The Updated Macan: A New Era for Porsche's Best-Selling SUV

The updated Macan has been redone, with significant changes to its interior and exterior design, as well as some notable mechanical updates. As we discussed earlier on the interior part, the new Macan features a revamped center stack, eliminating physical controls in favor of a haptic touch interface and adaptive buttons and knobs. The result is a cleaner, more elegant interior that balances technology with tactile elements.

One of the most significant changes to the Macan's mechanicals is the removal of the 3.0-liter turbocharged engine from the S model. Instead, the S now comes standard with a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter engine, which was previously found in the previous-generation GTS Turbo. This power boost will likely appeal to those seeking more performance from their Macan.

The updated Macan also features adaptive damper technology, which allows the suspension to adjust its stiffness in real-time based on driving conditions and input from the driver. The system reads ahead using mapping software, anticipating upcoming corners and adjusting the dampers accordingly. This feature enhances overall ride comfort and handling, making the Macan a more engaging drive.

Moving on to the exterior changes, every trim level now features increased wheel size, with the previous 19-inch wheels replaced by 20-inch units. While this change may seem subtle, it represents an important step in Porsche's efforts to update the Macan's look and feel. The company has also tweaked suspension tuning and software to better suit the larger wheels.

Notably, the mechanical updates are largely consistent with other Audi and VW models from the MLB Evo platform family. This means that fans of these brands will find many familiar technologies and engineering elements in the updated Macan. However, the S model's twin-turbocharged engine marks a distinct departure point for this particular trim level.

As we head into our final thoughts on the updated Macan, it's worth noting that some potential buyers may be hesitant due to the interior dimensions of the vehicle. The hatchback-style rear seats proved to be a tight fit for larger luggage items, suggesting that the Macan may not be the best choice for those requiring ample cargo space.

On the other hand, the updated Macan more than makes up for this limitation with its exceptional ride quality, agile handling, and impressive power delivery. The PDK dual-clutch transmission is also a highlight, providing seamless shifting and precise control over engine output. Overall, the Macan remains one of the best-handling and most enjoyable SUVs on the market.

Ultimately, the updated Macan represents a significant step forward for Porsche's best-selling SUV. With its revised exterior design, improved interior features, and robust mechanical updates, this model is sure to appeal to buyers seeking a premium driving experience. While some may find the interior dimensions and pricing of the Macan to be drawbacks, Porsche fans will likely appreciate the vehicle's exceptional performance, handling, and overall quality.

