2020 Porsche Macan GTS review

Famed for its sports car range, Porsche has plenty of heritage when it comes to engineering some of the best and most well-respected performance metal.

The two-door side of Porsche’s business occupies only a small space in the ledger, however. The Macan medium SUV is instead the brand’s most popular model.

As with the rest of the Porsche family, there’s a wide range of models to choose from, starting with the four-cylinder Macan from $84,300 up to the flagship Macan Turbo at $145,200.

In between there’s the Macan GTS. As is so often the case with Porsche models, be they upsized SUVs, imposing limousines, or nimble sports coupes, the GTS feels like the just-right sweet spot in the range.

Starting from $112,300 before options and on-road costs, the Macan GTS runs a respectable 4.9-second 0–100km/h sprint thanks to its 280kW/520Nm 2.9-litre biturbo V6 and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sending power to all four wheels.

Without venting into over-the-top sporting territory, the Macan GTS takes the practical Macan and adds in a neat balance of subtle visual tweaks, uprated handling, and authoritative performance.

Finished in the muted paint shade of Crayon (a $4970 option), the GTS’s standard black styling highlights stand out all the more clearly, as do the 20-inch RS satin-black Spyder Design alloy wheels.

Inside, the GTS leather and Alcantara interior package swaps out the standard leather and Race-Tex fabric, and with the available Crayon contrasts adds some subtle highlights – though doing so tips in an $8020 upgrade.

A panoramic roof ($3370), height-adjustable air suspension ($3100), 14-speaker Bose surround-sound system ($2470), carbon interior highlights ($1770), a heated steering wheel ($1440), heated seats ($880), and a few other options round out a list of almost $33,000 worth of personalisation.

That’s not to say the standard specification is left wanting. Features like auto lights and wipers, auto dimming and power-folding mirrors, three-zone climate control, privacy tint, LED headlights, eight-way electric front sports seats, powered tailgate, surround-view cameras, and a 10.9-inch screen infotainment system equipped with navigation, digital radio, and Apple CarPlay (but not Android Auto) are all part of the standard features list.

The cabin itself is a little more down to business in its styling than something like a Mercedes-AMG GLC43 or Audi SQ5, but also levels up a touch in terms of quality fit, finish and feel.

The new widescreen display is slick to slide and click through, and presents more info at a glance than you could ever need. Betraying the Macan’s age slightly are two columns of push-button controls up each side of the console.

Easy to navigate by muscle memory (once you’ve mapped them all), but hardly the most elegant solution, Porsche’s design direction here will either be a complete hit or miss depending on your aesthetic attitude.

The cabin is small-family sized, but not growing-family sized, striking the right balance for empty-nesters or couples who may use the rear seats occasionally, or families with young kids not yet testing the limits of leg and head room.

The second row gets air vents and its own rudimentary climate-control panel, plus there are ISOFIX child seat mounts for the outboard rear seats.

There’s 488L of boot space, which is generously sized for a weekend getaway or throwing in the golf clubs. The rear seat folds in three sections to tailor to cargo or passengers, and the air suspension (where fitted) can be lowered from inside the boot to ease loading.

With everything and everyone packed in, the Macan GTS is by far the most delightful out on the road.

The PDK dual-clutch automatic is smooth and polished for low-speed work, and as you roll about town it can swiftly and smoothly cycle through gears. On more spirited roads, the decisive swiftness of gear changes adds to the sporting appeal.

The brash engine note also falls into the sporty category, though it can be set to a quieter mode if you’re not looking for attention.

The engine is eager and willing, but not too frenetic. That makes it easy to trundle to and from work at a relaxed pace, find a sudden burst of acceleration when you need, or keep the fun-seeking V6 in its meaty mid-range to keep the pace up.

Suspension gives the Macan its trademark hot-hatch feel. Each corner maintains stable and controlled contact with the tarmac, the steering is quick and accurate, and the ride is firm – even with air suspension.

Rolled together, the package could be any mid-size sedan with a sporting angle, the SUV body on top is just there to ensure the Macan grabs as much attention in this bustling market segment as possible.  

Whereas some of the prestige SUV players try to charm buyers with advanced safety and driver assist technology, Porsche takes the view that its drivers still prefer to do the bulk of the driving.

The safety equipment list covers the expected items like eight airbags, blind-spot monitoring (called Lane Change Assist), lane-departure warning, and seatbelt pretensioners for all outboard seats. Adaptive cruise control is an option, and adding it is the only way to add autonomous emergency braking – a now expected safety tech for the Macan’s price.

For those noting running costs, the Macan recorded 11.3L/100km in a mix of city and open-road cruising. Official consumption is rated at 9.6L/100km.

Ownership is covered by a shorter than industry average three-year warranty (though with no kilometre limit). Servicing is due every 12 months or 15,000km with costs that vary from just under $700 for a basic service, up to around the $1900 mark for a major service.

With a light-footed but eager balance of handling and performance, without going all the way to the 44kW/30Nm more powerful Macan Turbo, and knocking almost $33,000 off the price in comparison, the GTS delivers head-pleasing practicality and heart-starting excitability in one fell swoop.