Anyone have a Taycan and a Macan?

[bdy0627]

I'm interested in hearing from those with both of these vehicles in terms of their experience with them and which one they tend to choose to drive more often. I have a Taycan and have been thinking about a Macan for a while but have held off. I think I would choose the Macan when I have older passengers, back seat passengers (I think?), trips to get groceries and supplies, heavy snow, hauling our dog, offroad/bad road driving, and drives longer than 2 hours (to avoid the wait for charging). Thanks for any input!

 

[WuffvonTrips]

A few members here including myself have swapped a Cayenne for a Taycan CT- I rarely miss the extra utility of the Cayenne (even with 3 passengers plus dog), and expect that a Macan would have even less to offer, though its ease of access would still be a plus for some people.

 

[SergeyIndy]

I have a Taycan, Macan, and a Cayenne with each having their purpose.

Taycan is for daily duty just for myself with tall teenagers no problem to run around.
Macan is wife's car and she uses it as daily and uses trunk for gardening needs. However, rear seat room is tight, so I would not recommend anything but small adults and children there, but getting in and out is much better, of course, than in Taycan.
Cayenne is a supreme two row and we use if for a family of 4 long distance driving. I am not liking the latest gen redesign so the version that we have is about the best it is going to be before electric version is out and even then, if we need to drive worry free out of town, I am not sure what range I would be comfortable with to make a switch. We can go 500 highway miles fully loaded in the current one.

I am happy to share anything related to Macan as we owned 2016 Turbo for 8 years and now recently got a 2024 GTS, which is a totally different ride, but were hoping to be in Macan EV by this time.

 

[Giulio]

I have both, Macan S and Taycan. The Macan is used mainly by my wife for errands while the Taycan exclusively by me...luckily she doesn't want to drive it?.
They are very different cars, both pleasant to drive and suitable for traveling with four people. On weekends, the Taycan is still chosen even if we have to go to the mountains.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Oh wow, a topic I am actually qualified to address..

I’ve had a Macan S as my daily driver for ~4 years and ~40k miles. It went through deep snow, HomeDepot runs, long trips with 4 people (or 3+dog), and everything in between. (I didn’t tow with it, but may yet do that.) Very comfortable, good handling, nimble and predictable in snowstorm driving - if i had to go on an impromptu road trip across the country, it would have been my choice without hesitation. I test drove one back to back with a Cayenne (gen 2), and found the Macan much more to my liking - closer to the driver/tighter, more reactive and I preferred its styling.

The Taycan (4CT) replaced it almost a year ago. (My wife reluctantly accepted the Macan as the replacement for her MB GL450, and so it continued on daily duty, hauling dog, gardening supplies etc.) The 4 CT became the new family trip vehicle, and it is also being used for trips to HD, Tractor Supply, hiking, skiing. It drives much better than the Macan, and it’s far more comfortable- for me. However, it always takes a but more “thought” - planning for longer trips, the constant minding of the range and consumption, its quirky braking behavior in traffic. It’s not a car you just get in and go across the country (some did do that, but it took some persuasion ?). So far, a year in, I have not yet encountered a situation where it could not do something that the Macan could, so I consider them fairly interchangeable.

Now, the bad (for either):
- visibility out of the Macan is orders of magnitude better: it’s shorter, driver position is taller, and its rear window is larger than the Taycan’s mailbox slot
- the brakes on the Macan are just fantastic: well overpowered for the car’s weight, and while they’re difficult to modulate at low speeds (mine is a gen1), they’re still predictable and linear, unlike the Taycan’s
- a coolant pipe broke in the Macan, and it promptly dumped all its coolant. $50 part, 2 days of (my) labor to replace it. The transfer case is slipping every now and then. The timing belt housing is leaking (a no-gasket design), and I’m told the fix is an engine-out procedure. The lifetime-filter-and-fluid PDK requires a yearly replacement and flush; the procedure requires a specific fluid temperature, and so a Porsche scanner. Ditto on the yearly oil change. The bottom of a passenger door is showing signs of rust - this is an 8-year old car.

I think, all things considered, that my current stable of cars is ideal for me/our family - but as a combination; neither car is, on its own, is really that do-it-all (and have-it-all) perfect vehicle.

 

[bdy0627]

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like everyone pretty much prefers the Taycan to the Macan for most (nearly all?) scenarios. My wife won't drive the Taycan either so it's only driven by me. I think it's intimidating for her for whatever reason. She is not a sports car person. I think the higher driving height and visibility out of the Macan would be nice for daily driving but I'm sure it would feel less smooth and powerful than my 4S Taycan, power that is mostly used for passing on highways.

