My new Gen 2 2020 Macan Turbo

[Brian_Innes]

Following the Macan's aerobic workout at Knockhill at the beginning of the week, it is now time to return to what it does best, luxurious touring.

On Friday I enjoyed a beautiful walk in the tranquil scenery of Lochindorb which lies a short distance off the A939 on Dava Moor. Due to it's secluded, remote location, not many tourists know about this place so it is an ideal spot for a reflective, mind-calming walk, and being close to nature. I met not a single soul the whole time I was there. The only life I encountered were numerous partridges, rabbits, sheep, and a solitary young swan still in cygnet plumage. It was pure bliss, and in complete contrast to the hectic laps at Knockhill only 4 days previously. A few photos below capture the tranquillity of the day. I felt all the better for it.

On my drive home across Dave Moor on the B9007 to Ferness, suddenly a huge shadow briefly engulfed the car, followed by the whoosh of a very low-flying C130 transport plane coming from directly behind. The aircraft couldn't have been more than 200 feet above me as it soared past heading for the military base at Kinloss a few miles to the north. So dramatic was the event, that I am currently working on retrieving my dash-cam footage to check if I have captured the moment on film. I couldn't help thinking that the commanding C130 pilot observed my Macan, solitary in open territory, and decided to give his gunnery crew an opportunity to practice a straffing run at a moving "target". I can just imagine the pilot instructing his gunnery crew over the intercom, "Hey Iceman! Clock that SUV at 12 o'clock, lock-on and light 'em up!


I am still awaiting the delivery of the Driver's Handbook wallet containing the manual, warranty, and service history documents. It's now two months since handover and I contacted Porsche Chester to enquire regarding the delay. I was told there is a currently huge backlog of printed Driver's manuals from the factory in Germany.
OPC Chester have promised to chase-up the order and drop in the post as soon as possible. Meantime I am using the excellent "Good to Know" app.


Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Unfortunately the gravel road around the north end of the loch has a padlocked gate. Otherwise I would have given the Macan it's first off-road excursion.

 

[Brian_Innes]

The beauty and tranquility of this secluded loch is a joy to behold.

 

[Brian_Innes]

I enjoyed a a short picnic on the loch shore. Solitude in harmony with nature.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

The dash cam shots of the C130 flying low overhead on Dava Moor.

The first photo shows the shadow ahead across the road having just darkened the Macan's interior cabin.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

The aircraft had already gained height by this time. A close encounter........

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Having two miserable days of non-stop rain, on Sunday I decided to take a drive along the south shore of Loch Ness on the B862 to the Falls of Foyers and Fort Augustus. The B862 skirts the south shore of Loch Ness, and although woodland obscures most of the loch views, there are occasional gaps in the trees where the full majesty of this stunning area is revealed in its full glory. My plan to visit the spectacular Falls of Foyers were abandoned as the small car park was packed full of cars by the time of my arrival. Knowing the confines of the narrow access path to the falls and the small viewing area, I decided that social distancing would be nigh impossible so I postponed my visit until another less busy time.

I am still discovering things about the Macan that I didn't expect, including the results of driving through standing water. Many sections of the B862 are single track with Passing Places, and with the recent heavy rain frequent large pools of water had accumulated at the roadside. Being a narrow single track road, driving through these pools of water was unavoidable. My previous 12 years of Porsches ownership has been exclusively with the Cayman range, and on many occasions I have encountered similar conditions to which I experienced on this particular drive. The Cayman had coped surprisingly well with pools of standing water for such a low slung sports coupe. So long as you were sensible with the approach speeds, the Cayman pushed the water to the sides and only a small amount of residual spray hit the windscreen. Not so with this Macan. When hitting a pool of water at around 40mph the entire windscreen was engulfed with water as in a drive-in car wash. It took me completely by surprise the first time it happened. Vision was obscured for several seconds until the wipers cleared the screen. This was not what I had expected with such a high riding vehicle as the Macan. Following further such occurrences, I began to understand the fluid dynamics of this unnerving experience. My Macan has the optional wider 21" wheels with 265 section front tyres. When surface water is encountered, the front wheels push a wall of water to the front which the car then drives into engulfing the windscreen. This, combined with the high riding wheel arches, allows the water to drive upwards rather than outwards as with the Cayman. To be clear, this only applies when hitting standing water in large pools on narrow rural roads. Thereafter, I became alert to this phenomenon and switched on the wipers in anticipation when approaching pools of water. Reducing the approach speed to 25-30mph had a negligible impact on the amount of water hitting the windscreen.