One final note worth mentioning is that the updated Macan has been extensively tested at a launch event, providing valuable insights into its capabilities and features. For those interested in learning more about this vehicle, we recommend checking out our video on the Macan and underbody mechanicals for a deeper dive into its design and engineering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi i'm john nature i'm in georgia the state for lovers in the brand new 2022 macon s it's been updated so let's cover it briefly the front has had a remarkable change the bumper the grille the entire front end the back end has also been updated to align the taillights and all of the features that are now being introduced in the other porsche products like the cayenne it just looks more cohesive again it's updated it's not all new but what's fresher is the interior space it takes you forward it feels like a more modern porsche experience it gets rid of most of the physical controls in favor of these haptic or touch sensitive buttons that are hidden beneath a layer of piano gloss plastic and piano black jack had said that his stocks have gone up so much the industry demand for this material has gone through the roof therefore his bullion count has increased by three thousand percent but when you're using it every day it it does have a high wow factor and i'm the first to say it looks far less cluttered than the previous generation product now there are physical controls here thank god for certain things like volume and tuning and you can actually use the infotainment with the tuning knob the shifter is still mechanical and the temperature controls or the fan speed controls are also mechanical now on the steering wheel depends on what trim you get but you do have a drive mode selector here which is super easy to select and all the great porsche things in terms of the ergonomic simplicity that is throughout this cabin has just tickled me pink now the luxury features are take a look at these sport seats there's so many adjustments on here that i literally blacked out trying to adjust the seats and they are remarkably comfortable and they're more comfortable than what you find in something like the 718 sports seats the bolstering is great but it doesn't feel like i'm getting a kidney punch in them either it's just this whole cabin and whole product is about balance and i think they did a really good job here for the people that are really looking for this you're going to enjoy it now the audio system is a generic bose and you know we've done some audio tests on this in the past and it's average the infotainment updates are great there is different things and different ways that you can interact with it and change the layout of the panels and move them around and customize it but that's stuff that we've seen in previous porsche products the big thing here is the back seat room this is a smaller cabin and when you look at the trunk i could barely fit two full-size luggages back there so out of any negative part about the macan is its space back seat and cargo that's something you have to look at in person or compare the cargo capacity with other products in this price range but let's head out on the road and see how this thing drives i like my cuvs to be like sports cars jack that's what you're getting macan s new engine some packaging refreshes as we already talked about and interior and exterior refinements or improvements depending on how you look at this what you still end up with is one of the or probably the best driving cuv suv on the market if you can afford the pretty penny that this thing comes in you're going to be floored by this thing i know i'm sean porsha the guy who would probably if you put up like a porsche badge in a dumpster tell you how amazing it is but what do you think you're not a porsche guy like i am so you know i have a fundamental problem with this and it's mostly revolves around the fact that it's cost way too much money however there are some interesting facts that i learned about this car from our porsche reps and two things are this has the highest female demographic of any porsche product that 35 buy-in and the income the the household income bracket for people that buy this is way higher than i thought what is it 440 thousand dollars so so put that in perspective if you have that type of income and you want the absolute best vehicle that you can get for this size there is absolutely no question and i will never argue it this has the best automatic transmission it has the best engine performance and most importantly it has the best handling by a long stretch unlike a bmw it doesn't pound the hell out of your spine it rides properly in normal mode this is so this is passive as standard this has the optional air ride and when you combine the both of them this car is super soft super compliant quiet and then on a back road it gives it hot hatch like dynamics this is this is more of a hot hatch when you when you think about well what is this cuv because there's not a lot of space in here you're heavily compromised in backseat and cargo capacity and we talked about that on the interior but the big problem for me is that but when you look at it more like a golf r and some of the the previous hacks or you're a bachelor you don't have kids or just you and your significant other wife or husband this makes it you know it's totally fine it's totally doable and you just have to know going in that this is not a big product but it performs and i said to say this a lot this is a textbook example of how you set up a suspension steering and brakes and engine tuning this is like it feels like you're driving a legitimate bonafide sports car i'm and i'm not kidding everything is great and on normal pavement and this is one of my big complaints about sports cars and these sporty products they try to set up the suspension where you're like you know everything's got to be over tuned and like over twitchy this has all the performance without doing that so when you're just driving around in comfort mode when you're stuck in traffic or in a ground what you do