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Today I ran 3 test drives back-to-back:
1) Porsche Macan S 3.0 diesel
2) F-Pace Portfolio 2.0 diesel
3) F-Pace S 3.0 diesel
The Macan was an enjoyable drive, very comfortable, quiet, precise and assured. As an aside, the first thing that set me against Porsche was the fact that it was the only time I have ever been charged for fuel used! Didn't get this with JLR, BMW or Mercedes. OK I was allowed to have the car for 1 hour unaccompanied, but that was the same with the Merc GLC. However, on this occasion had to sign a declaration that I would return the vehicle as taken, with a full tank. :?
The Macan had a sports exhaust which emitted a nice howl when accelerating enthusiastically, but I got the feeling it would be a novelty that would soon wear off (extra £2k for a bit more noise?). Generally it was a decent compromise between handling and comfort - slightly biased more towards handling. The only real blot on the horizon was the road noise when driving at speed. It seemed a lot louder than my 8 year old BMW.
It was probably a bit unfair to go straight from the 3.0 Porsche to the 2.0 F-PACE, but I wanted to see if I really wanted to pay the extra for the 2 additional cylinders. First impressions were not great. The ingenium engine seemed to be quite loud and straining on hard acceleration. The Windsor leather seats were soft and comfortable and the ride was certainly very pleasant - it did a better job of smoothing out the uneven roads than the Macan. It certainly felt like you were driving a big vehicle. Certainly more wallow in hard cornering, but not unpleasantly so - and considering the size of the car, quite agile. Being fairly new to auto boxes, it took a while to get used to the fact that flooring the accelerator was not going to give a pleasant, smooth experience. It is an engine to be driven like how I see a Jaguar: smoothly and relaxed. When you get more into this frame of mind, the whole experience is far better.
Stepping into the 3.0 S, the first thing you notice is the seats. They are much firmer than the Windsor in the portfolio. For me it's not a bad thing. I've always preferred a firmer mattress or seat, but for some who might like a feather soft seat it might be a problem. If you want to drive the car more enthusiastically, then this is definitely the engine you want. It seemed so much more in sync with the gearbox and responded smoothly and quickly - even in standard mode. Sport mode was even more responsive and easy to use. By contrast, the Macan did not give me the feeling that I would want it in sport mode too often. Not easy to explain - just felt more fatiguing to listen to the overly long hold in lower gears. It certainly fast enough for me in this version. My feeling was yes you could go for the petrol version if you want a bit more performance, but if you really want more, then his probably isn't the car for you. Better to go for a performance estate instead.
So, conclusion? If you want something very nippy agile and sporty for an SUV, then go for the Macan (unless you do a lot of motorway cruising - I think the road noise would drive me mad). If want something more comfortable, good for cruising and relaxed driving then go for the 2.0 F Pace, if you want the above but with the option for some more sporty performance then go for the 3.0 d. A word of warning though, consider where you will be parking this vehicle though. We took the Porsche to a supermarket car park and with a foot to spare on one side when in a parking bay, the other side was on the line. The F pace is even wider.
Personally I was left feeling that the 3.0 diesel F Pace was the one for me. A lot of money, but of all the ones I've driven it was the one that felt closest to what I wanted, made you feel a bit special a felt closest to being worth what you need to pay for it.
1) Porsche Macan S 3.0 diesel
2) F-Pace Portfolio 2.0 diesel
3) F-Pace S 3.0 diesel
The Macan was an enjoyable drive, very comfortable, quiet, precise and assured. As an aside, the first thing that set me against Porsche was the fact that it was the only time I have ever been charged for fuel used! Didn't get this with JLR, BMW or Mercedes. OK I was allowed to have the car for 1 hour unaccompanied, but that was the same with the Merc GLC. However, on this occasion had to sign a declaration that I would return the vehicle as taken, with a full tank. :?
The Macan had a sports exhaust which emitted a nice howl when accelerating enthusiastically, but I got the feeling it would be a novelty that would soon wear off (extra £2k for a bit more noise?). Generally it was a decent compromise between handling and comfort - slightly biased more towards handling. The only real blot on the horizon was the road noise when driving at speed. It seemed a lot louder than my 8 year old BMW.
It was probably a bit unfair to go straight from the 3.0 Porsche to the 2.0 F-PACE, but I wanted to see if I really wanted to pay the extra for the 2 additional cylinders. First impressions were not great. The ingenium engine seemed to be quite loud and straining on hard acceleration. The Windsor leather seats were soft and comfortable and the ride was certainly very pleasant - it did a better job of smoothing out the uneven roads than the Macan. It certainly felt like you were driving a big vehicle. Certainly more wallow in hard cornering, but not unpleasantly so - and considering the size of the car, quite agile. Being fairly new to auto boxes, it took a while to get used to the fact that flooring the accelerator was not going to give a pleasant, smooth experience. It is an engine to be driven like how I see a Jaguar: smoothly and relaxed. When you get more into this frame of mind, the whole experience is far better.
Stepping into the 3.0 S, the first thing you notice is the seats. They are much firmer than the Windsor in the portfolio. For me it's not a bad thing. I've always preferred a firmer mattress or seat, but for some who might like a feather soft seat it might be a problem. If you want to drive the car more enthusiastically, then this is definitely the engine you want. It seemed so much more in sync with the gearbox and responded smoothly and quickly - even in standard mode. Sport mode was even more responsive and easy to use. By contrast, the Macan did not give me the feeling that I would want it in sport mode too often. Not easy to explain - just felt more fatiguing to listen to the overly long hold in lower gears. It certainly fast enough for me in this version. My feeling was yes you could go for the petrol version if you want a bit more performance, but if you really want more, then his probably isn't the car for you. Better to go for a performance estate instead.
So, conclusion? If you want something very nippy agile and sporty for an SUV, then go for the Macan (unless you do a lot of motorway cruising - I think the road noise would drive me mad). If want something more comfortable, good for cruising and relaxed driving then go for the 2.0 F Pace, if you want the above but with the option for some more sporty performance then go for the 3.0 d. A word of warning though, consider where you will be parking this vehicle though. We took the Porsche to a supermarket car park and with a foot to spare on one side when in a parking bay, the other side was on the line. The F pace is even wider.
Personally I was left feeling that the 3.0 diesel F Pace was the one for me. A lot of money, but of all the ones I've driven it was the one that felt closest to what I wanted, made you feel a bit special a felt closest to being worth what you need to pay for it.
