Crossovers – Leith Porsche Blog http://blog.leithporsche.com The Name You Can Trust Thu, 30 Apr 2015 15:57:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.21 We Fit Everything From the 12 Days of Christmas Into the Macan http://blog.leithporsche.com/fit-everything-12-days-christmas-macan/ Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:55:40 +0000 http://blog.leithporsche.com/?p=663 Much has been made about the Macan. From our launch party this past May, to the scads of reviews that auto journalists have published since then, this small SUV has undergone a lot of scrutiny: Is it fast enough? Is it light enough? Is it Porsche enough? The consensus among reviewers has been as united […]

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Much has been made about the Macan. From our launch party this past May, to the scads of reviews that auto journalists have published since then, this small SUV has undergone a lot of scrutiny: Is it fast enough? Is it light enough? Is it Porsche enough? The consensus among reviewers has been as united as they get: the Macan is a Porsche through and through.

In fact, the Macan has done so well that they’ve been sold out continuously here at Leith Porsche. Macans have been claimed before they even show up at our doorstep, so when a white, nicely-optioned Porsche Macan Turbo in Raleigh happened to arrive without a buyer, we seized the day like it was made out of chocolate, grabbed the key, and headed out for a brief spin in the hottest Porsche of 2014.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Porsche

This being December, red ribbon and green garlands are everywhere you look. Many people have their decorations up, the air is colder, and the scarves and wreaths about town make it feel like the holidays. We want to test the Macan’s performance, but we also want to test it in everyday driving. As we admire the deeply cut LED taillights and open the door with keyless entry, we have an epiphany about where to take it.

Every year one of the songs on the radio lists a bunch of things: three French hens, two turtle doves, a partridge in a pear tree—you might know it. It’s an old song, and no one buys those sorts of things anymore, at least not for their special someone. It is, however, a large amount of stuff to haul, and the Macan is designed to haul a lot of stuff. You can probably see where this is going.

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We’re dreaming of a white Macan, plus some hot cocoa

Salem Street in downtown Apex is quaint, charming, and has a number of shops. In those shops, we want to see if we can find all items from our song, which are:

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree

2 Turtle Doves

3 French Hens

4 Calling Birds

5 Gold Rings

6 Geese-a-Laying

7 Swans-a-Swimming

8 Maids-a-Milking

9 Ladies Dancing

10 Lords-a-Leaping

11 Pipers Piping

12 Drummers Drumming

Piece of cake, right? Well, let’s look at what we have to haul it in. Our Macan Turbo has an air suspension for an incredibly comfortable ride; it has an off-road button to raise it up; it has a lowering button for fast highway driving; it has a twin-turbo V6 engine; dynamic lighting, carbon fiber inlays, 3-zone climate control, BOSE sound, privacy glass, and rows upon rows of other options that you don’t have time to read. Yes, we’re pretty well equipped.

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Our list of holiday items, however, is going to require some modern interpretation. Even if we drive out to a farm, we’re probably not going to find a milk maid, let alone eight of them. Lords went out of style, oh, around the time America was invented, and pipers might be legal in Colorado and Washington, but this is North Carolina. We regretfully leave our heated steering wheel and seats parked off Saunders Street to see what we can find.

Shopping isn’t a chore if you have the right sleigh

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With the rear seats folded, we have 53 cubic feet of cargo space. Maximum cargo weight is about 1,400 pounds. Six of the twelve items are birds: hens, swans, partridge, etc. Thankfully, there are a number of gift shops on Salem Street with a number of decorative birds. They might be bookmarks, paper weights and tree ornaments, but we’re going to say that they still count. Plus, we don’t want to chance swan feathers or other leavings on the interior of our Macan. Let’s say that all of these will take up about 20 cu. ft. and 300 lbs.

The five gold rings are probably our easiest purchase. Sophie and Mollie’s Boutique, Virtuoso Jewels, or any of the other shops would do nicely. Seven maids-a-milking is a harder find, but between the Ice Cream Shop and Buttercream’s Bakery, we think we have dairy covered.

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Nine ladies dancing sounds difficult, but a short drive away is the Infinity Ballet Conservatory and Theatre: dancing ladies found. Ten lords-a-leaping is a stretch but what is a dancing lord besides a happily-monied man? Edward Jones Financial Advisors and Woomer Financial Services are probably full of people going about their financial business.

