret.
Portions are generally pretty sporty.
The mind mechanics tester is no exception rocking Porsches, optional $1,360 adaptive dampers, even in their most comfortable setting doesn't take more than two turns to suss out that this is a little bit different than your average compact luxury crossover.
And when you swap it in the sport or Sport Plus modes, the thing basically Anna morphs into a true sports car, taking all my input from the well weighted steering wheel and turning it into your instantaneous lateral motion.
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Now that's all well and good but most Macan's I see on the road are doing daily familial duties.
And in those use cases, the car is a little less stellar.
In addition to the stiffness transferring more humps and bumps into the cabin, there's also a bit more wind and road noise than I would appreciate in here.
Now certainly there are ways around that You can ditch my testers optional 20 inch wheels and summer tires.
That should definitely help make things a little quieter and softer.
And then there's the matter of the suspension, opting for Porsches, $2,750 air setup, will probably smooth things out to.
Some of this missing [UNKNOWN] might come from the fact that I'm not entirely keen on the power train..
Now, the turbo charged V6 under the hood is plenty potent parking 348 horsepower and 352 pound fitted toque, but something feels off.
In this case, I think it's the seven speed PTK dual clutch gearbox to blame.
If you put it in comfort, it shifts entirely too quickly to have any sort of on road legal fun.
Put it in sport a Sport Plus and it's the exact opposite.
It holds reps for way too long and it won't even so much as look at seventh gear on the highway.
Honestly the best way to have this thing act exactly how you want it to act is just leave it in full manual mode.
The engine however is a total peach thrusting me forward at all times with nary a bead of sweat on its metaphorical brown.
It is an absolutely fine engine but it's a little lacking in the noise department which is kind of a surprise But then again, there's an option for that.
For about $2,900, you can outfit this guy with a sports exhaust, which will certainly cure [UNKNOWN], provided you're willing to pony up the scratch.
I'm not entirely sure the mechanics visual refresh did it any favors.
I'm mostly referring to the rear end here where the connecting bit between the tail lights is rather thick giving the rear end kind of a Dodge Durangoish feel to it.
The front end though remains marvelous with the right amount of sculpting and aggression on the lower part of the bumper.
If you don't think it's targeted up enough, don't worry because Porsche will gladly convert more of your money into additional aesthetic enhancements.
In traditional Porsche fashion that becomes seating position is nice and low, giving the car a bit more of a sporty feel right off the bat.
Like every other Porsche The dashboard is very well arranged and I like the trim to the right of the infotainment screen.
However, there is a fair amount of hard plastic in here that was admittedly well done for what it is.
Still feels a bit out of place on a Porsche of any price Stratum.
All five seats in the Macomb are nice though, with the right amount upholstery, and even the base power seats.
There's a surprising amount of head room for taller passengers in the rear although leg room is a little tight.
On the storage front, the door pockets are decent, but center console space is at a premium.
The cargo area is 17.7 cubic foot capacity works for a small family but it does lag behind most of its competitors like the Mercedes GLC or BMW X3.
Now some parts of the portion of the contact experience are fantastic while others could use a little bit of work.
We'll start with what I like namely the new PCM Porsche infotainment system.
Living here on a ten point nine inch touch screen, it's one of my favorite systems on the market, it's fast, it's responsive, the text is crisp and it's very easy to get a glance at just about anything you need, thanks to its modular home screen design Now that's great because guess what can't get the hell up display in this thing.
Nor do you get a whole lot from the gauge cluster which retains its mostly analog three dial layout from before.
There is a screen on the right side that gives you access to a few different things, your maps, your music info, stuff like that, but the graphics are kind of old school and honestly PCM just displays it better, so I usually just leave a couple of temperature dials there.
On the smartphone front, Apple CarPlay is available, either as part of a $3,110 premium package or as a $360 standalone, which is kinda horseplop, considering the fact that Apple offers it to automakers It's for free.
Hey, it could be worse.
You could have an android phone, because there is no android audio in here whatsoever.
As a little bit of compensation however, you do get two usb ports in the front and rear.
Just a little touch,.
We have the infotainment tech is high point for mechanic safety tech is not so high.
Point.
Let's go through standard equipment you get lane departure warning, parking sensors, and that's it.
Let's say you want to surround your camera that'll be $1200 please.
Let's say you want lane keep assist, that would be $700 please.
Let's say you want adaptive cruise control and auto break which is also a separate option.
That'll be another 1100 and $70, please.
It's getting frustrating in in a time of safety democratization where so many safety systems are now standard on all sorts of trims.
Porsche remains a notable hold out, or should I say Porsche remain standing in front of you, holding its hand out The 2019 Porsche Macan S starts at $58,600 before destination, which is mighty sensible until you realize you don't even get heated seats as standard.
Now my tester is lightly optioned by Porsche's standards and it rings in at about $70,000.
I would probably recommend ditching most of these aesthetic upgrades in favor of actual content, if that's where your budget lies.
Let me just say this flat out, the Porsche Macan S is a good car, easily one of the best in its segment.
In fact, I am spending most of my time these days shopping for used ones online, yet I feel like it could be better.
Porsche loves to overachieve, it always has.
Which is why, to me, the Macan feels like it's ever so slightly slacking.
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