Porsche Macan GTS 2016 Review

Porsche Macan GTS
International Launch Review
Tenerife, Spain

With a powered-up version of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 from the base Macan S, the hunkered down and blacked-out Macan GTS raises the mid-size SUV’s handling prowess to another level. Extra equipment accompanies the extra power and torque (11kW/40Nm) and a price increase reflects its positioning closer to the range-topping powerhouse Turbo. But on 21-inch wheels our launch car’s ride was hard and its standard lowered adaptive suspension seemed under-damped in all but the full-welly Sport+ mode. This hotrod crossover looks the piece but could be hard to live with day-to-day.

What sort of SUV gets launched to the press on a closed road tarmac rally stage? A Porsche SUV, it seems.

After barely 200 metres behind the wheel of the Macan GTS, I’m fronting a steep, narrow, uphill section of sinuous Tenerife tarmac… And Mr 918 Spyder, Porsche senior driving instructor Mattias Hoffsuemmer, is poking his head in through the window.

It will be baptism by fire it seems.

“Just follow me, but not too close… We don’t want too many stone chips,” he says pointing to the bright yellow, brand-new twin-turbo 911 Carrera S parked a few metres ahead.

Not too close. In an SUV… Chasing the fastest Carrera S ever built, driven by the man that’s tamed Porsche’s 900hp supercar… I’ll be lucky to keep him in sight.

But I did; in part because he was driving one-handed and talking to me through the stage via a two-way radio. And in part because the Macan GTS takes SUV handling to another level – this is a serious piece of equipment that is preternaturally fast when and where it has no right to be.

I’ve always seen the Macan more as Porsche’s hot-hatch than a true SUV — it’s more cross than crossover. The new GTS, which slots into that yawning gulf between the Macan S and the Macan Turbo, is ever more the case.

The 10th model in the current Porsche line-up to wear the vaunted badge and the new mid-grade model in the Macan family, the GTS has been fettled with a view to performance. In particular, the handling balance has been changed to make it steer a touch more from the tail.

Even after a brief drive I can attest understeer is rarely in its vocabulary. Lively is perhaps the best way to sum it up.

It sits lower (15mm than the S), it rides on serious-sized 21-inch rubber (20s are standard, and on this optioned-up example the rears are 295/35 section!) and its twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 has been tweaked to pump out 265kW and 500Nm -- 11kw and 40Nm up on the S (but 29kW/50Nm shy of the Turbo).

Thus with the optional Sport Chrono pack fitted ($2690 on top of the $109,500 sticker), it will accelerate to 100km/h in five seconds flat -- just 0.2 sec slower than the pricier Turbo. It is quite the performance car.

If the black-out treatment on the headlight inners, side graphics, window frames, (larger) rear spoiler and quad exhaust pipes don’t deliver you the message visually, then there’s the GTS’s aural signature.

Australian Macan GTSs will arrive with the sports exhaust as standard and the soundtrack it provides is unique in the SUV world. There’s sharp, almost strident urgency to the metallic exhaust note under acceleration. On the overrun, there are the pops and bangs you’d expect from a homemade hotrod. At odds with the six-figure SUV’s pricetag perhaps, but seriously addictive.

Like every good fast Porsche, there are acres of Alcantara synthetic suede in the cabin and heavily bolstered sports seats. It’s dark and serious inside – like a sports car.

The highlight of the cabin changes, however, is the brand-new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment system. The same, next-generation set-up that debuts in the new 991.2-series twin-turbo Carrera and Carrera S, it delivers a much more modern look and interface and is ready for Apple CarPlay fans from the get go.

Some of the Macan GTS's upgrades will be fitted across the updated MY17(!) Macan line-up, which arrives Down Under in early 2016, although the new GTS is already on sale here.

So it all sounds peachy in GTS land. On the smooth tarmac rally stage I thought so. The Macan GTS steered with amazing precision, had great grip -- yet with a definite rear-wheel drive feel to its turn in and power-down -- and I even managed a couple of gentle slides.

Then when we hit the mainly poorly surfaced roads on the drive route climbing towards Tenerife’s amazing 3800m el Tiede volcano. Here, the car was less convincing -- significantly so. At least on the 21-inch rubber with which our car was shod, the ride was brittle at best and sharp most of the time.

Worst of all, it felt under-damped and pogoed or floated from bump to bump on the lowest Comfort setting of the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) adaptive suspension. This improved when I anted up to Sport+ but then the ride got even worse. The mid setting delivered poor ride and plenty of pogoing!

We’ll reserve our judgement until we drive a Macan GTS on local roads and on standard wheels and tyres, but I can’t recall a car I've changed my opinion of so diametrically in the space of an hour. I’m perplexed…

It seems the Macan GTS’s engine note, look and handling are all standard-setting – but not on roads less travelled.

2016 Porsche Macan GTS pricing and specifications:
On sale: Now
Price: $109,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6
Output: 265kW/500Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed PDK dual-clutch auto
Fuel: From 8.8L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: From 207g/km (NEDC Combined)
Safety rating: TBC

What we liked:
>> Engine performance and exhaust note
>> GTS treatment makes it look more ‘hot hatch’ than ever
>> Turn-in and grip on smooth tarmac

Not so much:
>> Issues with comfort on poorly surfaced roads
>> Not much else

Now read the Porsche Carrera S review