[EsquireKnight]

Macan feels much smaller compared to the X3 m40i. You get the Porsche badge, and PDK is lovely, but you'll pay for it. The X3 m40i is the performance bargain in its segment. If you're looking to spend that much money, compare the X5 to the Macan.

[nxa]

Originally Posted by EsquireKnight

Macan feels much smaller compared to the X3 m40i. You get the Porsche badge, and PDK is lovely, but you'll pay for it. The X3 m40i is the performance bargain in its segment. If you're looking to spend that much money, compare the X5 to the Macan.

I’ll not flog this dead horse (so last reply on this exact point), but that comment baffles me. Given the Macan is smaller than the X3, why would it make more sense to compare to the X5? Surely no one who is in the market for a new car says “right, need a new car and main priority is to get rid of XXX bucks.”

We were offered a stock X5 for less than I paid to order the X3. The X5 is a lovely car but it wouldn’t have fit in our garage and my wife wanted an SUV for the height, but was a bit nervous about how long and wide they get.

It beggars belief that anyone would take the wrong car just because the rest didn’t cost enough.

[PSU335i]

Originally Posted by lennyf

The lease is up next month on my wife's Audi A6.
She's wanting to get into a Mid-size SUV........
So far we looked at the Macan (Non-S), X2 & X3, and the Infinity Q50.
For her I was kinda diggin' the Q50 with all the techy creature comforts.
She like the Macan (Cause its a Porsche)
Funny,

Any thoughts?...................

Honestly, I would go for the x3m40i if possible. I test drove all variants of the Macan and the only one that was fun to drive, in my opinion, was the turbo. The Macan gts is pricey once you spec it compared to the m40i too.

[RocketRomeo]

Originally Posted by PSU335i

Honestly, I would go for the x3m40i if possible. I test drove all variants of the Macan and the only one that was fun to drive, in my opinion, was the turbo. The Macan gts is pricey once you spec it compared to the m40i too.

I agree with this...

I collect my M40i tomorrow (all being well!) and I have spent the best part of 6 months trying all options that appealed. I’ve had my current SQ5 from new for 3 years and I’ll be honest- I fell in love with that car. First SUV and it still makes me smile... so replacing has been hard!

-Stelvio
-SQ5
-Levante (diesel and s)
-GLC 43
-GLE 43 Coupe
-Macan (Turbo & GTS)

I hadn’t even considered an X3 as I have never liked the look of the previous generations. I was deliberating over the GTS or Turbo Macan when a colleague showed me the new X3 M40i in a magazine he was reading ...

I went to my dealer and they only had an Msport diesel in the show room- but I did like the look of it!

Then we test drove a 540 (dealer thought it’d give a good idea of the quality interior and features and a refined version of the engine) and we then drove the 240i to give more of an idea of the loud/sporty fun version of the engine.

I left unsure as I’d driven the Macans twice... and loved them, but couldn’t drive an M40i...

I went home and did some research... all reviews were massively positive about the M40i... it was all over YouTube with various reviews and drag videos etc...

So this was starting to get me excited...

- 5 series interior tech and quality
- new model with very up to date technology and feel
- performance matched the Macan Turbo (on paper) and beat the GTS
- the Macan is an outgoing model due an upgrade (which I can’t wait for)
- exact same options on the m40i was £10k less than an equivalent Macan...

So I bit the bullet!

I hope (I’m sure) the car has been worth the wait and proves I made the corr ct choice!

[Tjalle]

There are a lot of 300+ bhp suggestions. Question from OP indicates that 200+ bhp might be enough.

World class handling (in the US? ) seem also not be on top of the list.

Then I find a couple of suggestions a bit over the top. E.g Macan S/turbo and M40i.

What about XC60 - World class safety? Or F Pace - voted most beatiful car by Womens organisation - and others. There are reports that quality of F Pace has been improved.

[Siouxbie]

Originally Posted by natd

If a Macan is in your price range, then it and everything 'cheaper' need to be compared unless you've added a "minimum cost" requirement to your wish list.

If everything stacked up equally, sure, take the saving. If the Macan was the best fit and in budget, then you take the Macan.

Many people, including me, will have directly compared these two ranges with the genuine intention of taking whichever one they decided they liked best.

The Macan turbo is faster, handles better, has better exterior and interior. The Macan is a superior vehicle, when comparing the turbo specifically, and you get what you pay for... So if you have enough to spend why would you take less for no reason? Still seems like common sense to me.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by Siouxbie

The Macan turbo is faster, handles better, has better exterior and interior,

but is not even in the same size category as the G01. Its a great small-sized SAV for sure, and I've never doubted it's fit/finish and performance/handling, but I remain puzzled with the incessant cross-shop comparisons to the G01. Macan cargo - 17.7 cu ft. G01 cargo - 28.7 cu ft. Not even close.

The only comparisons to the G01 wrt cargo vol are the New Cayenne Turbo which still has less, at 23.6 cu ft, or the F-Pace, Range Rover, XC60, or SQ5. Even the Urus has 21.8 and the Cullinan 21.0.