in most cars when you're in 95 of your daily commute it is so quiet so refined and so soft and when you want to drive it like a monkey or a this thing is flying i mean it's it's got to be one of the best dual personalities that way i mean don't expect you know this isn't the numbers of an x3m or the numbers of like a trackhawk but right but you've got a complete package it's a complete package and i will say that porsche did an amazing job setting this up they knew they know who's buying it and if you have that money where you're just gonna obliterate 85 to 100 000 on a well-equipped one you are going to be so grateful that you bought this it really is there's no buyer's remorse in this at all and that's where i'm going to leave my i think if you're going to use this as a daily driver again getting over the space part from a usability perspective it gets reasonable fuel economy even though it's a dual clutch there are no real cons in the way to set it up with chugging and weirdness this engine the 2.9 liter that is also found on the gts just in a lesser tune in this state has a ton of usable torque down low and it still feels like despite being a vw audi group engine it still feels like a porsche product it sounds like a porsche it wants the wind out it has some of the best engine tuning and power delivery you're going to find in this segment so if you value that and you're willing to make the compromises why not absolutely so i think it's a good time jack to talk about what were the changes made to this like what are the fundamental changes to the update because this is not a completely new car it's face lifted so new front and rear fascias or bumpers and bumpers on the front and back and then the interior's been redone which we talked about on the interior part but what's the mechanical stuff so the old 3-liter with a single turbo from the regular macan s is no more this gets the 2.9 liter i believe it's a twin turbo which is found in the prior generation gts and turbo that's what now comes standard on the s the ss now comes standard with adaptive damper spasms you get that when you buy into the s so when you change your drive modes it's changing your suspension setup yes or soft and it also is able to read ahead as a part of that looking at the mapping software to see what's coming up if you're coming up on a corner via gps it knows and it can adjust the dampers and read ahead that way the turbo model for the macan is no more the gts replaces that the gts gets a nice power bump and you know some more standard features that's the advantage of that before popper the basement con is largely the same though it does get a slight horsepower increase and there are some differences in packaging the primary difference from a mechanical perspective on the exterior is every car gets an increase in wheel size they all go up by one inch okay so the prior generation macon s had 19s now it was 20s they've also done the appropriate suspension updates in tuning software software to deal with the increase in wheel size but past that mechanically go watch your other billion videos and macans yeah it's the same factory all the same mechanical improvements you get over some of the other products from this mlb evo platform family from audi and vw all right jack let's head into the final thoughts and we'll sum all this up all right final thoughts on the updated macan and we were at a launch event so we didn't get a ton of time with this product and we didn't get it up in there but luckily for you we've already done a video on the macan and the underbody and the mechanical stuff have not changed so check out that video the main updates were to the exterior and the interior to bring a level of cohesion from the aging macan to the next generation products so what you have is the bumpers the face of the car the rear looks different the tail lights and again this is really going to be on you whether you like it i've heard some complaints saying it's not as timeless others like say it looks way better and whatever the interior space is the main thing they have brought it into the next generation design in terms of infotainment and they've also updated the center stack and got rid of all the physical controls that were littered throughout and they've tried to find a balance between the haptic touch interface and physical buttons and knobs and i feel like it's elegant the other part is the infotainment screen is built into that the dashboard unlike some of the value brands that are like well we can't figure out the dash architecture and we know we're going to change it let's stick a screen on top of the dash they didn't do that here and the interior looks much cleaner for it now the problem is when you remove the physical controls from the haptic stuff you have this kind of single membrane it's easily scratched it gets dirty quickly and you know it's a little bit more finicky but it does look better you know there's less clutter and that's what they're going for they're trying to trying to clean up the interior space the seats are absolutely amazing in this car it's some of the best porsche seats with the upgraded multi-adjustment choice that you can choose and overall it's a quiet comfortable and solid riding product it's one of the best riding suvs and handling suvs that you can you can buy and that's clearly why porsche sells so many of these the space is my only big problem with this we had two full-size luggages it didn't fit in the hatch without putting the seats down so it is compromised like we said in the drive it's like a hot hatch it really is if you look at it that way on stilts it has the all-wheel drive capability it has the amazing cornering and handling capability it has an amazing automatic transmission the pdk in here is marvelous and the engine tuning is top top-notch so there's not a lot to complain about other than well interior dimensions and of course price but as porsche explained to us the buyers of this have a lot of disposable income and they pretty much want more than just the badge they want kind of the best that's out there and in this size and package