With 10 out of 12 items found on or nearby Salem Street, we were surprised at how easy the Macan made finding them. With a massive panoramic roof and easy navigation system, zipping around town would be a snap. At the same time, the super-wide rear tires and massive air intakes up front were put there by Porsche for a reason: when it’s time to move, the Macan Turbo can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.

Water-cooled Porsches don’t jingle sleigh bells so much as crush them

Pipers piping were found at Peak City Bar & Grill via a poster advertising jazz flutists on Tuesday nights. Drummers drumming were on the other side of the street at the Rock Harbor Grill. To make sure we weren’t leaving anything out, we kept walking north until only houses lined the sidewalks. Wreaths, twinkling lights, and signs for a holiday walking tour dotted the picket fences on either side.

We circled back and came to our Macan on the side of the road, brushed with the last of the fall leaves, silver letters catching the light in a faint echo of sleigh bells. Could it fit everything from our list? Maybe. What really matters is your list, and what you plan to put it in. In that case, we bet that this 2015 Porsche Macan at Christmas won’t go unsold for long.

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Porsche Aces Reliability Study from J.D. Power for Two Years http://blog.leithporsche.com/porsche-aces-reliability-study-j-d-power-two-years/ Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:08:35 +0000 http://blog.leithporsche.com/?p=541 Reliability is not something that people associate with German cars. We can attest that when people learn that we drive a Porsche, after the initial register of surprise and admiration fades, they crack slow, strangely-pleased smiles and utter the inevitable question, which usually goes something like, “Sure it’s fun, but I’ll bet maintenance costs kill […]

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Reliability is not something that people associate with German cars. We can attest that when people learn that we drive a Porsche, after the initial register of surprise and admiration fades, they crack slow, strangely-pleased smiles and utter the inevitable question, which usually goes something like, “Sure it’s fun, but I’ll bet maintenance costs kill you though. That’s how they get you, right? It’s never cheap owning a Porsche!”

Actually, no.

The 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study was released this week with intriguing results. When new vehicle owners measured whether they experienced any problems in the first 90 days of ownership, Porsche had the lowest score among any brand across all sizes, segments, prizes and classes.

It’s the honeymoon! No one wants to buy a brand-new car and bring it back with the new car smell to the dealership after hearing the engine make a funny noise. Nearly every new car comes with a warranty to cover that sort of thing, but it’s the principle that matters.  No one wants to have second thoughts or buyers’ remorse, and certainly not if you bought a Porsche.

Photo: JP Power

Photo: J.D. Power

As the chart shows, with Fiat having the worst score of 206 problems for every 100 new cars sold, and 116 as the industry average, Porsche clocked in below all competitors with a whisper-quiet 74. Jaguar took second place with 87 and Lexus was tagged for third with 92.

The study noted that the most problematic area for new cars was not engines or braking but new-fangled technologies like voice-recognition. Despite running more code than most computer operating systems, automakers continue to be stymied when trying to do simple tasks that most smartphone and consumer electronics makers specialize in.

The report named the Porsche Panamera as the most problem-free model for 2014.

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Macan Launch Party Wows Crowd at NC Architecture and Design Center http://blog.leithporsche.com/macan-launch-party-wows-crowd-nc-architecture-design-center/ Mon, 19 May 2014 21:24:06 +0000 http://blog.leithporsche.com/?p=518 “Wait, so they’re both turbos?” The question came from a sandy-haired man standing under the alcove of the architecture building. The building is that funny-looking place covered in bright natural wood that looks faintly European on the corner of Peace Street and Wilmington. His friend, an energetic fellow who had been ferrying Porsches over the […]

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“Wait, so they’re both turbos?”

The question came from a sandy-haired man standing under the alcove of the architecture building. The building is that funny-looking place covered in bright natural wood that looks faintly European on the corner of Peace Street and Wilmington. His friend, an energetic fellow who had been ferrying Porsches over the meticulously sculpted lawns to take up display positions around the structure, wasn’t sure about the turbo situation either.

Turbos are hard to situate. Though they sound like rocket fuel, they’ve become the de facto way for modern cars to wrest crags of horsepower out of shot-glass portions of gasoline or diesel. A quick consultation of smart phones—thank you, cellular network—confirmed that both the vehicles in question had turbocharged engines even though one has “turbo” in its name and the other does not. In this case, the vehicles in question were a brand-new model type from Porsche, the first new model since the Cayenne in 2002 and the Panamera in 2009.

