Eye Of The Tiger

The Peak travels to Australia for a first-hand feel of the new Macan, Porsche’s sporty compact SUV.

- Christy Yoong

We’re near the tail end of a convoy of Porsche’s new Macans. Everyone ahead of us seems to be in a hurry, pushing the cars to the edge of the speed limit on the windy roads outside Melbourne. A Sunday driver at the best of times, I was taking my time on the wheel, luxuriating in the comfort of the Alcantara and leatherette clad-seats while trying to tune into a radio station that played 1980s pop. As the distance between me and the Macans ahead lengthened, I could tell the cars behind me were getting impatient – one had earlier zoomed past me in a huff.

I tapped the accelerator and the car leapt forward. We were still speeding when we reached a bend, which turned out to be an inclined hairpin turn instead. Instinct – OK, panic – took over as I scrambled with the wheel and brake to keep the car on the road. We swayed and bounced for a long, breathless second before the Macan righted itself and carried on smoothly. My co-driver, busy on the mobile phone all this time, muttered indistinctively before looking up to glance at the odometer. “I actually thought we were going much slower than that,” she said before turning back to her phone.

Which is the twist in this tale: while the new Macan exudes inexorable coolness in terms of look and feel, underneath that laidback vibe is pure Porsche, with all the attendant power, poise and supreme handling that you’ve come to expect from the marque. Say what you want, this SUV might look refined but it’s much, much more than just a car to take to the Sunday market.

SECOND GEN