Porsche Macan GTS

A damn good sport

- Alex Inwood

Subtle Evolution and incremental improvement have long been Porsche’s calling cards, and so it is with the new Macan GTS. A facelift of the original Macan GTS, which first appeared in 2015, this updated version has been honed and fettled to deliver punchier performance and even sharper handling, plus a richer interior and a longer list of standard equipment.

Pitched as the “sportiest Macan”, the GTS fills the middle ground between the Macan S and the top-spec Turbo, meaning punchy, if not ferocious performance, and a clear focus on handling. Priced at $109,700, the Macan GTS is a rival for the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 and BMW X3 M40i, but is quicker and better to drive than both.

Thrust is delivered by the same 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 as the $32K more expensive Macan Turbo, though a milder ECU tune means outputs are 280kW/520Nm, compared to the Turbo’s 324kW/550Nm. Still, that’s 15kW/20Nm up on the old GTS, and the 0-100km/h sprint has been shaved by three tenths to just 4.7sec, if you tick the box for Sport Chrono.