Drive them and decide for yourself.
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Better for what?
People buy cars for lots of reasons.
Pulling a horse trailer?
Faking it til you’re making it?
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Price doesn’t matter but you’re looking at used cars???
Drive the cars, what spec levels - a base Macan is a Porsche, but a Prestige Q5 will probably be more comfortable. A turbo Macan will be the fastest and most likely best handling thing on the list - but you gotta figure that out.
Even talking strictly about the car, but without full context is pointless.
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Only you can answer this question.
For me, I would likely go with a Macan (S trim or higher) followed by an X4 (M or not interested) & GLC (AMG or not interested)
Are the AMGs even worth it?
I have limited experience, but among my very shortest test drives of all time were the E43 coupe and E53 sedan (or was it E53 coupe and E43 sedan?).
(The AMG GT coupe otoh, now that was sessy)
Are they worth it? Mehhh, maybe but maybe not. Everyone will obviously have their own definition of worth.
Performance & driving experience, I would say they have a definite edge of the non-AMG models. I think they could potentially be a better investment also, depending on the model. I think it is as with most other things German - there are the models viewed as nice strictly due to the badging, then there are the real models. A Class vs S Class.
I didn’t phrase that very well. I’m sure they’re more entertaining that the non-AMG variations. 
But the AMG-Lite models I drove seemed… I don’t know the right word… jittery?
High-strung?
Here is what I wrote at the time:
No matter how nice the E53 is, I’d never pay same price as a M550i.
A TT V6 will never be a TT V8
I definitely made the right choice, even though the M550 is also kind of
Porsche Macan hands down. Holds value, is reliable, and is an amazing daily driver. Best SUV we have ever owned
Maybe they meant “value” doesn’t matter, but they do have a budget.
what kind of holds value are we talking about? Did you lease or finance?
Your question is purely subjective. You’ll need to check them out yourself to decide. I suggest picking a Saturday and hitting the pavement.
Alternatively, you could start reading/watching some reviews to shortlist maybe the top 2-3. Personally, I’m a BMW fan. If you can afford the Porsche options game, that’s a great way to go as well.
I typically lease my cars… Porsche never leases well. Our Mercedes GLE was up on lease and we bought a CPO Macan demo with 4k miles back in 2018, and the model year was a 2018. Leases at the time were $900+ a month on a Macan, which fiscally makes no sense (better to buy). Back when the market was oversupplied, I was able to attain a sale price was $44k pre-tax on a $62k MSRP, the 2019s just hit the lots. Interest rates at the time of purchase were not great, so I did not finance. May of this year, our car was totaled. I had the car for 3 years with 32k miles at the time of the accident, and my insurance company settled with me at $57k. The car appreciated three years later! I go between Florida and Chicago, and I was in search of a replacement Macan. The local dealers had a $5k-$15k ask over MSRP. Luckily, I found a dealer in Ohio that sold me a 2022 Macan at $66k (MSRP). All cars are depreciating assets; however, there are many auto enthusiast sources that rank Porsche as one of the top auto manufacturers to retain their value. A Macan is not as mass-produced as a GLC or X3, which notoriously depreciates hard in first three years. These SUVS typically lease well (right now they are leasing terribly). As the market has not recovered and purchasing power has changed, a Macan I would say is safer purchase than other comp luxury SUVs. Porsche does have a higher cost of ownership and sticker price than its competitors. If your in for the long hall, the Macan is a great car. However, if you prefer to lease, I think there are some great deals on SQ5s in the marketplace. I also have a 2019 Audi A6, which I looked to replace with a SQ5. Ended up buying the A6 off lease, as leasing is still much higher than 3 years ago. Hope this helps!
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I have a Porsche and BMW filter on Carmax which I refresh about once a week, and surprisingly lately I see a lot more Macans than X4s
How would you compare the GLE to the Macan? Which one did you like better?
And what do you mean when you say Porsche has higher cost of ownership: do you mean repair/maintenance etc.?
Thats not a fair comparison. Both cars are in a different class
GLE compared to a Cayenne?
TBH I would say Porsche is in a totally different league.
BTW, I love my Macan Turbo
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The GLE was a great lease at the time and we needed a bigger SUV. As others have mentioned, it is in the size category of a cayenne. It really depends on personal preference; the Macan is more sportier and drives like a car. The cost of ownership for Porsche is more expensive when compared to a BMW or Mercedes. The pre paid service plan is heftier (Ex. my Audi pre paid service was $1000 for 5 years and Porsche was $2,400 for 3 years). If you find a independent Porsche approved mechanic for the more expensive items, thats the way to go (breaks, spark plugs, etc.).