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AUTO REVIEW

able to tell them apart despite the Macan’s
more angled rear hatch and 911-ish tail
lights. Both vehicles are as comfortably hand-
some as Rob Lowe, which helps explain their
popularity but also raises the obvious ques-
tion, where were the Porsche designers with
good taste when the design of the Panamera
sedan was approved?

Anyway, the now-familiar Porsche interior
with its raised center console, elegant switch
ware, and intuitive user interface is easy on
the eyes and a very pleasant place in which
to spend time. Despite the contemporary
look, though, consistent Porsche touchstones
like a large tachometer located in the center
of the gauge cluster and the ignition switch
placed to the left of the steering wheel re-
main. The materials in all Porsches are first
rate, and that was indeed the case in my test
car, but I was discouraged to find that the
small door covering the cigarette lighter
broke during my time with the car.

BOTH MODELS HAVE TURBOS and Turbo which both have turbos, but we’d The Macan is so good to drive I’ll bet
Customers who pay a premium for the better get used to that because it’s the future Porsche wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much
of Porsche. Next year it’s expected that all grief as it did for the Cayenne if it had intro-
Porsche driving experience won’t care about Porsche engines will be turbocharged, in- duced the smaller SUV first. Whatever, it’s
trifles like a cigarette lighter door, and I ex- cluding those in every 911. here now, and it is indeed a delight to expe-
perienced no disappointment in that depart- rience. In fact, the only problem prospective
ment. Even in standard driving mode, the A base Macan slotted below the Macan S customers are likely to have for a while is a
Macan moves much more crisply than the is likely to appear later this year with a tur- long wait. Macans are proving to be so pop-
Q5, never mind the more pedestrian Lexus bocharged four-cylinder engine, while a ular that they’re hard to find at dealerships.
RX or Cadillac SRX. Push either the Sport Macan diesel with a turbo 3.0-liter V6 also
or Sport Plus buttons though, and things re- will arrive in 2015. Steve Schutz, MD, is a
ally get interesting, with more rapid gear board-certified gastroenterol-
changes, quicker throttle response, and As always with any Porsche, options and ogist who lived in San Anto-
firmer suspension settings. There’s also a no- option packages are numerous and can in- nio in the 1990s when he was
ticeable and pleasing blat-blat-blat from the crease the cost of your car significantly. The stationed here in the U.S. Air
exhaust when you decelerate that’s absent in Macan Turbo starts at just over $72,000, but Force. He has been writing auto reviews for San
standard mode. Yet while those more athletic my loaded tester carried a sobering $104,000 Antonio Medicine since 1995.
settings do indeed move the Macan faster, price tag. In an effort to rein in natural but
they’re not too jarring, so you don’t get beat unneeded exuberance, I’d suggest that any For more information on the BCMS
up when you select them. potential buyer spend time on the online Auto Program, call Phil Hornbeak at 301-
Porsche configurator before talking to your 4367 or visit www.bcms.org.
Currently there are just two Macan mod- local dealer. Or just call Phil Hornbeak (see
els, the S and the Turbo. The top-level Turbo below) who will happily and helpfully walk
version like my test car includes a 400 HP you through the process.
twin-turbo 3.6-liter V6, while the S comes
with a similar twin-turbo V6 which measures
3.0 liters and produces 340 HP.

It’s a little surreal to behold a Porsche S

visit us at www.bcms.org 41