The Porsche in question is the new crossover SUV: the Macan. The occasion is its launch party, its official debut to North American markets, one of which is Raleigh, N.C.

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The building is the NC Center for Architecture and Design. You might have noticed it for being roughly as wide as a car itself, a rail-thin building on a vegan diet with outcroppings of rock here, a pane of glass there, and lots of contrasting angles that make typical buildings look like they went out of their way to be boring.

Given that it’s supposed to celebrate the principles and ideals of architecture and design, it makes sense that it would be a striking building itself, full of impressive uses of materials, mathematics and physics. Its use of these elements goes beyond what most people would think a building can accomplish.

If most of us were told to sketch a house or building on paper, we would come up with something pretty basic: four walls, a roof, maybe some windows, and a door. Pretty textbook. This building and its artistically manicured grounds stand in stark contrast to the traditional downtown to the south, stately Peace University to the north, and historic Oakwood houses to the east. But this is precisely the theme of the Macan.

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The vitriol and ire over Porsche creating an SUV is largely over, thanks to the Cayenne. The Macan is a step closer to the traditional sports car body, and few automakers in the world have as much cachet to call themselves a sports car company as Porsche. Pre-release reviews have been ecstatic over how incredibly similar it drives to the 911, Porsche’s flagship model. Is an SUV impossibly unlike a sports car? Porsche took a lethal first swing at this stereotype with the Cayenne in 2002; the Macan is here to finish the job.

As guests arrive for the unveiling, a light rain begins to fall. Cool air under gray skies create a magazine-ready backdrop. Raindrops bead perfectly on immaculate Porsches outside: a black Cayenne diesel at the intersection, exactly where a car of range and fuel economy should be; a stately blue Panamera as flat as the Archdale building behind it is tall; a bright blue 911 just outside watches over the shrouded Macan within—the Macan might be the one everyone is here to see, but the 911 is the one everybody loves; a white Boxster S and black Cayman flank a second covered Macan, which we can tell is white, as well. This second Macan’s sheer top is soaked by the rain and clings to the body. Through the heavy synthetic canvas—so typical of Porsche to use man-made, incredibly well-engineered fabric instead of something rustic and natural—we can make out the word “turbo” on its rear hatch.

There are two Macan models, the Macan S and the Macan Turbo. The Turbo has more power, of course, and is—according to a salesman whom Porsche flew to Spain for training—almost deified into 911 status for its handling and power. Road & Track says that the Macan shares only 30 percent of its parts with Audi. Both Macan S and Macan Turbo use twin-turbocharged V6 engines, so no boxer-style engines, nor flat-fours.

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The parking lot is curated by a team of valets, and the results are what you would expect: Caymans, Boxsters, Cayennes, 911s. No Panameras, but perhaps they’re all out on road trips to Charleston. The crowd inside thickens to the point where it’s difficult to pick out individuals from the throng, but we spot a couple: a couple who has brought their kid; a sharply-suited man who’s all business, and asks when the unveiling will happen; a dad and his teenage son; an easy-going guy in track pants with his girlfriend; a trio of adventurous high school kids who say little and stick together; another father/son pair, this one a bit older; a very serious photographer working hard to get his shots.

These people are happy. It’s a fancy event in an unusual building with catered refreshments. A video from Germany talks about the values behind the new vehicle, and an executive makes a speech to thank everyone for coming out. When the moment finally comes, and the black harbinger of new status is revealed, people crowd about and take turns sitting inside. Pictures are snapped, and there’s a sense of awe when little details are revealed—the quad-point head lamps, rear LEDs, and an ignition note that sounds almost omnipotent in the enclosed space.

A final raffle is held so that a lucky few can leave with some Porsche gear, and a server asks if we would like a refill of wine. Why not? The evening is winding down. Through the clear windows we can see people begin to make their way out to cars and the valet stand. We can hear the crystalline note of engines from Stuttgart catching life from the Raleigh air and rolling toward their owners. The Macan will add a lot more of these notes to the Triangle in the next 12 months.

