The new Porsche Macan has been unveiled in Shanghai. It looks rather the same as the previous model but the facelift comes with new colours, improved engines and more technology, all of which should rejuvenate appeal amongst Macan’s target audience.
Available colours now include Mamba Green Metallic, Dolomite Silver Metallic and Crayon (primer grey which everyone seems to love) as well as the Miami Blue seen here, which has been chosen as the launch colour. New interior packages provide a wider range of opportunities for customer personalisation. If Mamba Green is anything like the classic Apple Green Metallic, that will be my favourite.
Porsche’s press release doesn’t say anything about the new engines as the obvious first question is “what about diesel?”. The manufacturer has made a bit of a song and dance about supposedly dropping diesel in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal, but the Cayenne is still on course to receive a new diesel engine and Macan S Diesel is/was very much alive and kicking. UK registrations of Macan S diesel outnumber all other models combined (8.9k vs 7.1k since 2014 if you’re interested).
Porsche is unlikely to throw away sales potential like this for its baby SUV range, especially given that a hybrid version is probably not possible due to the bodyshell configuration. Perhaps the omission is related to current tensions between Porsche and Audi on diesel engine supply and the use of emissions cheat devices. A very soft launch may lie ahead for facelifted Macan oilburners.
The 2-litre petrol is still available and has a few more ponies to play with: up from 248 to 256 bhp, according to Greg Kable at Autocar, who also reveals that the V6 engines are being replaced with Porsche-Audi V6s. Expect more bhp from the Porsche applications to fit brand identities.
Tech-wise, the dash looks great with the 11-inch touchscreen and relocated air vents instantly making previous models less desirable. Macan.2 gets new options including the 911’s GT steering wheel with ‘Sports Response’ button (the contemporary equivalent of Knight Rider’s pursuit mode for anyone as old as me), as well as a cabin ioniser and a heated windscreen.
Porsche has also used the introduction of the new model as an opportunity to expand the range of assistance systems in the Macan. The new Traffic Jam Assist including adaptive cruise control enables more comfortable and relaxed driving behaviour at speeds up to 60 km/h. The system features partially automated acceleration and braking and also assists with steering in a traffic jam or in slow-moving traffic.
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