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Porsche confirms four-cylinder Macan for New York

There aren't a lot of problems with the Porsche Macan. It's clean, handsome, and very, very nice to drive. But it's expensive, starting at $55,450, and thirsty, at 17 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway. To improve on both of these, Porsche is adding a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder Macan to the lineup. The new engine moves the compact CUV downmarket on both power and price fronts. In the Macan, the 2.0-liter pumps out 252 horsepower, 273 pound-feet of torque, and compared to old base model, cuts the curb weight from 4,112 pounds to 3,902 pounds. Combined with a seven-speed PDK and a standard all-wheel-drive system, the new base level CUV will hit 60 miles per hour in just 6.1 seconds. You still have to suspend logic when buying a Macan, though. At just 20 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, it's scarcely more efficient than the 340-hp S model. Admittedly, the Macan's competitors all eke out substantially better fuel economy, but each of these vehicles does so with less power than Porsche's new base Macan – the BMW X3 has 240 ponies, the Mercedes GLC has 241, and the Audi Q5 just 220. But they also do it for a lot less money. The new Macan starts at $48,550, including a $1,050 destination charge. That's $6,900 less than the Macan S, but it's still around $7,000 more than the all-wheel-drive versions of the aforementioned cars. And yes, that chasm is almost certainly going to widen after digging into Porsche's options catalog. Still, this is an intelligent and overdue move for Porsche here in the US (the four-pot Macan has been on sale in Europe for years). It opens up the Macan to a far wider swath of customers, not unlike what the V6 model does for the Cayenne. Look for more on Stuttgart's new entry level CUV in a few weeks, when it makes its big debut in the Big Apple. Related Video: PORSCHE ANNOUNCES NEW YORK AUTO SHOW LINE-UP North American debut of Porsche 911 R, 718 Boxster, and Macan Atlanta, Georgia. The New York International Auto Show will be host to three North American debuts for Porsche this year. The 911 R and the 718 Boxster both represent the latest interpretation of driving pleasure and dynamics in their respective segments. The 911 R is a pure, uncompromised driving machine with a naturally-aspirated, 500 horsepower engine mounted in the rear. The 718 Boxster features extensive chassis enhancements and an all-new turbocharged, mid-mounted flat-four cylinder engine.

Porsche exec confirms Macan Diesel for US

The idea of a diesel-powered Porsche is the sort of thing that sounds really, really weird... until you actually drive it. The result of sticking glow plugs under the hood of Stuttgart's finest, though, is a vehicle that's nearly as entertaining as a gas-powered model but with much more torque and better fuel economy. Considering that, we think it's absolutely splendid news that following previous reports, Porsche has now confirmed a diesel-powered Macan for the US market.
"We are now busy with the development and the engineering," Andre Oosthuizen, Porsche's North American marketing VP, told Automotive News. "I can confirm that V6 diesel offering with about 245 horsepower."
Yep, that's the same 3.0-liter V6 found, most notably, in the CUV's Audi Q5 platform-mate as well as a plethora of other Volkswagen Group vehicles, both in the US and abroad. Stuttgart already offers the 3.0-liter oil-burner in the Euro-spec crossover, where it churns out 258 hp and 427 pound-feet of torque.

Buyers resent low inventories, prices over MSRP, study says

Vehicle inventory low, vehicle transaction prices high, customers fretting … welcome, J.D. Power, to the era of supply and demand. In a recently published survey from one of the auto industryÂ’s top analytical firms, findings show that customers' satisfaction with vehicle purchases in the United States this year has dipped for the first time in 10 years. The 2022 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study found that overall sales satisfaction has dropped to 786 (on a 1,000-point scale) from 789 in 2021. In that year, higher than expected trade-in values softened the effect of new vehicle price increases. But in 2022, on top of trade-in prices shrinking, many dealers elected to charge more than the ManufacturerÂ’s Suggested Retail Price, a factor that did not sit well with buyers. “When dealers charge more than MSRP, particularly with long-term loyal customers, they risk a potential long-term negative effect on customer advocacy and service business," said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. Satisfaction among buyers who paid more than sticker price is 757, while satisfaction among those who paid the sticker price or less is 850, the Power report said. The lack of dealership inventory was also a customer irritant, J.D. Power found, a point that automakers and their dealers may want to consider. Many have maintained, or considered maintaining, a smaller inventory in the wake of the pandemic, keeping costs down and driving more customers toward factory orders. Regarding those consumers shopping for electric vehicles, the survey said that more than a third of them “failed to get instruction on EV charging before they left the dealership, which notably affects satisfaction.” Said Sutton, “Salespeople donÂ’t need to show gas-powered vehicle buyers how to fill their tank, but they do need to show EV buyers how to charge their vehicle.” There are positives to the Power conclusions, however, especially for Alfa Romeo dealers. The Italian brand ranked highest in customer satisfaction among premium brands with a score of 833, with Porsche a very close second (831) and Lexus (819) third. Alfa is on something of a roll these days, with its compact Tonale crossover due for release in the spring, and a new sports car in the works. Meanwhile, in PowerÂ’s “mainstream brand”” segment, Buick ranked first with a score of 825, followed by Dodge (816) and Subaru (804), all performing higher than the industry average.