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A Macan GTS Might Be Headed to the U.S., Says Porsche CEO http://blog.leithporsche.com/a-macan-gts-might-be-headed-to-the-u-s-says-porsche-ceo/ Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:12:05 +0000 http://www.leithporsche.com/blogs/506/?p=316 2014 looks like it will be a banner year for Porsche. With a recent Bloomberg estimate that the German automaker will surpass 200,000 vehicles sold in the year, one can only imagine the resounding sound of untold champagne bottles being simultaneously popped across the Atlantic Ocean. Two-hundred thousand vehicles was a company target, all right, […]

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2014 looks like it will be a banner year for Porsche. With a recent Bloomberg estimate that the German automaker will surpass 200,000 vehicles sold in the year, one can only imagine the resounding sound of untold champagne bottles being simultaneously popped across the Atlantic Ocean.

Two-hundred thousand vehicles was a company target, all right, but for three years down the road. Imagine your most ambitious life goal, and then an impartial friend saying, “Oh yes, I crunched the numbers on that; you’ll actually be there next week. Might I borrow your lucky rabbit’s foot for the weekend? I’m going to Las Vegas.”

But what, says the not-yet-bubblied reader, is the reason for the speed-up in time? The answer is the reason we’re clearing out space on our showroom here at Leith Porsche: the arrival of the Macan. It turns out that as much as Americans love Porsche, and even more than Americans love Porsche SUVs, they really, really love entry-level Porsche SUVs. This ought not to be a huge surprise as this is exactly what the Boxster did for the company in the late 90s (tip of the hat to you, our entry-level convertible friend).

The Macan is an engineer’s dream of performance meeting a crossover utility vehicle—technically it’s a CUV, not an SUV. And with this week’s analyst expectations, CEO Matthias Müller felt comfortable sharing a cloaked plan the company has been working for a while: not only will the Macan, already at 340 horsepower base, get an additional 60 horsepower in the turbo variant—there is a possibility that we will see a Macan GTS.

For the new believers, GTS means grand touring sport. More pertinently it means a Macan that is simultaneous lighter, and more powerful. Sharper brakes, more sophisticated suspension technology, a more feverish engine, and of course the handling capabilities that make a Porsche a Porsche. There is even the possibility that a manual transmission could be possible, though honestly an automatic PDK would be tough to beat, no matter how good you are.

So there you have it, a Porsche CUV with at least 430 turbocharged (possibly supercharged?) horses and as much weight trimmed as feasible. When might we see this GTS version? Stay tuned.

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This writer took the Macan off-road, and the results were pleasing http://blog.leithporsche.com/this-writer-took-the-macan-off-road-and-the-results-were-pleasing/ Tue, 17 Dec 2013 21:42:49 +0000 http://www.leithporsche.com/blogs/506/?p=257 There are full-fledged reviews, and then there is the chance to ride shotgun while someone else drives. However, that driver could be your friend’s grandma making her way up to a quavering 15 mph, or a Porsche engineer, race driver and possible threat to you making this year’s holiday party without a full-body cast. Such […]

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There are full-fledged reviews, and then there is the chance to ride shotgun while someone else drives.

However, that driver could be your friend’s grandma making her way up to a quavering 15 mph, or a Porsche engineer, race driver and possible threat to you making this year’s holiday party without a full-body cast.

Such is the case in the U.K. Car Magazine’s review of their ride in the 2014 Macan.

Fortunately, their man got to at least be a passenger in the S version. That means a 335bhp twin-turbo, direct injection 3.0-liter V6 engine with 339 ft-lbs of torque. This puts Porsche one step toward answering the stunned faces of skeptics who don’t know what to make of the Macan.

Porsche is about craftsmanship, purity and the experience of driving. The entire body of a Porsche has to be a unified structure that contributes to a single goal: bending the laws of physics. To get there, the Macan employs several unique features:

  • An all-wheel drive system biased toward the rear wheels. This is borrowed from the Cayenne. While 100% of the engine’s power can be sent to either of the axles, the rear wheels are typically favored.
  • The air suspension allows for several centimeters of play, either up or down, depending on whether you need ground clearance or the response of a sports car.
  • Brake horsepower that ranges from 229 (base), 335 (S) and 395 (turbo).

We recommend you check out Car Magazine’s full piece, which features natural environment photos of the Macan in both track and normal conditions.

The Macan arrives in the Spring, and you can order from Leith Porsche now.

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