On my return along the north shore of the A82 I met a gaggle of 911 Porsches heading south towards Fort William. Several were glorious sounding GT3 and GT3 RS models. I gave them a flash of the lights and a wave as they sped past in the opposite direction. I'd assume they were from the PCGB 911 register, possibly returning south from the NC500 tour.

Brian

Photo 1
Looking towards Fort Augustus from the B862 near Glen Doe Lodge.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Fort Augustus "Neptunes Ladder". Strangely quiet for a Sunday in early October.

Brian

 

[Wollemi]

I think the phenomenon of the wall of wall hitting the windscreen when going through standing water is something to be experienced with most SUVs / 4x4s. Our other car is a Land Rover Discovery 4, and the amount of water that this throughs onto the windscreen is really quite comical, although very alarming the first time it happens. One learns to put the wipers onto maximum speed before entering the water rather waiting relying on the auto function. I had always thought it was due to the amount of space between the wheels and the arches, which is even greater on a Land Rover than the Macan.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Graham,

You are spot-on with that opinion. I could barely get 3 fingers width between the tyre and top of the wheel arches on my 718 Cayman GTS. I never had any problems with encountering standing pools of water at the roadside. With the Cayman, the water escaped via the side, not the front, due to the wheel arches being filled to capacity with low suspension ride heights and wide section tyres. The Macan is the opposite of that. The old sage saying, "You Live and Learn" still holds sway.

On another topic elsewhere on this section, I've been reading with interest the tales of transfer gearbox failures on all models of the Macan. My Turbo transfer gearbox will have the oil replaced at 20,000 miles, as I used to do on my Cayman transaxle oil changes. Porsche in my opinion overestimate the service intervals for gearbox oil changes. When I last had a transaxle oil change it was on my 987 Cayman R at 20,000 miles, the oil was jet black. New oil is straw coloured. The transfer gearbox on my Macan Turbo has already had a workout at the Knockhill circuit. A couple of launch control starts, and 20 or so laps with full throttle gear upshifts in manual mode gave the transfer box a serious heating. The winter driving I intend to do will also give the transfer gear box a roasting. I'll take no chances and change the oil at 20K.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

My Macan has now 2675 miles up, and is going great.

I would even venture to say there is a noticeable improvement in engine performance post Knockhill. The acceleration is snappier, and the Sport mode is now absolutely in sync with my driving style. On A and B class roads the gearbox settles down to cruising in 5th or 6th, dropping to 3rd when in a 30mph zone and 4th in a 40mph zone. Perfect! Fuel economy is stabilised at 27mpg on average while on B roads using Shell V-Power 99RON, a fuel I try to use exclusively whenever possible.

One thing perplexes me. Having owned two 718 PDK Caymans, I was used to pushing forward the central gear selector for downshifts, and pulling back for upshifts. This is the standard intuitive format for motorsport sequential gearboxes. Watch any in-car camera views of BTCC touring cars, or indeed the 997 series Porsche Carrera Cup cars, and you will see the drivers pushing the stick forwards for downshifts, and pulling back for upshifts. This is a brain natural hard-wired method for all motorsport drivers who have driven cars with sequential gearboxes.

For reasons known only to Porsche, on the Gen 2 Macan, the motorsport gearshift configuration on the central gear selector is now the opposite of the 718 series cars. Upshifts are now a push forward, and downshifts a pull back. Porsche, why have you done this? Surely it would be logical to standardise the manual shift pattern on the central gear selector across all models, sports cars and SUV's alike. Now, I completely accept that only a very few Macan owners will ever use the central gear selector for manual shifting, so I'll tell you when I choose to use it. When travelling on B roads in the Highlands I enjoy the involvement of manual gear changing, particularly in Sport mode with the auto throttle blipping, which takes me back to the joy of a manual gearbox......well almost. When arriving at a "T" junction in manual mode, I use the central gear selector in preference to the steering wheel paddles to upshift from 1st to 2nd while executing the right or left turn. The reason for this is the paddles cross the 12 o'clock position and are not easily to hand while turning the steering wheel through more than 90 degrees. It is counter-intuitive for me to push the central gear selector forward for upshifting, I have to consciously think about it. Zero marks go to Porsche for doing this. I can't understand their logic for swapping the central gear shift selector patterns between models. I watched a USA YouTube video on the Gen 2 Macan Turbo, and recall correcting the presenter for getting the central selector gearshift pattern wrong, thinking it was a USA model thing, and believing European cars would have the "correct" configuration. Not so and I stand corrected.

