A four-door sports car. Or a sports car with space.
How else could German maker Porsche refer to the baby of its high-performance range?
After all, when your stock in trade is building some of the most iconic two-door sports cars on the planet, you have to be careful when describing one of the more mild-mannered models in your range.
This one is called the Macan T - the latest iteration of one of the most successful cars the brand has built - even if nobody’s quite sure how to describe it.
Surprisingly, the Macan nameplate has chalked up almost 10 years of service and is expected to soon launch a second-generation model. But until then, this is the next-best thing - an updated, upgraded version of the most affordable Macan model.
This is called the Macan T - the letter distinguishing it from the existing entry-level model known simply as the Macan.
What does the T on this new variant signify? Well, it's not “Turbo”.
Like most Porsche models - it is indeed turbocharged. Like virtually every other force-fed Porsche with a turbocharger beneath the bonnet, it has a letter T on the boot .
No, the Macan’s “T” stands for Touring - a designation that has been part of the Porsche brand since the 1960s.
Legend has it that after winning a Grand Prix in a Porsche, the driver complained how uncomfortable the journey had been. Porsche responded by making the car more compliant - while still retaining the hardcore model - and the GTS was born.
It’s still one of the brand’s most popular models.
This new Macan is one the least powerful in the range and one of the least expensive. But this handsome little SUV nonetheless looks and feels at home among its thoroughbred siblings.
There’s a school of thought that says this car is somehow “unworthy” of wearing the fabled Porsche badge because it’s one of only two models with a four-cylinder engine - the other being the Cayman coupe.
But that pomposity doesn't cut the mustard. The Porsche-driving public has made its views clear, making the Macan its top-selling model.
Okay, enough of what the Macan can’t do (would that make it a Macan’t?) - and more about what this Macan T does well.
It enters the Macan range one small step above the entry-level Macan - but while they look almost identical there are a few major differences.
The T enjoys tweaked suspension (which makes the car sit 15mm closer to the ground) and 20-inch wheels (which further enhance its athletic stance).
While the Macan T costs about $3000 more than its sibling - it enjoys about $7000 more worth of technology, including the Chrono package (launch control) and sunroof.
That’s not to say Porsche won’t relieve you of your money. The test vehicle, with a base price of $92,700, was optioned up with extras worth $25,000, including black leather inside ($3280); a $3110 sunroof, a $3080 sports exhaust system and the opportunity to spend up to $6500 on wheels.
There are plenty of cars that will outperform the Macan. But it will hustle to the speed limit in a brisk 6.2 seconds and with 195 kW and 400Nm, it is more than respectably quick.
But the Germans have once again produced a car that perfectly fills a niche - non-traditional Porsche buyers whom the Macan is their first taste of the fabled marque. People who have no desire to obliterate the speed limit, either.
The Macan T’s ride and handling are easier to like than the basic Macan, even though their performance figures are all but identical.
Porsche has been careful about how it is pitching this new model, describing it as a “four door sports car” or even more cleverly, the “sports car with space” - setting it well aside from the brand’s cascade of glorious two-seaters.
Technically, it will also go on the beach (it is all-wheel-drive and you can adjust its traction for the muddy or sandy spots). That means the Macan is the most practical, yet most affordable model in the Porsche range.
This is a fetching little machine with superb balance and perfect proportions to its muscular curves and shark-mouth bonnet and grille.
Inside the Macan is showing its age, although the panel of buttons and switches the length of the centre console still feels “very Porsche” and modern.
But the T package is not purely about aesthetics, either.
The lower stance and bigger, black rims make the T very similar in looks to the flagship GTS and S models - which both sport six-cylinder engines.
The T’s closer proximity to the ground helps explain the welded-down feel when you point it at a corner. The response is instance and delightful - so poised, so balanced.
It’s worth noting the engine power lost by opting for the four-cylinder variant is recovered, in large part, by the much lighter weight of the smaller engine.
That all-aluminium engine, and some other weight reductions, means this car tips the scales at almost 100kg less than the turbocharged six-cylinder Macans.
That makes the T feel decidedly more grounded and glued to the road and, just as importantly, it’s a joy to steer with so much less weight sitting above the front axles.
It’s clear this car is not in the same ballpark as the two six-cylinder models when it comes to all-round dynamics. But driver enjoyment, despite giving away significant horsepower, is not diminished.
Which leaves just one thing still to resolve. Should it be called a Turbo, or just a T?
Why not just ask a Macan owner. For them, the car fits to a T.
PORSCHE MACAN T
HOW BIG?
Built on the same platform as cousin Audi’s Q5, it’s a medium SUV with generous space.
HOW FAST?
Modest. It will reach the speed limit in 6.2 seconds. It’s quicker around the corners.
HOW THIRSTY?
Its turbo-charged, four-cylinder engine officially sips 9.5L/100km.
HOW MUCH:
Prices start from $92,700 - before you start on the options list.
