Porsche Macan review

Prices start at around £49k for a basic model and rise to £69k for a GTS. But that’s just the start…

As usual for a Porsche, watch out for the options list. At long last, heated seats are now on the standard kit list, but you have to pay extra for ruddy seatback stowage pockets. And you can also spend plenty of chassis tech upgrades to tweak the handling (see the Macan T). You certainly don’t need to, we’d argue (see also the Macan T). Stick with the base 2.0 and its lighter front end would make it the most enticing to drive of the lot if the engine didn’t sound so uncouth at high revs.

As the Macan has been doing sterling business for Porsche for a few years, there are a few truths to be confident of if you’re looking to buy. Your money’s safe – residual values are strong and minimal updates for this revised model won’t shock-drop prices of existing Macans.

As ever, don’t expect that speccing the high-end Burmester hi-fi (£3,359) or dubiously hued seatbelts, air vent surrounds, dial faces or body colour-matched alloys will retain your ‘investment’ come resale time. There’s a reason most of the Macans you see prowling the school run are monochromatic examples on big wheels with sunroofs and dark leather.

WHICH OPTIONS ARE THE ONES TO LOOK OUT FOR?

Among the more tempting options are the various handling aids, like the £804 Sport Chrono pack (a stopwatch, Sport mode and a mode-switching dial for ramping up engine and gearbox response) and £1,860 air suspension with PASM (Porsche loves an acronym, that one’s for Porsche Active Suspension Management), which, if anything, makes the Macan handle too well. There’s so little sensation of roll, such mind-pulverising cornering speeds and such clever hiding of weight transfer, it’s likely to give you a headache from contemplating the mathematics involved.

Oh, and if the delectable Carmine Red and Miami Blue (£1,676) hues aren’t to your taste, there are plenty of boring blacks and greys that Porsche will spray your Macan with instead. But go on, be brave. You’re buying the best all-round sporting SUV in the world – why shy away from that?