they do it amazing and you know you may value that and you may not but we're going to get more into this product once we get in our hands in the future thanks for watching i'll see you next time youhi i'm john nature i'm in georgia the state for lovers in the brand new 2022 macon s it's been updated so let's cover it briefly the front has had a remarkable change the bumper the grille the entire front end the back end has also been updated to align the taillights and all of the features that are now being introduced in the other porsche products like the cayenne it just looks more cohesive again it's updated it's not all new but what's fresher is the interior space it takes you forward it feels like a more modern porsche experience it gets rid of most of the physical controls in favor of these haptic or touch sensitive buttons that are hidden beneath a layer of piano gloss plastic and piano black jack had said that his stocks have gone up so much the industry demand for this material has gone through the roof therefore his bullion count has increased by three thousand percent but when you're using it every day it it does have a high wow factor and i'm the first to say it looks far less cluttered than the previous generation product now there are physical controls here thank god for certain things like volume and tuning and you can actually use the infotainment with the tuning knob the shifter is still mechanical and the temperature controls or the fan speed controls are also mechanical now on the steering wheel depends on what trim you get but you do have a drive mode selector here which is super easy to select and all the great porsche things in terms of the ergonomic simplicity that is throughout this cabin has just tickled me pink now the luxury features are take a look at these sport seats there's so many adjustments on here that i literally blacked out trying to adjust the seats and they are remarkably comfortable and they're more comfortable than what you find in something like the 718 sports seats the bolstering is great but it doesn't feel like i'm getting a kidney punch in them either it's just this whole cabin and whole product is about balance and i think they did a really good job here for the people that are really looking for this you're going to enjoy it now the audio system is a generic bose and you know we've done some audio tests on this in the past and it's average the infotainment updates are great there is different things and different ways that you can interact with it and change the layout of the panels and move them around and customize it but that's stuff that we've seen in previous porsche products the big thing here is the back seat room this is a smaller cabin and when you look at the trunk i could barely fit two full-size luggages back there so out of any negative part about the macan is its space back seat and cargo that's something you have to look at in person or compare the cargo capacity with other products in this price range but let's head out on the road and see how this thing drives i like my cuvs to be like sports cars jack that's what you're getting macan s new engine some packaging refreshes as we already talked about and interior and exterior refinements or improvements depending on how you look at this what you still end up with is one of the or probably the best driving cuv suv on the market if you can afford the pretty penny that this thing comes in you're going to be floored by this thing i know i'm sean porsha the guy who would probably if you put up like a porsche badge in a dumpster tell you how amazing it is but what do you think you're not a porsche guy like i am so you know i have a fundamental problem with this and it's mostly revolves around the fact that it's cost way too much money however there are some interesting facts that i learned about this car from our porsche reps and two things are this has the highest female demographic of any porsche product that 35 buy-in and the income the the household income bracket for people that buy this is way higher than i thought what is it 440 thousand dollars so so put that in perspective if you have that type of income and you want the absolute best vehicle that you can get for this size there is absolutely no question and i will never argue it this has the best automatic transmission it has the best engine performance and most importantly it has the best handling by a long stretch unlike a bmw it doesn't pound the hell out of your spine it rides properly in normal mode this is so this is passive as standard this has the optional air ride and when you combine the both of them this car is super soft super compliant quiet and then on a back road it gives it hot hatch like dynamics this is this is more of a hot hatch when you when you think about well what is this cuv because there's not a lot of space in here you're heavily compromised in backseat and cargo capacity and we talked about that on the interior but the big problem for me is that but when you look at it more like a golf r and some of the the previous hacks or you're a bachelor you don't have kids or just you and your significant other wife or husband this makes it you know it's totally fine it's totally doable and you just have to know going in that this is not a big product but it performs and i said to say this a lot this is a textbook example of how you set up a suspension steering and brakes and engine tuning this is like it feels like you're driving a legitimate bonafide sports car i'm and i'm not kidding everything is great and on normal pavement and this is one of my big complaints about sports cars and these sporty products they try to set up the suspension where you're like you know everything's got to be over tuned and like over twitchy this has all the performance without doing that so when you're just driving around in comfort mode when you're stuck in traffic or in a ground what you do in most cars when you're in 95 of your daily commute it is so quiet so refined and so soft and when you want to drive it like a monkey or a this thing is flying i mean it's it's got to be one of the best