Dr F: Thanks for the explanation of the leather. Is the alcantara roof liner that important if there is a panoramic roof? In looking at some of the sales photos on the Porsche website, they show some gorgeous 2-tone leather interiors with black on top surfaces and light gray below. Hope some of these choices become available soon. Thanks again for your first-hand views. Hoping there is a chance to see one in the flesh at the Vancouver auto show next week, but not holding my breath as Porsche has no designated space other than perhaps in the small section labeled "exotics".

 

Both the S and Turbo are ummm well turbo engines.

Here's a cool video from Porsche Tech Tactics on 3/2 w/ Macan's marketing manager:


Skip ahead to 6:08 where they talk about hood, intakes, and turbo chargers.

 

We had a Macan S at the Boston Auto Show in January. I didn't look to see if they were functional or not at the show but I took a lot of pictures of the Macan and the one below shows how deep it is. I would think given how deep they are that they are functional.

 

Awesome! Thank you very much! Great color too!

 

The clip posted by Burgboxster deals with how air for the turbo intakes is channeled through the center grill to the turbos on each side via special ducting built into the underside of the hood. I would then deduce that the cooling air for the radiator(s) could be through the side intakes, similar to the 911 cooling.

 

Thank you!

 

Hey Ken, I guess 'importance' is in the eye of the beholder To me it is, with or without Pano roof. Granted, the Pano roof takes a good amount of the space/coverage away, but do recall that with the Alcantara roof liner you get the A/B/C/D pillars all covered too. To me, it just completes the interior especially if you go for full leather.

PS: Will be at the NYIAS in mid April, so hoping to see both the S and T in person, will take a closer look at air inlets/grill area for you in further detail.

 

Thanks for the Alcantara clarification. You'd think the Alcantara option would be cheaper if the panoramic roof is selected, since I expect that over half the Alcantara would be eliminated by the panoramic roof. I'll have to look at one, perhaps in a Cayenne, to see what the base finish looks like. I could drop the panoramic roof, but in the often dreary weather of the PNW, it is nice to at least have a glass top to let in some more light. Other than that, I have never opened a sunroof much, even when I had my 07 Targa.

 

Hey Ken, I agree with you, logic would dictate that on the basis of materials alone, the alcantara option would be cheaper if you go with pano roof. Though on the flip side, Porsche may make an argument that is is more 'laborious' to fit alcantara around a pano roof vs. laying one long piece of fabric from end to end. So perhaps (added) labor vs. small material savings. Just a guess.

I say this because I have been looking into the new F80 M3, and noticed that if you choose full leather interior (which includes top of the door sills) and also choose side window pull up shades as a standalone option, you have to add an additional $350 to the shade option (the latter alone is $575). If you do not choose full leather you won't be paying the $350 (i.e. just the $575). There I can see the case where introducing an opening on top of the window trim would necessitate changing/stitching the leather around the new 'crease'. So again, not due to materials, but added labor to accommodate this.

I think it is fair to say with German Luxo brands: if they can, they will (charge you for things)

 

That is where most of the huge profit margins come from. Like Disneyland, if people are willing to pay exorbitant prices, they'll keep charging them.

Agree with the extra labor likely offsetting the materials. Plus, it is pointless trying to apply logic to the price of options, in almost any car.

 

Ken -Do a direct comparision of a macan S with full leather sport adaptives Vs that same seat option on a Turbo. Also note that Bose is standard on a Turbo . The gap between the base S price Vs the nice optioned S car narows greatly against a Turbo . Informally I got the 22K difference down to roughly 14K . also keep in mind that upon resale the modest optioned Turbo ought to fetch more than the high option S .

(est)14K more for 60 more Hp and top of the line model makes the Turbo in my opinion a comparable bargain .

 

Yes, I've gone through those numbers and seen the reduced difference when accounting for the higher standard features on the Turbo. It is a better bargain than the X51 power package on the 997.1 Carreras, where the cost was, what, $18000?, for 29 more horsepower.
FWIW, I've given up on trying to hedge re-sale values on Porsche vehicles, since they all seem to depreciate a lot, except for really special low-production models like the GT2 etc. I'll be looking at what options I really want and need, and try to avoid loading up on stuff I don't need. I would really like to see the diesel Macan released in N America so that I could see if it would work for me. But I'm afraid they are going to drag out the release for a few more years since they'll likely sell all the gas models they can make.
Then again, if my financial situation gets better in the next year, I may have to have the turbo. Can never have too much power, right?

