2015 Porsche Macan Preview: 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show

The 2015 Porsche Macan is a compact SUV gives the automaker another volume model to sit alongside the Cayenne and the Panamera in showrooms and fill the company’s coffers.  The Porsche Macan is sportier than the larger Cayenne, and while it’s the same size as luxury crossovers like the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 (with which it shares a platform), it drastically overpowers each of those models and offers a true performance alternative for entry-level SUV shoppers.

What’s New for the 2015 Porsche Macan:

• The 2015 Porsche Macan is all-new
• The Porsche Macan offers a pair of turbocharged V-6 engines
• Tarmac-focused all-wheel drive
• Active suspension

New 2015 Porsche Macan: Styling and Design

The 2015 Porsche Macan is perhaps the sleekest implementation of the styling cues found on the Cayenne crossover to date.  Without the long greenhouse to deal with, the Macan is more graceful than its bigger brother, and it also looks much lower – especially in the door sills – adding to its performance image.  The Macan is a breath of fresh air from Porsche, and it demonstrates that the brand’s traditional styling language is much better applied across a small canvas than a large one.  It also helps that the Porsche doesn’t resemble the Q5 in any significant way, despite their shared DNA.

New 2015 Porsche Macan: What’s Under the Hood

The 2015 Porsche Macan S is outfitted with a 340 horsepower, 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6, while the Macan Turbo is graced with a twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 that puts out an even 400 horses.  The latter model can reach 60-mph in 4.4 seconds, on its way to a top speed of just under 170 miles per hour.  A seven-speed dual-clutch automated transmission is standard with the Macan, as is an all-wheel drive system than can shuttle as much as 100 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels.

New 2015 Porsche Macan: Features and Technology

The 2015 Porsche Macan will have access to Porsche’s active suspension system, which offers three different drive-selectable ride modes, and an air suspension is also available with the crossover.  Six-piston front brakes, an automatic engine start/stop system, electric power steering, and an ‘off-road’ mode round out the list of the many Porsche features that will be packed into the Macan.  Inside, it’s the same comfort-laden set of gear that can be found in vehicles like the Cayenne and the Panamera, only writ somewhat smaller and not quite as opulent.

New 2015 Porsche Macan: What Autobytel Thinks

The 2015 Porsche Macan is going to sell, sell, sell – and it’s also going to spell the end of the base Cayenne, which until now was a bargain as the least-expensive model in the Porsche stable.  With the Macan offering much more performance – albeit at the cost of some internal volume – at a more attractive price, look for the Cayenne to move up in terms of prestige and for legions of Macans to swarm the streets of your hometown.