Cool. That explains I suppose the allure of premium, sport SUVs. I confess, my SUV driving has all been in rather plebian models, Forresters, CR-Vs, Escapes, etc. Those do not thrill, for sure.
7
New Golf R or Used Porsche Macan
- Thread starter Cabra
- Start date
Cool. That explains I suppose the allure of premium, sport SUVs. I confess, my SUV driving has all been in rather plebian models, Forresters, CR-Vs, Escapes, etc. Those do not thrill, for sure.
virpacalis
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- near Philly
- Car(s)
- '17 R DSG
I'm a fan of the Macan and the R. Either way, perhaps fuel and insurance costs matter. Are the rear seats adequate for you? Do you want to tow 4,000 lbs? When you drive them, which one for you has the better, say, grin factor?
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When you service either, which hurts the most. Macan must have donkey p!$$ for brake fluid, check the maint. schedule on that
It's pretty amazing how Porsche and Mercedes, in particular, can get away with not only optioning out basic functionality for outrageous additional charges, but also treating routine servicing as if you are maintaining a lunar rover or something.
In an era when your basic Hyundai has more features and functionality that luxury cars of not that many years ago, I guess the best way to distinguish your products from other, more plebian, marques is to charge a lot more for everything. Then again, this is a marketing strategy that has worked time and time again. I'm in higher ed, and it's been shown pretty convincingly that pricing yourself too low as a private school actually makes people think worse of you; you can do better by upping the tuition so people feel they are getting more, even when paying more. Same must be true for cars!
In an era when your basic Hyundai has more features and functionality that luxury cars of not that many years ago, I guess the best way to distinguish your products from other, more plebian, marques is to charge a lot more for everything. Then again, this is a marketing strategy that has worked time and time again. I'm in higher ed, and it's been shown pretty convincingly that pricing yourself too low as a private school actually makes people think worse of you; you can do better by upping the tuition so people feel they are getting more, even when paying more. Same must be true for cars!
I've heard plenty of people time and again say, "If you can't afford the service, you can't afford the car"--this in a discussion of Lexus service and why should the ES oil change be $150 while the same engine in a Camry costs $40 across the street at the Toyota dealer.
(And regarding your take on tuition costs: I lived through GWU making that decision back in the day, and blatantly telling everyone that's why they were hiking tuition some gawawful amount.)
Yeah, it does seem that luxury car companies are pretty up front about using cost as an exclusivity factor. Of course, they undercut that (if anyone actually is watching) by then leasing 70% of their cars to people who cannot actually afford the car or the service, but because it's a lease get lower payments and usually the service included.
As for colleges, at least when we raised our tuition a few years ago, by around five grand, we grandfathered in the people already here.
vj123
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- The Detroit
- Car(s)
- 19 & 16 GTI - sold
No wonder that Porsche has a profit margin of $17k (avg) for every car sold only next to the one and only Ferrari.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/the-porsche-premium-revs-up-to-17-250
The Macan is a great car, lot's of positive reviews and feedback online to back this up. The mileage is certainly a key consideration for me when purchasing, and 17mpg seems pretty steep.
That being said, push the R and it will also return some low numbers.
I believe OP needs to ascertain what his needs are, and which car delivers best on these. Very difficult choice to make if you are unsure as to what exactly it is that you want.
MonkeyMD
Autocross Champion
My cousin is on his 2nd Lexus ES and he only services it the Toyota dealership. 1/3 of the price of Lexus and it's identical
iliveoncaffiene
Ready to race!
- Location
- Cleveland, OH
- Car(s)
- 2020 718 GT4
Yea, the Macan handles VERY well for an SUV. I test drove one thinking I'd have body roll, disconnected steering and no sense of where I was in a lane - all of which were completely wrong.
I wouldn't compare it to all sport SUVs, it (and the Cayenne) are probably at the top of the class for sport SUV handling - about the only raised things I'd consider buying.
OP - the interior space is nearly identical to a Golf R (minus the hatch) and about all you're paying for is a more premium interior / Porsche badge.
The Macan is tuneable however (most reliably through a Cobb AP) so even a lowly Macan S can get pretty quick.
If you want the Macan, go test drive one and see if it's worth getting something used vs. brand new. While my VW dealer experience wasn't bad, I definitely liked the Porsche dealership experience more.
Rafiki76
Ready to race!
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Car(s)
- MKVII GTI
I would personally buy the R because its a new car with warranty. But the Macan is a fantastic car, just remember to save quite a bit of money for a repair fund should anything serious occur.
Verichai
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Low Earth Orbit
As many have said, the cost of ownership is really high on the Porsche. The consumables are prohibitively expensive for some, things like tires, brakes, oil changes, are all expensive. One aspect I don't think anyone has mentioned: there is a certain social assumption people make about Porsche owners. Consider that in movies, any time you want to make a character despicable, you put them in a Porsche (Bridesmaids, Office Space, The Company Men, etc). You don't have that in the VW. If you accidentally cut someone off in the Porsche, you're the prick in the Porsche. If you accidentally cut someone off in the Golf R, you're just some guy who made a mistake.
I don't think Porsche owners are despicable... I can't fault anyone for loving an enthusiast car. I rarely see them driven slow and distracted like BMWs.
But I do make the assumption that 3/4ths fall under the doctor, lawyer, Hollywood producer, categories all 45+ years old... Strong correlation there with pretentious personalities. That is for the coupes though, small SUVs, I assume rich housewife or female Business manager.
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