 

The X51 is one example but even look at former generation 911 S Vs Turbo with gaps of 40-50K to get 100 Hp . 14K is proportionally a bargain . With current models 911 S to Turbo is huge . Cayenne S to Turbo is huge . Panamera S to turbo is huge .

This price gap shows some level of incongruity with other models .

I sat in a macan S and strated it up !! It's beautiful !!
I just feel that a Turbo leaves no doubts . I also feel that by the time the other models come out, as well as the new cayenne , as well as the cool color choices , or high priced options (like ceramics and PDCC) --by that time a Turbo might cost 110K instead of in the 80's .

I don't feel its ever easy to save money with these cars but there are moments where one can get the most for his money and that's where the fun speculation comes into play . I am buying in NOW !!! We'll see if it's wise or not over time !!

 

Can't wait to get your feedback. I think you said you hadn't ordered yet, so assume your delivery will be near end of the year?
My timing is less rushed, since I have another year to sell my 997 with sufficient remaining extended warranty on it. Being naturally cautious, I at least want to see a Macan in real life, sit in one, and hopefully even drive one (or 2: S and Turbo) so that I know exactly what I want before putting in an order. At least it won't be long now before first deliveries take place and we start getting some feedback here from new owners.
BTW, since I think you're in the business, what is your assessment of how soon Porsche will bring the diesel Macan to NA? My salesman said he thinks it will be a few years, since it costs $3million to have the US government certify it. He also based it on how the Cayenne models were released.

 

You are spot on as far as your assessment, in fact I have been thinking hard about this ever since the Macan S and T specs were revealed. The relative pricing differential between an "S" and "T" (Macan) model seems unprecedented for Porsche and offers a very compelling argument to step up to the T from the S. BUT...

Leaving semantics and model designations aside, one can argue the Macan also represents the smallest difference between an S and T model from both a performance and equipment perspective. Across the 911/Cayenne/Panamera lines, an S-to-T transition moves you from natural aspiration to forced induction. Also, the 'extras' you get from an equipment point of view moving up the chain from a Macan S to a Macan T are not as many IMO (e.g. 14-way seats, alcanatara headliner, Nav, BOSE, heated steering wheel and front seats, air suspension [but no PASM], and painted door guards). All the performance options remain add-ons on the T, as well as the wheels, full leather, tech gadgetry, pano roof, etc., which I would venture a guess would be of greater 'value' for most buyers.

Given that the T sits on top of the food chain, I would have thought the bulk of the performance options would have been standard on the car, including some cosmetics such as unique 20" wheels being no cost options. So at least from my perspective, the 'freebies' you get upgrading to the T are not of great value (e.g. stereo, heated wheel, door guards), and I find myself loading up most of the options I would on the S also on the T (in fact I want PASM with no air suspension which you can't spec on the T), so while the relative gap does shrink a bit from a base price - to - base price comparison, it is still somewhat meaningful at the end of the day. (Of course there are still remaining differences such as bigger brakes and power advantage in the T).

The real issue is that by virtue of both the S and T being V6 TT cars, the demarkation line is not as noticeable vs an S and T model in the 911/Cayenne/Panamera lines (granted now the Pannie S moved to FI, but the S is a V6TT vs a V8TT on the Turbo so again that difference is not close to being bridged). With FI engines, its a mere software 'fix' to make the power rating change by whatever a manufacturer deems it wants to rate it at (be it for insurance purposes, or external competition comparos, internal/cross-model gap basis, etc.)

The Macan S can be easily rated not at 340, but 320, 380, or the 420 it is at in the Pannie S. Ditto for the Turbo, it can be 380, 400, 420, etc. And I can bet we will see that in the GTS (a higher tune Macan S 3.0TT engine) and the Turbo S (a higher tune Macan T 3.6TT engine).

Lastly, what makes the decision tougher for me personally is that when I spec a Macan S as desired, there is relatively little that stands in its way in terms of competition. But for an equally optioned T, and all of a sudden it is more of a general question of whether at the end of the day I want to spend $85K plus on a 'compact SUV'. Decisions, decisions...