For those wanting a small SUV that doesn’t drive like a small SUV, the 2023 Porsche Macan is the best place to start if you’ve got the cash needed for its admittedly steep entry point. Actually, it doesn’t feel like an SUV at all apart from the constant cognitive dissonance of your forward vision being higher off the ground than every other sensation indicates you should be. All of those sensations say you should be in a Porsche sports car, which is pretty cool when you’re just driving the kid to school or going to Target.
That’s especially true once you start to select from the extensive selection of performance options, or just let Porsche do it for you by going with the new Macan T or range-topping Macan GTS. We’d ultimately recommend those most. Not that there’s anything wrong with a Macan S (we enjoyed every moment of our two weeks spent with one), but if you’re going with the best small SUV to drive, you might as well experience it at its most capable and enjoyable.
The base Macan and Macan T are powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that produces 261 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. That is one of the healthiest outputs in the segment, which bears fruit in the form of a quick 0-60-mph sprint time of 6.0 seconds (or 5.8 seconds with the Sport Chrono package and its launch control system). Fuel economy comes in at 19 mpg city, 25 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined, which just isn’t great. Competitors are 3 mpg combined better or more.
The Macan S is powered by a 2.9-liter turbocharged V6 that produces 375 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque. That blows most luxury compact SUV offerings out of the water, and hits 60 mph in 4.6 seconds (or 4.4 with launch control). Fuel economy doesn’t go down that much, but again, still isn’t great: 17/23/19. The Macan GTS is now the top-of-the-line offering and gets an enhanced version of the 2.9-liter. It produces 434 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque, and hits 60 mph in 4.1 seconds with launch control.
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