Home: Motoring > Porsche has revealed the facelifted Macan at a media presentation in Shanghai

2018 Porsche Macan makes world debut in Shanghai

From:Greg Kable 2018-08-15 13:26:56

The updated SUV is planned to go on sale in China by the end of 2018 featuring updated styling, enhanced safety features and a new range of V6 gasoline engines – all aimed at enhancing its competitiveness in a class with a diverse range of premium brand SUV rivals, including the Audi Q5, BMW X4, Jaguar F-Pace and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.

With over 350,000 sales to date, the Macan holds the distinction of being the fastest selling Porsche model to date. Significantly, over 100,000 sales have comes from China, where the facelifted model was unveiled by Porsche marketing boss, Detlev von Platen, on Wednesday.

Arriving four years after it first joined the Porsche line-up, the facelifted Macan receives a series of subtle exterior styling changes to update its appearance. Included is a reworked front-end featuring a redesigned bumper, whose horizontal accents contribute to enhancing its visual width. Further changes are directed at the headlamps, which adopt new LED projectors as standard equipment.

At the rear, the popular Porsche SUV adopts a full width LED light strip between the tail lamps, which have been updated to include a four-point design for the brake lamp.

Rounding off the exterior updates is a new range of 20- and 21-inch wheels.

Inside, the Macan receives a redesigned dashboard accommodating a new Porsche Communication Management system. As in other recent new Porsche models, it features a touch display increased in diameter from a previous 7.0-inches to 11.0-inches within the centre console. The centre air vents have also been repositioned and now sit below the display directly in front of the gear lever.

Porsche also claims enhanced connectivity for the Macan through a standard Connect Plus module, which supports real-time swarm based traffic data via Here – the former Nokia division now partly owned by Porsche’s Volkswagen Group sister company, Audi.

Further changes include the availability of an optiona GT sports steering wheel featuring a so-called Sport Response Button, a heated windscreen and an ionizer.

As part of the mid-life facelift for the Macan, Porsche has also extended its range of driver assistant systems to include a new Traffic Jam Assist function as standard. It uses adaptive cruise control with automated acceleration and braking as well as a lane-keeping function for partially autonomous driving capability at speeds up to 60km/h.

Porsche has yet to confirm the engine line up for the facelifted Macan owing to delays in the WLTP (Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure) process and the legal implications in issuing claimed consumption and economy figures prior to certification.

On the petrol side, the entry-level turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine in the base Macan is expected to receive a moderate increase in power, from the existing 185kW to around 191kW.

Further up the line-up, though, the changes are set to be more significant. As in the larger Cayenne, the existing turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 used in the Macan S, Macan GTS and Macan Turbo is set to be replaced by two different V6 engines developed in an engineering partnership between Porsche and Audi.

Although it has not been made official by Porsche, the Macan S appears likely to receive a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 with the same 250kW as today’s turbocharged 3.6-litre V6, which boasts distinctly over-square internal dimensions of 96.0 x 69.0mm.

The same unit, which boasts bore and stroke measurements of 84.5 x 89.0mm, is also set to do service in the Macan GTS with some 15kW more than today’s turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 at 280kW.

At the top of the line-up, the Macan Turbo is planned to adopt a turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 with bore and stroke measurements of 84.5 x 86.0mm. Again, nothing is official just yet, but Zuffenhausen insiders suggest the new unit will develop around 15kW more than the existing turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 at 309kW, with an upcoming Macan Turbo S likely to see a similar increase at around 338kW.

An on-going legal wrangle between Porsche and Audi over the supply of diesel engines and the apparent use of defeat devices to manipulate exhaust emissions is expected to delay any introduction of a successor to the Macan S Diesel, though recent comments from Porsche boss, Oliver Blume, suggest diesel engines may be dropped from the line-up entirely despite enjoying strong sales in many markets.

As with pre-facelifted Macan models, all engines will be mated to a standard seven-speed automatic dual clutch gearbox with steering wheel mounted shift paddles as well as a standard multi-plate clutch four-wheel drive system.

Despite proving popular in other Porsche models lines, the facelifted Macan is not expected to offer a hybrid drivetrain owing to restrictions in the basic engineering of its platform, which is shared with the previous generation Audi Q5, prohibiting the housing of a large enough battery.

Porsche says the Macan’s dynamics have been further improved with the facelifted model, suggesting fine-tuning of the chassis has brought “enhanced neutrality while maintaining stability and improving comfort”. Among the changes specified by the German car maker are newly developed tyres with what it describes as “improved performance characteristics” and “even better lateral dynamics”.

 

Editor:Greg Kable