- Jun 24, 2003
- 29,582
- 12
- 76
I was seriously thinking about getting a C7 Corvette, (see my Volvo S60 vs BMW M235i vs C7 thread) but the roads around here quickly convinced me that I needed an SUV of some sort.
I started off looking at the XC60, Q5, X3, and GLK in all trims.
-The XC60 is hideous in basically every color but bright red, and even then I just wasn't that into it.
-The Q5 seemed great in all regards, even the 2.0T seemed peppy
-The X3 was either sluggish (in the 4 cylinder) or overpriced (in the AWD 6 cylinder)
-I went to three Mercedes dealerships and never got helped by anyone, so the GLK was out. Still kinda mystified, was driving a 2011 Acura TL, well dressed white guy wearing a Tag
The trim of Q5 became my sole consideration. I wanted something more fun to drive every day than the Acura (I'm getting rid of the Volvo & the Lightning since they're just sitting at my house in Dallas while I'm 400 miles away.)
So I started looking for an SQ5, but also considering the Q5 TDI, since it was rumored to have very similar performance up to 60mph. I ended up driving both, loved the SQ5. The exhaust note is great and it sounds beastly when you're hammering it. The brakes were also phenomenal (15" discs.) To be honest I loved everything about it. The TDI was underwhelming in comparison. Performance was similar to maybe 30mph, and it didn't sound cool. It also wasn't totally optioned out like the SQ5, though it was an S-line. Price was similar. Also, gas mileage isn't much of a concern since I live ~1 mile from work, and haven't lived more than 3 miles from work in years.
Then my buddy that's super into cars (2014 M3, 2014 Subaru BRZ) told me that for about the same money I could get into a Porsche Macan. So I left the Audi dealer and went down the road to the only Porsche dealer in town. They treated me great, answered my questions, let me test drive the only Macan they had (only 4 for sale in Texas at the time.) Driving dynamics aren't as beastly as the SQ5, particularly acceleration and braking, but it's actually just as fast down low, and faster up top. The brakes simply aren't as good, but I was willing to live with it. Also the interior blew me away. The quality of the materials was great. The other big selling point is that the Q5 is due for a total model refresh in less than 2 years, whereas this is the first year for the Macan.
My only expectations were black on black with the ability to listen to bluetooth audio books from my phone. The Audi dealer couldn't make it happen. The Porsche dealer somehow found a Macan that fit the bill coming into port Sunday and I put a deposit down on it. I took delivery Tuesday night. It has every option I could have hoped for (aside from not being a Turbo) except for the wheels I wanted. Purchasing them separately costs $7,600, so I think I can live with the ones it came with.
It's really comfortable, it sounds really neat when it downshifts, and the transmission might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It doesn't *feel* like it shifts, and it happens so fast! Handling is pretty good, but I'm not a crazy good driver or anything. It works great for the main reasons I wanted it: It handles all the bumps and potholes excellently AND I took 6 garbage bags full of stuff to good will last night and it all fit in the back under the cargo cover. Forward and reverse parking sensors & cameras are fantastic, the best I've seen in any car. I love how it shows you your projected path according to how you have the wheel turned.
The steering wheel controls kinda suck, and it has a bazillion buttons on the center console. Also there's not much headroom in the back. Also I can't figure out how to get more than the drivers door to unlock with the "enter and drive" function.
I'm pretty happy with it so far. It handles the 2 miles of commuting a day like a champ. I'm going to drive it back to Dallas this weekend to sell the Lightning and Volvo, so I'll see if I can get it up to 150mph on the 130 toll road.
I only took a couple pics, but if anyone's interested in anything in particular, I can snap some more later.
Also, when I get out of this god forsaken city in a couple years, I think I'll get one of these instead of a Corvette:
I started off looking at the XC60, Q5, X3, and GLK in all trims.
-The XC60 is hideous in basically every color but bright red, and even then I just wasn't that into it.
-The Q5 seemed great in all regards, even the 2.0T seemed peppy
-The X3 was either sluggish (in the 4 cylinder) or overpriced (in the AWD 6 cylinder)
-I went to three Mercedes dealerships and never got helped by anyone, so the GLK was out. Still kinda mystified, was driving a 2011 Acura TL, well dressed white guy wearing a Tag
The trim of Q5 became my sole consideration. I wanted something more fun to drive every day than the Acura (I'm getting rid of the Volvo & the Lightning since they're just sitting at my house in Dallas while I'm 400 miles away.)
So I started looking for an SQ5, but also considering the Q5 TDI, since it was rumored to have very similar performance up to 60mph. I ended up driving both, loved the SQ5. The exhaust note is great and it sounds beastly when you're hammering it. The brakes were also phenomenal (15" discs.) To be honest I loved everything about it. The TDI was underwhelming in comparison. Performance was similar to maybe 30mph, and it didn't sound cool. It also wasn't totally optioned out like the SQ5, though it was an S-line. Price was similar. Also, gas mileage isn't much of a concern since I live ~1 mile from work, and haven't lived more than 3 miles from work in years.
Then my buddy that's super into cars (2014 M3, 2014 Subaru BRZ) told me that for about the same money I could get into a Porsche Macan. So I left the Audi dealer and went down the road to the only Porsche dealer in town. They treated me great, answered my questions, let me test drive the only Macan they had (only 4 for sale in Texas at the time.) Driving dynamics aren't as beastly as the SQ5, particularly acceleration and braking, but it's actually just as fast down low, and faster up top. The brakes simply aren't as good, but I was willing to live with it. Also the interior blew me away. The quality of the materials was great. The other big selling point is that the Q5 is due for a total model refresh in less than 2 years, whereas this is the first year for the Macan.
My only expectations were black on black with the ability to listen to bluetooth audio books from my phone. The Audi dealer couldn't make it happen. The Porsche dealer somehow found a Macan that fit the bill coming into port Sunday and I put a deposit down on it. I took delivery Tuesday night. It has every option I could have hoped for (aside from not being a Turbo) except for the wheels I wanted. Purchasing them separately costs $7,600, so I think I can live with the ones it came with.
It's really comfortable, it sounds really neat when it downshifts, and the transmission might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It doesn't *feel* like it shifts, and it happens so fast! Handling is pretty good, but I'm not a crazy good driver or anything. It works great for the main reasons I wanted it: It handles all the bumps and potholes excellently AND I took 6 garbage bags full of stuff to good will last night and it all fit in the back under the cargo cover. Forward and reverse parking sensors & cameras are fantastic, the best I've seen in any car. I love how it shows you your projected path according to how you have the wheel turned.
The steering wheel controls kinda suck, and it has a bazillion buttons on the center console. Also there's not much headroom in the back. Also I can't figure out how to get more than the drivers door to unlock with the "enter and drive" function.
I'm pretty happy with it so far. It handles the 2 miles of commuting a day like a champ. I'm going to drive it back to Dallas this weekend to sell the Lightning and Volvo, so I'll see if I can get it up to 150mph on the 130 toll road.
I only took a couple pics, but if anyone's interested in anything in particular, I can snap some more later.
Also, when I get out of this god forsaken city in a couple years, I think I'll get one of these instead of a Corvette:
Facebook
Twitter