Porsche’s new baby SUV in diesel guise offers up refinement and sporting prowess, coupled to impressive economy and plenty of desirability.
This is the diesel version of the excellent new Porsche Macan SUV . It produces 255bhp – alongside a whopping 59kgm of torque from just 1,750rpm – and can hit 100kph in just 6.3sec as a result.
This makes the Macan S Diesel by far the most sporting of the various diesel-engined mid-size luxury SUVs on sale at the moment, but it also gives Porsche’s new ‘junior Cayenne’ range genuine depth.
At the top of the tree sits the 400bhp, 265kph Turbo; in the middle sits a less powerful petrol V6, also turbocharged (somewhat confusingly) but known simply as the Macan S; and alongside that car sits this one, the 230kph S Diesel that also happens to be capable of a claimed 16kpl overall.
Although all three Macans are based unashamedly on Audi’s Q5 platform, Porsche insists that less than a third of the moving parts and almost none of the dynamic qualities are shared between the two cars. So while the basic architecture of Q5 and Macan is similar, the way they look and drive is entirely different, says Porsche.
The suspension, for instance, is steel as standard (optional air suspension is available on all three versions) and features struts at the front with a multi-link arrangement at the rear, much like that of the Q5. But in its detail and tuning, the Macan’s suspension and chassis (and its steering, brakes and gearbox) are all bespoke.