[TxHornX3M40iGuy]

X3 M40i all the way unless you're going to go with a Turbo Macan. Personally, I'd choose to save the cash and take the BMW and still have plenty of cash for misc fun additions to it, if you want. A base Macan or an S are both slower and feel less refined that my M40i...and feel much smaller inside. Plus I cannot stand the look of all of the buttons on the Porsche...

[neliconcept]

Macan is tiny inside compared to the X3. Also I think I'd look into the new F Pace SVR also with that beautiful sounding engine! But yea the X3 I think is best bang for buck!

[abcsoup]

Originally Posted by Max Well

but is not even in the same size category as the G01. Its a great small-sized SAV for sure, and I've never doubted it's fit/finish and performance/handling, but I remain puzzled with the incessant cross-shop comparisons to the G01. Macan cargo - 17.7 cu ft. G01 cargo - 28.7 cu ft. Not even close.

The only comparisons to the G01 wrt cargo vol are the New Cayenne Turbo which still has less, at 23.6 cu ft, or the F-Pace, Range Rover, XC60, or SQ5. Even the Urus has 21.8 and the Cullinan 21.0.

I agree that cargo and interior space are really the key here. We were cross shopping the Cayenne and not the Macan because it is just too small.

[EsquireKnight]

Originally Posted by natd

I’ll not flog this dead horse (so last reply on this exact point), but that comment baffles me. Given the Macan is smaller than the X3, why would it make more sense to compare to the X5? Surely no one who is in the market for a new car says “right, need a new car and main priority is to get rid of XXX bucks.”

Doesn't baffle me. Let me know if I'm missing something, but you're telling me it makes no sense to compare SUVs around the same price range, simply because the Macan is smaller than the X3 already? That's an odd constraint. X5 xDrive50i starts at $74,050 in the US, while the Macan Turbo starts around $77k.

Let me flip this around: if you were looking at the Macan, you wouldn't look at other SUVs in the same price range?

[Bimar]

Originally Posted by lennyf

The lease is up next month on my wife's Audi A6.
She's wanting to get into a Mid-size SUV........
So far we looked at the Macan (Non-S), X2 & X3, and the Infinity Q50.
For her I was kinda diggin' the Q50 with all the techy creature comforts.
She like the Macan (Cause its a Porsche)
Funny,

Any thoughts?...................

What did you decide?

[Cottonmouth]

Been meaning to respond to this thread for a while, but I keep forgetting. Former Cayenne GTS owner here, and recent BMW convert. I can’t speak to the Macan beyond cross-shopping it with the G01 which, as has been pointed out, is sort of daft given that they occupy such distinctly different spaces in terms of class and price. Unless you’re wedded to the Porsche brand and the Macan is a grail of yours, you’ll probably come to the same conclusion I eventually did: the M40i is just…better.

Subjectively, of course. There are lots of considerations. But unless you have a Macan on hand to compare the M40 to on a fairly regular basis, you won’t miss the Porsche’s fit and finish. When you’re feeling lead-footed, you won’t be disappointed with the M40 vs the Macan either—the X3's got it beat everywhere except on body roll in the twists and PDK, but nobody's coming close to that anyway. I would argue from a pure love-of-engineering standpoint, the Macan's absolutely not more spectacular than the M40 by $30k. I’d also argue that the M40i feels an awful lot like that Cayenne GTS. And that’s saying something.

Let us know what you choose.

[Tchgrif]

I have not driven a macan in four years but when I last drove one i did not care for it in any way, it had a prolonged transition at the tops and bottom of hills with turns in them and it had old mazda glc knock out dummy switches in the center console and had like three dead switches on the left and five on the right, i mean they didn't even try to match them up. the infinity QX30 is the mercedes GLC underneath, pay the extra two grand and get the mercedes you will thank me for that advise in five year on trade in value. my previous car was a volvo xc60 Rdesign had it for five years, it was a perfectly reliable car, never once did something break or go wrong. it was stiffly sprung which I loved but my family was not happy about. the engine in that car was a porshe design, ironic given how much I disliked the macan.

[Bimar]

Originally Posted by Tchgrif

I have not driven a macan in four years but when I last drove one i did not care for it in any way, it had a prolonged transition at the tops and bottom of hills with turns in them and it had old mazda glc knock out dummy switches in the center console and had like three dead switches on the left and five on the right, i mean they didn't even try to match them up. the infinity QX30 is the mercedes GLC underneath, pay the extra two grand and get the mercedes you will thank me for that advise in five year on trade in value. my previous car was a volvo xc60 Rdesign had it for five years, it was a perfectly reliable car, never once did something break or go wrong. it was stiffly sprung which I loved but my family was not happy about. the engine in that car was a porshe design, ironic given how much I disliked the macan.

Thats interesting, I also passed up in the Macan when I got the X4 for the handling differential in daily driving was was negligible.

[sharpharp]

Get the macan, the build quality on the G01 X3 is extremely poor.

[BMWMilan]

Macan.

Happy wife. Happy life.

[sor]

Originally Posted by sharpharp

Get the macan, the build quality on the G01 X3 is extremely poor.