Photos below of the two opposing gearshift patterns of the 718 series cars and the Macan. Note the + and - signs.

Brian

First photo the Gen 2 Macan central gear selector.

 

[Brian_Innes]

The central gear selector pattern on the 718 series sports cars.

Brian

 

[Motorhead]

It’s just plain stupid isn’t it Brian. I don’t drive an auto but I’ve never understood how the auto companies settled on the perverse convention in the first place. Race cars aside, it’s just not natural to push forward to change-up when you’re being forced back into the seat due to the car’s acceleration. It goes against natural logic.

Even more perverse is for a company like Porsche with its sporting pedigree not to adopt a single convention across its ranges, especially since only switch wiring and a piece of trim are involved.

Jeff

 

[Wollemi]

Brian, I think I can help you understand the flawed "logic" that Porsche have employed here.
Conventional autos, like that in my Discovery 4 all have their manual shifts as your Macan is, forward to change up, although I agree with Jeff that it is non-intuitive.
My theory is that more Porsche have discovered that more people will be coming to the Macan (and Cayenne for that matter) from other manufacturers cars with conventional autos than will be coming from PDK equipped sports cars. Some of these people may not necessarily be enthusiast drivers, and Porsche don't want them to be confused.
Although there are a number of people who have both a Macan or Cayenne as well as a 911 or Cayman/Boxster - perhaps they estimate that those enthusiasts are more likely to be able to adapt as required, that those buying a Porsche SUV just as family transport?

 

[stuartclarke]

It's the same on my 2018 GTS. Personally, I prefer using the paddles for this reason. Maybe it's because I'm right-handed but the upshift is with the right hand and downshift with the left. This feels right to me.

 

[BrianJ]

Hi Brian, 987 and 981 PDKs are the wrong way round too, as were (in my opinion) the 986 Tiptronic steering wheel buttons. When they announced the 718 I remember they made a big thing of getting the PDK shifts the right way round at last. Obviously nobody told the SUV guys....

 

[AndrewCS]

Hi Brian … can fully appreciate your `education` of the PDK system, for me … it`s one of the world`s best driving experiences - teaching and being taught by the PDK was a particular highlight of my previous CS tenure. I had similar experiences in BMW X3 and VW Touareg autos

Other … there is no `wrong` method of manually shifting the PDK system, it`s just individual preference []

 

[Brian_Innes]

Thanks to all for your comments on the PDK stick-shift configurations.

I accept the view expressed that some non-enthusiast drivers who may migrate to a Macan or Cayenne from Land Rovers, Mazdas, Volvos, BMW's etc, could take some time to adapt to the "race car" stick-shift configuration of Porsche's evolved PDK. Their "confusion" would be short lived in my opinion. In any case, most such drivers will seldom use the manual shifting option, if at all. Why confuse the keen drivers by having two PDK stick-shift systems on current models?
It's just plain daft in my opinion.

Not all Macan owners are new to the Porsche brand, indeed many contributors to this forum own both Porsche sports cars and the SUV models. Surely it would be logical for Porsche to maintain continuity of PDK stick-shift operations across the current model range. Particularly as is so often mentioned in the model publicity, that Porsche as a brand has sporting orientated driving in its DNA by design. Not so in this case evidently.

Just as I have adapted to the PDK after 50 years of manual gearboxes, so I will adapt to this counter-intuitive stick-shift action in my Macan. As a general rule, I use the paddles when in manual mode, excepting when I am negotiating a T-junction right or left turn as previously described. Then, I just have to remember push forward for upshift. Crazy!

