By Otsile Kadiege

Porsche has updated its luxurious Macan compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) with revised exterior and interior looks, new technology and significantly increased power.

Sharpened exterior design

The Porsche Macan has a redesigned nose with an inlay in the exterior colour which emphasises the Macan’s width. On the new GTS, the centre of the nose section as well as other elements are finished in black. The rear is now rounded off towards the road by a striking diffuser. Here and at the front end it features a new 3D structure, which is also optionally available for the car’s sideblades. The LED headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) and Sport Design exterior mirrors are now standard on all models.

A total of 14 colours are available for the new Macan, including the new colours Papaya Metallic and Gentian Blue Metallic, as well as Python Green for the Porsche Macan GTS with the GTS Sport package.

 With its Individual Colour and Paint To Sample options, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur significantly expands the design freedom for the Macan. Larger wheels are also fitted as standard: they measure at least 19 inches for the Macan, 20 inches for the Macan S and 21 inches for the Macan GTS. A total of seven new wheel designs have also been added to the range.

Modern and elegant interior

Inside, the Porsche Macan has a substantially redesigned interior with a centre console which makes use of touch surfaces instead of tactile buttons and features a new, shorter selector lever in the centre of the module. As standard, the Macan This fitted with an analogue clock at the top of the dashboard. A number of leather upholstery and contrasting seam packages in Gentian Blue, Papaya or Crayon are optionally available to add new colour highlights to the interior.

The Macan continues to offer many online functions and services as standard. These can be controlled via the 10.9-inch full HD touch display of the Porsche Communication Management or by means of voice commands. The Macan adopts the new multifunction and GT Sport steering wheels from the 911.

Customers can opt for the GTS Sport package which includes 18-way sport seats, the Carbon interior package, Race-Tex upholstery with extended leather elements, various items with contrast stitching and GTS lettering in Python Green.

Performance and pricing

The Porsche Macan GTS sits at the top of the range and is powered by a 2.9-litre V6 bi-turbo engine delivering 324 kW – an increase of 44 kW. With the responsiveness and power delivery typical of Porsche GTS cars, it completes the 0 – 100 km/h sprint in 4.3 seconds when fitted with the Sport Chrono package and reaches a top speed of 272 km/h. The range-topper is priced at R1,551,000.

The Macan S is now also equipped with a 2.9-litre V6 biturbo engine that produces 20 kW more power than before, with 280 kW. This propels the vehicle from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds while it has a top speed of up to 259 km/h. The mid-range Macan S is priced at R1,271,000.

 The base Macan is priced at R1,050,000. It’s powered by a newly developed, turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 195 kW serves as the entry point to the Macan world. It completes the standard 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 6.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 232 km/h. All engines are coupled to the seven-speed Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK) and the Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel-drive system.

Availability

The order books for the updated Macan will open within the next few weeks and first deliveries are expected to happen from January 2022.