It accelerates from 0-60 mph in about 6 seconds. That’s about 0.3 sec slower than my 2021 GLC300 4Matic, and you can tell the difference when taking off the red light or accelerating from merging line on a highway. It’s probably similar to 2023 GLC, which has been redesigned, got bigger and also scores 6 seconds in 0-60 range.
Steering (which you can’t adjust to comfort or sport, like in GLC) is harder than GLC in S mode. It’s more of a sports car than SUV, so no problem there. But the steering (at least in my opinion) lacks the precision. You don’t feel it like an arrow, car doesn’t feel like a butter cutting a knife if you go 75 mph and want to do sudden maneuver or come to quick stop and make a sharp left turn. So, be careful on the turns. But otherwise it’s solid and drives well.
Engine is making a lot of noise in high RPM if you accelerate hard, but there is no adequate torque to justify all that noise. It feels more like someone installed an exhaust kit on Honda Civic to make it sound like a race car, without the performance of the race car. Also, car feels rather heavy, you have to push accelerator really hard to get it moving faster (21’ GLC felt much lighter). When I trade it in for the next one in future, I will definitely look into S or GTS models. Bare bones S with very few/most necessary options could even have a similar MSRP with a lot better performance.
The build quality is superb, you can tell it’s more expensive and better built car than previous generation of GLC (and much better than new gen GLC). Doors have a weight, you can feel it when you pull to close them. Interior materials are higher quality than on MB GLC. Design is rather minimalistic in comparison to MB, but in my eyes it makes car look better. I also love analog speedometer and tachometer, I don’t want a tablet there (and EVERYWHERE!) with lighting screen to tell me how fast or slow I go. I would prefer to have analog clock in the middle instead of a compass and digital clock, but I can live with what I have.
GPS is standard (wasn’t so in GLC), and it’s good thing to have rather than rely on Apple Car Play with Google or Apple map. It shows precise location of your car, you don’t have to drive 100 feet for the phone to figure out your direction and I just prefer car GPS for that reason (some people prefer and use Apple Car Play exclusively).
Didn’t have a chance to test headlights with PDLS+ on winding country side roads at night, but I heard they are pretty good at adapting and lighting the path as you go, while switching from high to low beams for upcoming traffic.
Overall, it’s a solid, well built ,high quality car. If you are not getting it for dominating the roads , leaving road raging fools in the dust and making sharp turns at high speeds like in a true sport’s car (this car being for my wife, I know she is not into that style of driving), you should be very happy with your acquisition. It is a great car in general.
Congrats, good for you! Small note: lease brokers for Porsche on LH who offered 11% off on a spreadsheet for 70K base Macan were unresponsive when I asked for a specific quote with my trade-in taken into consideration. I didn’t want to go with offers on swapalease , where third parties advertise new Macan leases for $825/mo (god knows if they also sell Brooklyn bridge); so 9.75% off MSRP (with my GLC bought at full CarMax appraised price) is as good as it gets if you call around and make your own individual deal. Also, I have got an exact color combination I want on a new car, not demo and not in colors that were just available in stock. Overall, I am very happy with what I have got.
Was it brand new 2024 Macan with 0 to 15 mi on odometer? Or a used one/loaner with 15K mi or more?
37% off MSRP is impossible, they could get a lot more if they sold it on public auction.
Do you mind to share your purchase order?
I have driven the Macan, GLC, X3, and Q5 on a track and auto cross. You are the first person ever to say that the GLC has better steering than the Macan. Also, torque drops off in high RPMs so you shouldn’t really be getting anything significant above 5k. And surprised you think the Macan is slower to 60. Car and Driver clocked the 23’ Macan at 5.0s vs 5.4s in the 21’ GLC. Try driving the car around in sport mode and see if that makes a difference for you.
Congrats, you have a cool job if you work as a dealer for Porsche, I know they take you out of state and give you those 2 second cars to have fun with, and SUV’s to test on off road mimicking tracks.
I wouldn’t necessarily say GLC has ‘better’ steering, but Macan’s is noticeably harder with no option to change it. Now ,with that hard steering I also expected an arrow-like precision. It just isn’t there. Chevy Malibu made in the year 2000 has more precise steering.
Re: Torque - if you leave it on automatic (not manually shifting the gears), the car will automatically switch to higher gear when it gets maximum torque on a lower gear, or so it seems to me. But there is no way around the noise and higher RPM, unless you want to cruise without spilling your coffee. And, with seven gears, it will obviously hold the gears longer than GLC (as it should). And I don’t mind that, or the noise, I just say there is not enough torque to justify all that noise.
Which Macan did Car & Driver clock? S or base? It wouldn’t make sense to buy S if base was getting 0-60 in 5 sec. Regardless of what they publish, I drove 2021 GLC to dealer’s lot just two days ago and since then had a chance to drive the Macan. I can tell that this car feels slower and heavier in 0-60 range (it’s also officially rated as 6 sec car by Porsche, but you could say Porsche is understating their car’s performance).
P.S. Tested it in sport mode, also (on a separate try) turned off traction control, just to see how it handles in one or another mode.
I’m still enjoying my 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL AWD. I’ve had it for about 3 months. Got a great deal from @Jeff_BeachCitiesAuto and a great dealer experience. Nice and comfortable. Really roomy. Super quiet.
It does 0 to 60 in about 4.5 seconds. I’m usually road raging and having to constantly drive around base Macans. Haha. Just kidding. Congrats on your Macan. My last car was Kona Electric, so this is a big upgrade for me. I still have to put two kids through college, so it’s all Hyundais for me until they’re done with school.
May be, but I intend to have this discussion (and any other of my choosing), no matter what others think about it. As to performance, it’s a good subject to touch, especially in I4 Turbo SUV segment. They are not all the same, some are better than others, and performance (vs appearance) matters more or less for some drivers, depending on their driving habits.
I test drove Stelvio before getting GLC. I have researched the brand, many people complained it was good looking, fast but unreliable car. Nothing like Macan and way less value than GLC.
I think this is just how Porsche tunes their throttle pedals - which changes depending on the mode you’re in. I’ve had Macan’s, Cayenne’s and Taycan’s as loaners, along with my Panamera and they all feel this way in comfort mode. If you push the pedal ~25% of its travel, you get about 25% throttle. I like it because its nice and linear. I also find PDK’s have fairly gradual clutch application off the line if you only give it a little gas. Combined with the lower power of the base Macan, it probably feels kinda slow sometimes.
By comparison, my fiancé’s Rav4 gives you like 80% power if you just tap the pedal - which I hate, because it makes for an incredibly jerky driving experience. My last E300 was more like 25% throttle gave 40% power - not bad, but not nice and linear.
I looked at pedal commander and similar products (see https://pedalcommander.com/ )to fix delayed response on my previous leased cars, but opted out of it, because I didn’t want to mess with OEM installed algorithm, don’t want dealer to say “You did it!” when something goes wrong while under warranty and they discover I have added after-market accessory to it. I am not sure if it’s the delayed or linear throttle response that is a culprit in this instance through, it feels more like the car has its’ built in, inevitable limits on torque, and it’s a 0.3 sec slower car than previous gen GLC.
I don’t consider cars a status statement, it doesn’t matter if you have RR badge or Chevy, your personal needs, comfort and finances are above any other considerations. I will tell you more, I would rather drive Jetta S than Macan as a daily car, if I had both on my driveway, simply because Jetta saves a ton on fuel consumption and I can live with it being a basic, every day car.
I heard good things about Ionic, as long as you like it that’s all that matters. 0-60 in 4.5 sec is fast. Glad that you are enjoying it!