dual personalities that way i mean don't expect you know this isn't the numbers of an x3m or the numbers of like a trackhawk but right but you've got a complete package it's a complete package and i will say that porsche did an amazing job setting this up they knew they know who's buying it and if you have that money where you're just gonna obliterate 85 to 100 000 on a well-equipped one you are going to be so grateful that you bought this it really is there's no buyer's remorse in this at all and that's where i'm going to leave my i think if you're going to use this as a daily driver again getting over the space part from a usability perspective it gets reasonable fuel economy even though it's a dual clutch there are no real cons in the way to set it up with chugging and weirdness this engine the 2.9 liter that is also found on the gts just in a lesser tune in this state has a ton of usable torque down low and it still feels like despite being a vw audi group engine it still feels like a porsche product it sounds like a porsche it wants the wind out it has some of the best engine tuning and power delivery you're going to find in this segment so if you value that and you're willing to make the compromises why not absolutely so i think it's a good time jack to talk about what were the changes made to this like what are the fundamental changes to the update because this is not a completely new car it's face lifted so new front and rear fascias or bumpers and bumpers on the front and back and then the interior's been redone which we talked about on the interior part but what's the mechanical stuff so the old 3-liter with a single turbo from the regular macan s is no more this gets the 2.9 liter i believe it's a twin turbo which is found in the prior generation gts and turbo that's what now comes standard on the s the ss now comes standard with adaptive damper spasms you get that when you buy into the s so when you change your drive modes it's changing your suspension setup yes or soft and it also is able to read ahead as a part of that looking at the mapping software to see what's coming up if you're coming up on a corner via gps it knows and it can adjust the dampers and read ahead that way the turbo model for the macan is no more the gts replaces that the gts gets a nice power bump and you know some more standard features that's the advantage of that before popper the basement con is largely the same though it does get a slight horsepower increase and there are some differences in packaging the primary difference from a mechanical perspective on the exterior is every car gets an increase in wheel size they all go up by one inch okay so the prior generation macon s had 19s now it was 20s they've also done the appropriate suspension updates in tuning software software to deal with the increase in wheel size but past that mechanically go watch your other billion videos and macans yeah it's the same factory all the same mechanical improvements you get over some of the other products from this mlb evo platform family from audi and vw all right jack let's head into the final thoughts and we'll sum all this up all right final thoughts on the updated macan and we were at a launch event so we didn't get a ton of time with this product and we didn't get it up in there but luckily for you we've already done a video on the macan and the underbody and the mechanical stuff have not changed so check out that video the main updates were to the exterior and the interior to bring a level of cohesion from the aging macan to the next generation products so what you have is the bumpers the face of the car the rear looks different the tail lights and again this is really going to be on you whether you like it i've heard some complaints saying it's not as timeless others like say it looks way better and whatever the interior space is the main thing they have brought it into the next generation design in terms of infotainment and they've also updated the center stack and got rid of all the physical controls that were littered throughout and they've tried to find a balance between the haptic touch interface and physical buttons and knobs and i feel like it's elegant the other part is the infotainment screen is built into that the dashboard unlike some of the value brands that are like well we can't figure out the dash architecture and we know we're going to change it let's stick a screen on top of the dash they didn't do that here and the interior looks much cleaner for it now the problem is when you remove the physical controls from the haptic stuff you have this kind of single membrane it's easily scratched it gets dirty quickly and you know it's a little bit more finicky but it does look better you know there's less clutter and that's what they're going for they're trying to trying to clean up the interior space the seats are absolutely amazing in this car it's some of the best porsche seats with the upgraded multi-adjustment choice that you can choose and overall it's a quiet comfortable and solid riding product it's one of the best riding suvs and handling suvs that you can you can buy and that's clearly why porsche sells so many of these the space is my only big problem with this we had two full-size luggages it didn't fit in the hatch without putting the seats down so it is compromised like we said in the drive it's like a hot hatch it really is if you look at it that way on stilts it has the all-wheel drive capability it has the amazing cornering and handling capability it has an amazing automatic transmission the pdk in here is marvelous and the engine tuning is top top-notch so there's not a lot to complain about other than well interior dimensions and of course price but as porsche explained to us the buyers of this have a lot of disposable income and they pretty much want more than just the badge they want kind of the best that's out there and in this size and package they do it amazing and you know you may value that and you may not but we're going to get more into this product once we get in our hands in the future thanks for watching i'll see you next time you\n"