2022 Porsche Macan Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Porsche introduced the Macan for the 2015 model year, creating a way for the brand to grow its sales with a smaller, more affordable SUV slotted beneath the Cayenne in its lineup. Eight years later, the Macan is nearly indistinguishable from the original, despite regular updates to the model lineup, styling details, wheel designs, and available paint colours.

The 2022 Macan gets another styling refresh, larger standard wheels, seven new wheel designs, and a new centre console for the interior that adds haptic touch controls while increasing usable storage space. Every model has more power and standard equipment, too.

When shopping for a new Porsche Macan in Canada, you’ll find a four-model lineup that includes the Macan base model, the new Macan T, the Macan S, and Macan GTS. The Macan Turbo is gone, but not its high-output powertrain, which you’ll now find bolted into the GTS. The Macan S also benefits from this change, adopting the previous GTS model’s twin-turbo V6. But we’ll get into the Macan’s performance specs on the next panel.

Our evaluation vehicle was a Macan S, which in Canada starts at a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $73,400 not including the $1,750 destination charge. However, with the amount of customization on this U.S.-specification model—nicer paint and wheels, four option packages, and performance upgrades to the drivetrain, suspension, brakes, and tires—the final Canadian price would be at least $25,000 higher.

Our test vehicle looked terrific, wearing Volcano Gray paint and 21-inch RS Spyder Design wheels. Following Porsche tradition, the Macan is aging gracefully. Its sloping clamshell hood, swollen haunches, and rakish roofline convey a taut, athletic look that visually communicates its mission to deliver maximum performance on the pavement rather than the terrain.

Inside, the Macan draws upon other Porsches with its ignition switch to the left of the steering wheel, large tachometer centred within the gauge cluster, flat and wide dashboard, and centre console housing most of the secondary controls. Paired with the test vehicle’s red leather, gloss black interior trim, and silver metallic accents, the cabin has an undeniably upscale, sporty, and purposeful appearance.

The base Macan and the new Macan T have a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 261 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque—13 hp and 22 lb-ft more than the 2021 base model. The Porsche Macan GTS inherits the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 from the old Macan Turbo, with 434 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque.

Our Macan S test car gets a new engine for 2022 as well. Well, new to it. The twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 is what Porsche used in last year’s Macan GTS, and is tuned to deliver 375 hp and 383 lb-ft. According to Porsche, it accelerates to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.8 seconds. There is a catch, though. You need the optional Sport Chrono Package, and must engage launch control, to match that number.

All Macans have Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission and a fully variable all-wheel-drive (AWD) system designed to send more power to rear wheels in most circumstances.

Porsche says it re-tuned the 2022 Macan’s steering and suspension for improved ride and handling characteristics. The 2022 Porsche Macan S also gets larger 20-inch standard wheels and a newly standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) adaptive damping air suspension for the new model year. Our test vehicle also came with the optional Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV+) and Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB).

Driving a Macan S is nothing but fun. But that doesn’t mean every drive has to bring an adrenaline rush. If you’ve had a rough day at the office and just want to get home, get comfortable, and relax, a Macan S behaves like any small luxury crossover SUV.

In normal driving, the Macan S is still quick, responsive, and won’t let you forget about the “party time, excellent” side of its personality. But if you’d rather not feel every crack, bump, and groove in the pavement, it can quell those a bit. We found it necessary to push harder than expected on the brake pedal to initiate a stop, however. You’ll acclimate to this just like we did, but it’s not clear if this is due to the test vehicle’s PSCB or not.

When you feel a need for speed, a Macan S is ready to romp. It tackles a twisty road with all of the focus, precision, and competence you expect from the world’s premier builder of high-performance sports cars. The twin-turbo V6 supplies seemingly limitless power, the dual-clutch transmission snaps off perfectly timed shifts, and the PTV+ system feels like it is forcing the outside rear wheel into the pavement as you round curves while accelerating for the next straight section of road.

Thanks to the test model’s optional 21-inch wheels and performance tires, responsive and accurate steering, and PASM adaptive damping, our Macan S offered unyielding grip and unfaltering stability on writhing, undulating mountain roads. Furthermore, the upgraded brakes delivered a fantastic, fade-free performance under duress.

That the Porsche Macan is a sports car wrapped in SUV packaging was also reflected in our Macan S model’s as-tested fuel consumption number of 13.0 L/100 km, which came close enough to the official Natural Resources Canada rating of 12.2 L/100 km to call it good.

Perhaps unexpectedly for such a sporty vehicle, the Porsche Macan is quite comfortable for its driver and front-seat passenger. Our Macan S test vehicle had the optional 14-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation. As supportive as they were, though, you’re going to want the optional Adaptive Sports Seats Plus if you’re going to drive the Macan S in the manner Zuffenhausen intends.

