Porsche Power

The Porsche Macan is known for being a great-looking, stylish and high-quality SUV with space for five people, yet allows for easy manoeuvring and practicality, which is perfect for an island such as Jersey.

With Porsche liking to develop and evolve its range over the course of a car’s life, as expected there are some major changes to the interior and exterior design. The changes that have been made will, I’m sure, keep those Porsche fans amongst you happy.

The 2.0-litre, 261BHP, four-cylinder engine that powers this example was perfectly suited to both the ‘stop-start’ nature of town as well as the island’s slightly faster and flowing coast roads.

Although the Macan Turbo has been discontinued, there is no need to panic. If higher performance is what you are after then the 3.0-litre V6 S (375 BHP) and GTS (434 BHP) models are also available.

James Walker takes the Porsche Macan for a spin and finds high performance, cutting-edge technology and quality design come as standard with the German manufacturer’s latest addition from Jacksons.

On the road performance was as you would expect: comfortable and easy to drive, with a soft ride over some of the rougher island roads yet still having the support and stability mid-corner. Something that, sadly, many SUVs aren’t capable of with their high centre of gravity. This high performance is also twinned with a fantastic driver feel. Steering weight at both low and high speed gives you confidence and predictability, which only adds to the overall experience.

The problem we have with road tests such as this is that different things matter to different people. When buying a car, what I look for may not be important to someone else.

Being in Jersey, low driver position, high-quality interior design and materials, passenger comfort, boot space and cost are all high up on my wish list. You may or may not be

surprised to find that the Macan scores highly in all of these areas. At over 6ft tall, I can struggle to be comfortable in some cars however, the electric seats and steering column allowed me to easily find the perfect driving position, still with plenty of room behind me for an adult to sit comfortably. Following the updates to the all-new 10.9-inch widescreen centre console, both driver and passengers can enjoy a sharper and more engaging homepage display, with a far quicker response than the previous models.

Driver aids and additional controls are also now activated via a new touch screen panel, positioned between driver and passenger. I must admit that I’m generally not a fan of touch screens, as I find that they distract from the road. However, this system is by far the best that I have tested, with both feel and sound that allows for changes to be easily made without taking your eyes off the road.

A new steering wheel and gear shift lever are also nice new design features. On the outside, new front and rear bumper design and all-new alloy wheel design options give this latest addition a fantastically stylish look, even when hanging out by a lighthouse!’

If you are considering how best to join the Porsche family, or you are a regular to everything that the German manufacturer has to offer, I can highly recommend the Porsche Macan. With the three engine options and the usual high standard of design and workmanship, there really is something for everyone.

The model that I was fortunate enough to drive, with a few cheeky added extras, was priced at £54,500, however, prices for the 2.0-Litre petrol version start at £46,500 (delivered to Jersey). The 3.0-litre S and GTS models start at £52,500 and £62,500 respectively (delivered to Jersey). These new additions will keep Porsche Macan fans happy until its all new electric younger brother comes along in the near future.

The Porsche Macan is available from Jacksons in both Jersey and Guernsey.

Having launched his stellar racing career in  2001 at the Junior British Formula Ford Championship, by 2003, James was British Champion  and went on to celebrate three successive years as a race winner and championship contender in the world-famous British Formula 3 Championship. 

As one of the top British drivers, he has notched up wins and podium spots on some of the world’s most iconic and challenging race circuits, including  Silverstone, Spa, Monaco, The Nurburgring, where he scored his first Formula 3 win, Interlagos (São Paulo) and The Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas). 

During his illustrious career, James has competed with Porsche in the world-famous Rolex 24 at  Daytona in Florida, and Ferrari in the GT Pro class of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). 

Not many professional racing drivers can say they’ve been a winner in every championship they’ve ever competed in, but James Walker can. The Formula 3 ace has raced some of the most high-performance cars in the world around the most famous racing tracks on the planet, so you might say he knows a thing or two about taking a test drive…

Two successful race-winning years resulted in a  runner up spot in the European Drivers Championship and winning the team’s championship. This meant an entry for the most famous race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His racing career progressed further into the Le Mans Prototype 2 Class of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) where once again the race wins came thick and fast. 

While, these days, family commitments keep him closer  to home in Jersey, we’re looking forward to seeing him  take to the racing track again and racking up a few more of those podium wins he’s so very good at.