Porsche Subjects the New Macan to Rigorous Testing

Porsche goes through great lengths to test out their vehicles before releasing them. They want to make2014 Porsche Macan is no different. The only difference with this vehicle is that Porsche is going through the trouble to show fans a little more of the testing that they have been doing.  They released a set of testing videos on the Porsche Macan mini-site, and I’ll be the first to say that they are quite impressive.

sure that the top-end products they are selling are going to perform exactly as they should, and the new

Dubai Testing

A little while ago Porsche released a video showing them testing out three different Porsche Macans in the Dubai deserts. In these videos it’s very obvious that the Macan knows its way around sand pits. The small SUV climbs up and down sandy grades without a problem. Sand is spitting everywhere but the SUV maintains its overall traction and control. The main purpose of this video is to show the traction capabilities of the Macan, which are quite impressive.

California Testing

The California testing was more of the same thing, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t impressive. The video shows the Macan climbing up steep dirt hills and powering through desert landscapes out in California as well. Even though the SUV slides a bit while turning in the sandy environment it never loses control because of its superior ability to generate traction.

Why the Macan Handles So Well

From these two videos it’s obvious that you can take the Macan out into a desert and drive around without a problem. If the small-framed Porsche SUV can handle Sandy conditions so well it’s a good bet that it will do fine on dirt and gravel surfaces as well. Most of this is possible thanks to high-quality all-wheel-drive system that the Macan has. Porsche has also made some suspension modifications to improve the handling even further separating the Macan from its Audi counterpart.

If you decide to pick up the new 2014 Porsche Macan when it is finally released you will have a vehicle you can take out on the roads in poor driving conditions without having to worry about staying in control.

The Porsche Macan is Not a Rebranded Audi Q5

At this point it’s pretty common knowledge that the Porsche Macan is based off the Audi Q5 platform.

This concerns many Porsche fans who are afraid they are going to be paying for a rebadged Audi clone. After you take a look at the Macan and compare features this won’t be a concern for you any longer, because there really is no comparison.

Majorly Different

The Macan is built using some of Audi’s parts but is nearly 80 percent Porsche meaning that it has all the improvements and features that you would expect from a Porsche. The first thing you will notice is that the vehicles look completely different. They have different sheet metal and it’s simple to tell one from the other.

Counter-intuitive to the Porsche way, the Macan is actually a little heavier than the Q5, but this is because of significant chassis and suspension improvements. This new and improved frame can support up to a 400 HP engine. Porsche has even gone as far as to move around some of the main support beams for the vehicle. They changed the position of the front dash cross member to create a much different looking interior.

An Improved Transmission

The Audi eight speed torque converter is a pretty nice piece of technology, but it doesn’t stand up against the Porsche PDK dual clutch transmission. Porsche made sure to include their PDK in the Macan and it improves shift response and overall power and handling. If you were to drive both vehicles back to back you wouldn’t know they were built on the same platform, and the transmission is one of the main reasons that they feel different.

The Macan is also going to be fitted with purely Porsche engines, which offer signature Porsche power and performance. There will be a turbo option as well as a standard option, and there may also be a diesel engine option, but that information has not yet been released.

If you decide to buy the Macan over the Q5 you aren’t spending extra money for simply a Porsche badge. You are paying for a near-complete redesign of the vehicle with improvements made all over the place. The Macan looks, sounds, and performs just like other Porsche vehicles do and it is clearly not an Audi clone, like so many people seem to believe.