2021 Porsche Macan

Other than newly standard Apple CarPlay, the 2021 Porsche Macan remains unchanged from last year. That's a good thing in our book. This crossover, while expensive, remains one of the finest-driving examples of the breed. Performance is excellent, as is nearly everything else. Its heavy price tag continues to buy no compromises and a benchmark experience.

Porsche divvies up the Macan into four trim levels: Macan, S, GTS, and Turbo. Pricing starts at $53,450 including destination for the base model and climbs to $85,950 for the Turbo.

The base Macan makes do with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder not unlike the rest of the segment, but the three different V6s found in the higher models represent much more potent options.

Every engine in the lineup gets paired with all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, known as a PDK in Porsche verbiage.

The Macan seats five passengers. The rear compartment is cramped compared to similarly sized competitors, so don't expect room to stretch out. Taller passengers will want to sit up front. The cargo area isn't much better, with only 17.6 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and 52 cubic feet in total. Both of these figures are well below the class average.

The only standard safety features outside of airbags and the like are parking sensors and lane departure warning. Automatic emergency braking, a surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, and lane keeping assist are all available a la carte.

The base touchscreen measures 10.9 inches across and now comes standard with Apple CarPlay (finally). As before, the touchscreen gets Bluetooth, navigation, and wi-fi hot spot capability. Multiple USB ports allow for easy wired connections from both rows of seats.

The base Macan isn't the most well-equipped vehicle for the price, but Porsche has never claimed to be a good value. The stingy list of standard features does include tri-zone climate control, leather upholstery, and eight-way power-adjusted seats. The exterior sports 18-inch wheels and LED lights.

As is always the case, options are plentiful – almost overwhelmingly so. Nearly everything imaginable is available, from Burmester audio to genuine leather upholstery to colored-keyed seatbelts.

Only two option packages are available: the $4,720 Premium Package and $7,400 Premium Plus. The former includes keyless entry, a panoramic roof, lane keeping assist, Bose audio, and heated front seats, and a dynamic lighting system; the latter adds to that ventilated front seats, a surround-view camera system, and 14-way power seats with memory.

The main selling point of the S trim is its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. Almost no additional standard amenities are added over the base trim.

With the bigger engine comes more enticing performance options. Buyers can order adaptive dampers ($1,370), an air suspension ($2,750, and includes the trick dampers), and torque vectoring ($1,500).

The GTS represents Porsche at finest, blending performance with usability in an utterly seamless. This proves just as true with the Macan as it is for any of the brand's sports cars. Its 375-horsepower, twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 sings out of a standard sport exhaust system. Larger brakes hide behind 20-inch wheels. The chassis features a standard air suspension and adaptive dampers. The front and rear fascias as well as the side skirts are sportier than the ordinary models and are unique to the GTS.

The interior also gets some upgrades over the lower-spec models, including leather-and-Alcantara upholstery and heated and eight-way sport seats with additional bolstering and memory functionality.

The Turbo is absurdly fast and absurdly priced. Thankfully, Porsche include a few more standard creature comforts to go along with the 434-horse 2.9-liter V6. The amenities include 18-way power seats, a heated steering wheel, an Alcantara headliner, and 14-speaker Bose audio. High-performance surface-coated brakes are standard as well.

Compare Macan Trims Side-By-Side