Those who have actually shopped for a Porsche know a terrible truth that those who have only dreamed of it don’t: The German builder of fantasy cars makes an absolutely brain-breaking selection of trims and special editions.
Once you’ve decided to buy a 2022 Corvette Stingray, you need to choose from three trim levels and decide whether or not to add a Z51 Performance Package.
Once you’ve decided to buy a Porsche 911, you need to choose from 21 trim levels. Each has packages to choose from (usually five per trim level). The Porsche configurator is the Cheesecake Factory menu of the automotive world. That thing must have 200 pages.
The selections have a wide range of costs. You can buy two of the least-expensive 911 for the cost of the most expensive.
Cayenne shoppers have 19 Cayennes to choose from. Panamera buyers, 24. Porsche has only been in the business of building all-electric cars briefly, but already, shoppers looking at the Taycan electric vehicle can choose from 10 different trim levels and two body styles.
There is, however, one exception on the Porsche lot.
There are three models of Porsche Macan. It’s time to complicate that.
Porsche today introduced the 2023 Porsche Macan T.
A Stoplight-to-Stoplight Racer
In Porsche’s dizzying lexicon, a T model is a handling-focused machine. It has many of the suspension upgrades given to Porsche’s high-performance editions, paired with what passes at Porsche for a basic engine. T models are great buys. They give you all the fun of a race-engineered German car, sacrificing only the extreme power you can’t legally use on the ride to work, anyway.
The Macan T follows that formula to a …you’re right… cheesy line.
Porsche hasn’t announced pricing for the Macan T yet. But, if it follows Stuttgart’s usual practice, it should slot in above the $54,900 base model and below the $65,400 Macan S. Porsche also charges $1,350 for shipping and handling on all of its cars.
That money will get you the Macan’s base engine – a turbocharged inline 4-cylinder making 261 horsepower. It sends power through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and comes standard with Porsche’s traction management all-wheel-drive system.
But you can get all the handling goodies. The Macan T ships with Porsche’s Active Suspension Management system and Porsche Traction Management as well. The latter has been retuned for the T, now biased toward the rear axle for poise. Stiffer anti-roll bars developed just for the T model limit body roll. Should that not seem like enough, you can add an adaptive air suspension system and torque vectoring.
Porsche even markets the small engine as a handling measure, noting that it weighs 129 pounds less than the V6 found on the Macan GTS, “which gives the vehicle particularly nimble handling and optimal cornering ability.”
Even though this model isn’t built for straight-line speed, the Sport Chrono package, which includes launch control, is included.
Subtle Visual Changes
It’ll be hard to spot a Macan T in the parking lot. The only outward changes are exterior trim pieces painted a lighter shade of gray, and glossy black tailpipes. Inside, the 8-way powered, heated front seats wear a handsome stripe pattern. They come upholstered in Porsche’s exclusive Sport-Tex faux leather. The doorsills get Macan T badges, and the standard steering wheel is heated.
The Macan T will make its way into the order books “in early spring,” Porsche says.
Adding a fourth trim level to the Macan lineup makes sense. As the model best configured for fun at legal speeds, the Macan T could turn out to be the sweet spot in its stable. Let’s hope it’s not the fourth of 27 options.