It is? People are generally raving about it. If build quality is poor then that's really putting down older models.

There are problems that bump up on forums, that's common and it isn't easy to get an accurate view of a car's quality from a forum. Almost all forums are at least 50% "I've got this problem".

[Tony]

Originally Posted by Cottonmouth

the X3's got it beat everywhere except on body roll in the twists and PDK

What exactly makes the PDK gearbox nicer than the ZF 8-speed in the X3 M40? I had a tiptronic dual clutch in my Audi S3, and a Getrag german 6-Speed Dual-Clutch trans in my EXO X MR and I consider the ZF trans to be better than both of them

Dual Clutches like the Porsche PDK, are jerky during low-speed situations, loud and clunky. Most makes are actually going back to the Torque converter Automatics. And to be honest the dual clutch transmissions that I have had in the past didn't really shift that much faster to me. I use to be a Dual-Clutch trans fanatic but now I don't even care about them. The faster shifts (that you wont notice) aren't enough to offset the other flaws of that transmission.

[verysideways]

I agree, the PDK is the best of the dual clutch boxes and in the Macan S and Macan Turbo PP is supremely impressive, but IMHO for 99% of real world driving it is bested by the superb ZF 8 speed.

The Macan may handle slightly better (especially in GTS format) but that flight deck centre console annoys me with the myriad switches (and blanks!), the infotainment system is not even as good as iDrive 5 let alone 6, and the rear seat and boot space are barely comparable to my 340i wagon, let alone the X3.

I love the Macan, but even if a Macan GTS was the same price as the X3 M40i i'd still choose the X3. In reality once you spec them up the Macan the price difference is HUGE. Admittedly the Macan will hold its value better, but with a new Macan on the horizon i suspect that will change too...

[Cottonmouth]

Originally Posted by Tony

What exactly makes the PDK gearbox nicer than the ZF 8-speed in the X3 M40? I had a tiptronic dual clutch in my Audi S3, and a Getrag german 6-Speed Dual-Clutch trans in my EXO X MR and I consider the ZF trans to be better than both of them

Dual Clutches like the Porsche PDK, are jerky during low-speed situations, loud and clunky. Most makes are actually going back to the Torque converter Automatics. And to be honest the dual clutch transmissions that I have had in the past didn't really shift that much faster to me. I use to be a Dual-Clutch trans fanatic but now I don't even care about them. The faster shifts (that you wont notice) aren't enough to offset the other flaws of that transmission.

Surprised you'd say that. Coming from a Tiptronic S in the Cayenne, the PDK in the Macan felt more...zealous. TTS and the ZF can do the dual job of slushing gears together and batting out at full tip marvellously, but with the power loss between shifts (less so now) and the occasional shift lag, PDK felt more instantaneous. I just felt almost telepathically connected to the Macan in a way that I didn't quite get at with the M40i, if that makes any sense. I also didn't experience the jerky-loud-clunky thing you describe, but it sounds annoying. I'd like to hear more, if you please?

Originally Posted by verysideways

I agree, the PDK is the best of the dual clutch boxes and in the Macan S and Macan Turbo PP is supremely impressive, but IMHO for 99% of real world driving it is bested by the superb ZF 8 speed.

The Macan may handle slightly better (especially in GTS format) but that flight deck centre console annoys me with the myriad switches (and blanks!), the infotainment system is not even as good as iDrive 5 let alone 6, and the rear seat and boot space are barely comparable to my 340i wagon, let alone the X3.

I love the Macan, but even if a Macan GTS was the same price as the X3 M40i i'd still choose the X3. In reality once you spec them up the Macan the price difference is HUGE. Admittedly the Macan will hold its value better, but with a new Macan on the horizon i suspect that will change too...

^This. The Macan did handle a bit better. It also feels like a *much* smaller car. I'd take the M40 (and I did) purely because for what the X3 is and what it does, there's nothing else that comes close. I won't even get into the options and the infotainment in the Porsche. After using iDrive, nothing else is good enough.

My only source of annoyance now is finding 21" all season tires (currently impossible) because I refuse to take those gorgeous 718M rims off. God help me.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by Cottonmouth

I also didn't experience the jerky-loud-clunky thing you describe, but it sounds annoying. I'd like to hear more, if you please?

Give it some time. It will get louder and louder. I can also add the the dual-clutch transmissions are really awful in parking lot slow-speed situations, and god forbid you need to get the thing close to end of a parking spot that is on an incline.

The issue is that in slow speed parking-lot situations you do not get full clutch engagement. The system just slips the clutch and gives it dabs of gas regardless of your actual throttle position. it isn't smooth at all. And inclines are worse. You give it a little more gas because its on an incline and the thing just takes off on you. I don't think these dual clutch transmissions have any type of incline sensor tied into the system. So the same engagement is applied weather you are on a hill or not. Which leads to different behaviors when you apply the same amount of gas in either situation.

To each his own I guess but I'm done with the dual-clutch transmissions. They aren't smooth and don't really offer anything over the modern slush boxes. To be honest I cant tell the difference between shift times. The difference is that small.