My winter wheels and tyres are on the tyre rack all ready for swapping over next month. I'm currently thinking I may re-visit my local Michelin specialist GT Tyres at Forres, for a geometry check when the 20" wheels are fitted. Even allowing for the fact that they may not yet have the Gen 2 Macan software installed on their Hunter 4-wheel laser rig, I may decide to compare the settings shown for Gen 1 Macan GTS 20" wheel option as the nearest equivalent model. I'll report back in due course as to the outcome.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

It's been a quiet, if very wet week here in the Highlands. The Moray coast is well known for being a very dry and mild region. The year 2020 must surely be the wettest October in living memory in these parts.

Yesterday, I had a 160 mile round trip to Aberdeenshire on roads seriously affected by surface water. Waterlogged fields and ditches drained water and debris across the roadway on most main trunk routes. Now that I'm wise to the Macan's tendency to direct surface water onto the windscreen, I took the precaution to switch on the wipers before driving through the standing water. Once bitten etc.... One advantage of the higher stance of the Macan is that when meeting traffic coming in the opposite direction also encountering surface water, my car is not engulfed in a deluge of bow waves as used to be the case with the low slung Cayman. Swings and roundabouts spring to mind....

Now that the clocks go back this weekend I am planning on fitting the winter wheels and tyres within the next couple of weeks. I'll be reporting back on this topic in due course.

Meantime I shall await to see which of the newly announced 5 tier Covid restrictions Wee Nippy is proposing as applied to my locality. The 5 tier designations are due to be enforced across the whole of Scotland from November 2nd. I'm hoping this doesn't add to an already confusing array of regulations currently in place.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Air Suspension

After 3000 miles of driving on my local Highland roads, including a high speed track session at Knockhill circuit in Fife, I now consider myself qualified to comment on the performance of the Macan Turbo air suspension in combination with 21" 9.5" and 10.5" wheels. My car has Michelin Pilot Latitude 3 tyres of 265 and 295 section, with aspect ratios of 40% front and 35% rear. Optional Power Steering Plus is also featured on my car.

The sum total of these individual components provides a high degree of dynamic flexibility over handling performance, road grip, body control, stability, and by no means least, passenger comfort. When the steering wheel mode switch is set on "Normal", the ride height and damper settings are pre-programmed for optimal comfort. I would equate this setting similar to the Normal setting on my previous 718 Caymans. The air suspension feels more compliant when in Normal mode and body roll is more noticeable when cornering on winding, undulating, rural roads. By SUV standards the air suspension does a pretty good job when in Normal setting, and never approaches the "torpedoed ship" attitudes of Land Rovers, L200 Trucks and such like vehicles, when negotiating roundabouts for example.

For my everyday daily driving requirements, I have cherry-picked individual settings to suit my particular preferences. I like the Sports Chassis lowered suspension setting, I would guess it's a similar ride height to the GTS model. The damper settings remain more compliant however and are not as firm as when in Sports mode, which is a different damper setting altogether from the Individual Sports Chassis setting as listed on the Individual menu. I tested this on the road by switching between my Individual mode settings and Sports mode. The Sports mode is definitely firmer and also sharpens the throttle map and engages the sports exhaust feature. The latter two elements are not part of the Sports Chassis individual setting.

I tested the Sports Plus mode chassis setting during the Knockhill track test. Sport Plus definitely firms the suspension markedly but there is still a fair amount of body roll when leaning hard on the tyres. This body roll symptom can only be fully appreciated on the race track, and for safe public road driving, the body roll aspect would be far less discernible. Unless travelling on very smooth road surfaces, the Sports Plus setting is a tad too firm for comfortable progress on public roads.

One other useful feature of the air suspension option is the ability to temporarily lower the rear loading height when lifting large or heavy objects into the luggage compartment. The switch for this feature is conveniently located on the right hand side of the loading area.

In summary, I am very satisfied with the flexibility of ride height and damper settings provided by the air suspension. On the Generation 2 model, I understand Porsche made improvements to the air suspension components and individual mapping settings compared to Generation 1 Macan. In my opinion the air suspension option on the Generation 2 model, provides worthwhile dynamic benefits for the keen driver for both everyday driving and occasional sporting interludes.

I'll leave you with a photo taken at Knockhill demonstrating both the body roll, and firmness of the suspension travel when cornering hard in Sports Plus mode.

Brian