The rear seats are cramped, though. If a longer-limbed driver is sitting behind the steering wheel, a similarly sized person riding the back will need to splay their legs around the front seatback. However, it's surprisingly easy to get into and out of the back seat, and the cushion and backrest are comfortable and supportive. Of course, if you need more room, you can always choose the larger Porsche Cayenne.

The 2022 Porsche Macan has new steering wheels modeled after the 911 sports car. Our test car’s wheel felt a little thin, and the sharp radius on the leading edge of the rim is uncomfortable after a few hours of driving. The wheel offered in a BMW X3 M Sport is more satisfying to grip.

Another change Porsche made to the 2022 Macan is a redesigned centre console with haptic touch controls under a gloss black surface. The update looks clean and technologically advanced, but a driver must look down and away from the road to use the controls on the panel due to its touch-sensing nature. The surface also creates glare during the day. However, except for the seat heating and cooling functions, most of these controls aren’t needed on a regular basis.

Porsche says the new console design offers more storage space, but that doesn’t mean you get a lot. You may still wish you had someplace to put two smartphones while you’re storing two iced vanilla lattes. Cargo space measures 488 litres behind the back seat, but four full-size suitcases should slot right in if you remove the cargo cover and don’t overpack. Fold the 40/20/40-split rear seat down, and you can expand cargo space to 1,503 litres.

Porsche equips every 2022 Macan with a 10.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system it calls Porsche Communication Management (PCM). In addition to the high-definition display, PCM includes wireless Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM satellite radio, a navigation system, and connected services, including available WiFi hotspot access. A 10-speaker sound system is standard, but you can upgrade to a Bose premium surround-sound system or a high-end Burmester audio system.

On the left side of the screen, you’ll find touch-sensing virtual buttons for Home, Navigation, Media, Phone, Car, and Apps. In addition, the screen has proximity sensing, so when you reach toward it, a secondary menu may appear, depending on the main menu already shown on the display. Mostly, the user experience is intuitive to anyone who owns a smartphone, though the icons Porsche uses are sometimes a bit perplexing.

The voice recognition system correctly responded to our evaluation questions and commands about half the time, putting Porsche behind the natural voice recognition systems in a BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, or Volvo. You can use Apple CarPlay to resolve this situation, but if you own an Android device and are looking for Android Auto, no dice.

Fortunately, once you have the Macan configured to your preferences, you don’t need to interact much with the infotainment system. For example, Porsche supplies stereo volume and tuning controls below the screen, and the climate control system is separate from the touchscreen. With easy access to these frequently adjusted features, you typically won’t need to use the screen or the voice controls while driving.

In Canada, every 2022 Porsche Macan has lane-departure warning and the federally mandated reversing camera as standard features. A blind-spot monitoring system, adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, and automatic emergency braking are optional, as is lane-keeping assist. Most of these technologies were included in our test vehicle, but not lane-keeping assist.

There isn’t much to report about how well these technologies worked. They all performed as expected, and we did not experience any accuracy, refinement, or sophistication problems. However, if you’re looking for more advanced driving assistance tech, the Macan isn’t the right choice.

Except when it comes to parking, that is. In addition to the standard front and rear parking sensors, you can get a surround-view camera and an optional Park Assist system for the Macan. Choose the Park Assist upgrade and activate it while parking, and it will steer for you into a parallel or perpendicular space. Granted, these features aren’t unique to Porsche and are even available on some vehicles from non-luxury brands.

If you’re looking for a more technologically advanced Porsche, consider upgrading to the Cayenne. It is available with Porsche InnoDrive, which pairs adaptive cruise control with a lane-centring assist system on highways. You do need to keep your hands on the steering wheel, though.

Though the Macan is the most popular Porsche, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has published safety ratings for it.

If you are worried about value for your hard-earned dollar, and you’re measuring it by any standard other than outright performance, then a 2022 Porsche Macan is not the best choice in a new car. Even at its base price, the Macan costs significantly more than its primary luxury SUV rivals, which means you can choose a better-equipped alternative for the same amount of money you would spend on a base Macan.

For example, a fully loaded BMW X4 M would cost about the same as our test vehicle. The BMW isn’t nearly as attractive as our Macan S test car, and their real-world performance characteristics are very close. Both are fast. Both are fun. But only one is a Porsche.

Choosing a Porsche is about more than getting a good value. It’s about how the vehicle looks. How it feels. How it drives. And the heritage associated with the crest on the hood and the script across the back. It’s about achieving a goal, adding a bragging right, or owning a distant descendant of that game-changing original 1948 Porsche 356, and each of these carries value to an owner in a way that money cannot measure.

To paraphrase Porsche’s old advertising tagline, for a specific buyer, there is no substitute.

Note: Images show a US model.