I don't really know if charging the Taycan at home is saving me money as we have 2 EVs that we charge daily at home and it's difficult to know how much is due to the Taycan vs the Tesla my wife drives. Our electric bills are pretty high though with charging 2 EVs. I think a weekly trip to the gas station for a Macan might actually be cheaper or at least close in cost but I'm not certain.

I do find my teenage daughters prefer riding in the SUV when going somewhere as it's just easier to get in and out, and I think they like the higher riding position and more space. My parents don't like getting into and out of the Taycan when they ride in it; it's just too low for them.

It sounds like the Taycan definitely drives better than the Macan, which is what I was also wondering. I figured as much but wasn't sure. I thought a GTS Macan might be close but it sounds like it really isn't, though it's not like I'm tracking my Taycan.

 

[blueslite]

I have the CT 4 and traded in a 2022 VW Tiguan.

there is nothing that my CT cannot do that I was doing with the Tiguan.

I also had a 2023 Cayenne as a loaner for two weeks and I did not like it. I missed my Taycan driving feeling, speed and agility.

the only downside of the Taycan is the range when you do longer trips. You need to plan it in advance.

If you have home/work charger, as I do, then you are stress free 95% of the time.

my wife drives it but always complains about it (not brought space, fancy, controls etc). She liked the Cayenne.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I forgot to add a couple of points:
- re cost of weekly charging: in WA there is absolutely no question that home charging is way ahead. Gas came down somewhat to 4.20$/gal (this is not an Elon joke), and during skiing season I’d need at least 1 tank/week, so $70-90. My wife drives less, so now we’re at maybe $40/week for gas. Electricity is at ~12c/kWh; the highest-consumption month for the Taycan so far was $70 with lots of trips - this is from the charger app, based on electricity consumed exclusively for charging.
- re: comfort: I haven’t been in a Taycan sedan rear seat, but the wagon is quite comfortable due to its extra headroom (i would not call myself tall). The suspension is vastly superior to that of the Macan, though; I recently drove a new Macan and found it pretty awful. If you’re considering one, I’d go with air suspension.
- since yours seems to be an all-EV household, waiting for the Macan EV could be an option. It would eliminate all of the downsides of the ICE that I mentioned (albeit at the cost of new ones. ?)

 

[jwarner]

I'm interested in hearing from those with both of these vehicles in terms of their experience with them and which one they tend to choose to drive more often. I have a Taycan and have been thinking about a Macan for a while but have held off. I think I would choose the Macan when I have older passengers, back seat passengers (I think?), trips to get groceries and supplies, heavy snow, hauling our dog, offroad/bad road driving, and drives longer than 2 hours (to avoid the wait for charging). Thanks for any input!

I recently traded in my Macan GTS for a Taycan GTS ST. The improvement is day and night. No problem hauling around 2 Siberian Huskies in either vehicle. Handling, ride, comfort vastly better in the Taycan. Only 2 drawbacks. The first is range (around 230 in winter). The second is ground clearance-if you do anything off-road, the GTS in lift mode only has 5.8" of clearance and there is no gravel mode, Macan GTS in normal mode is more like 6.5, and can be raised even higher in off-road mode. Performance in ice and snow is better with Taycan, unless it is very deep snow (in which case 5.8 inches of ground clearance is not ideal).

 

[Jhenson29]

I have a 2016 Macan S and a 2021 Taycan 4S.

Between those two, I pretty much never drive the Macan unless there’s some utility for it that the Taycan can’t meet. Either because I need the extra cargo space, a work trip that I take my personal vehicle on, one of the other cars is in the shop, or my round trip is further than one charge (I don’t do public charging).

Otherwise, I would always take the Taycan (again, between those two).

The Macan is a fine vehicle for what it is. If it died tomorrow, I’d replace it with another one. Another used one though because I don’t need a new car for that use case.

 

[SergeyIndy]

@bdy0627, I am not seeing this statement to be totally true:

" It sounds like the Taycan definitely drives better than the Macan, which is what I was also wondering. I figured as much but wasn't sure. I thought a GTS Macan might be close but it sounds like it really isn't, though it's not like I'm tracking my Taycan. "

The latest gen Macan GTS is the best driving machine of its kind, period. This means that in the compact SUV form and function. We are comparing it to our 2016 Turbo that had many issues that others describe here, but the new gen has no record of such issues and much more refined in the driving department since it has matured over many incremental improvement since 2014 intro.

Taycan driving is in its own league, but by saying the Macan is not even close, is not fair from the daily driving enjoyment point of view as they have different characters and I enjoy both when I drive them.

 

[Studogg22]

Had a 2017 Macan turbo for 4 years before getting my 2021 Taycan turbo. (which I pounced on as it was a CPO at my local dealer with my 'dream' spec). As much as the Taycan certainly is impressive, I am having hard time finding it 'worth' the $140K extra it cost alongside the Macan as a trade. Full disclosure: I am one of the people who gets a pit in the stomach due to depreciation (despite it having no financial bearing on me, practically speaking), but I some days wish I had not let the Macan go as it was barely depreciating, was the ultimate swiss-army car for my family, and still had some CPO warranty to go.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Had a 2017 Macan turbo for 4 years before getting my 2021 Taycan turbo. (which I pounced on as it was a CPO at my local dealer with my 'dream' spec). As much as the Taycan certainly is impressive, I am having hard time finding it 'worth' the $140K extra it cost alongside the Macan as a trade. Full disclosure: I am one of the people who gets a pit in the stomach due to depreciation (despite it having no financial bearing on me, practically speaking), but I some days wish I had not let the Macan go as it was barely depreciating, was the ultimate swiss-army car for my family, and still had some CPO warranty to go.

Very valid point on depreciation which can bounce back due to unexpected demand. We never expected our 2016 Macan Turbo to keep its value but it was sought after by multiple buyers given its 3.6L engine and condition and we let it go for 30% over best market comparable, and it was CPO'd for 3 years (paid by the buyer). We are expecting nothing less from possibly the last of ICE 2024 Macan GTS that replaced it.

 

[Avantgarde]

Oh wow, a topic I am actually qualified to address..

I’ve had a Macan S as my daily driver for ~4 years and ~40k miles. It went through deep snow, HomeDepot runs, long trips with 4 people (or 3+dog), and everything in between. (I didn’t tow with it, but may yet do that.) Very comfortable, good handling, nimble and predictable in snowstorm driving - if i had to go on an impromptu road trip across the country, it would have been my choice without hesitation. I test drove one back to back with a Cayenne (gen 2), and found the Macan much more to my liking - closer to the driver/tighter, more reactive and I preferred its styling.

The Taycan (4CT) replaced it almost a year ago. (My wife reluctantly accepted the Macan as the replacement for her MB GL450, and so it continued on daily duty, hauling dog, gardening supplies etc.) The 4 CT became the new family trip vehicle, and it is also being used for trips to HD, Tractor Supply, hiking, skiing. It drives much better than the Macan, and it’s far more comfortable- for me. However, it always takes a but more “thought” - planning for longer trips, the constant minding of the range and consumption, its quirky braking behavior in traffic. It’s not a car you just get in and go across the country (some did do that, but it took some persuasion ?). So far, a year in, I have not yet encountered a situation where it could not do something that the Macan could, so I consider them fairly interchangeable.

Now, the bad (for either):
- visibility out of the Macan is orders of magnitude better: it’s shorter, driver position is taller, and its rear window is larger than the Taycan’s mailbox slot
- the brakes on the Macan are just fantastic: well overpowered for the car’s weight, and while they’re difficult to modulate at low speeds (mine is a gen1), they’re still predictable and linear, unlike the Taycan’s
- a coolant pipe broke in the Macan, and it promptly dumped all its coolant. $50 part, 2 days of (my) labor to replace it. The transfer case is slipping every now and then. The timing belt housing is leaking (a no-gasket design), and I’m told the fix is an engine-out procedure. The lifetime-filter-and-fluid PDK requires a yearly replacement and flush; the procedure requires a specific fluid temperature, and so a Porsche scanner. Ditto on the yearly oil change. The bottom of a passenger door is showing signs of rust - this is an 8-year old car.

I think, all things considered, that my current stable of cars is ideal for me/our family - but as a combination; neither car is, on its own, is really that do-it-all (and have-it-all) perfect vehicle.

May I ask what model year is your 4CT? I’ve done some digging on inconsistent brake feeling, that’s why i am asking thanks. @WasserGKuehlt

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

[…]we let it go for 30% over best market comparable, and it was CPO'd for 3 years (paid by the buyer). We are expecting nothing less from possibly the last of ICE 2024 Macan GTS that replaced it.

I think you shall be (severely) disappointed.