Performance SUV/Crossover Review

[droptopman]

Good morning,

Back from a trip. Last week I took a day to drive cars. Here is a little review of the category. I am in the market for a performance SUV/Crossover. Want something that performs like a sports car but has more room for golf clubs and traveling. And something that is easier to get in and out of with my back issues.

First, if you own one of these cars or love one of these cars, this is just my opinion based on 30-90 minutes of a test drive. This is by no means meant to offend anyone or any brand. I was able to put the cars through a pretty good test as there are some really curvy/windy hills close the the dealers. Also a nice highway to open it up.

Started at the Jaguar dealer to drive the new F Pace S. I had an appointment and they were suppose to have the car ready for me to drive. It took them a half hour to locate the car for me to drive...guess I will go with the other dealer in the area. Terrible service for a luxury car. The F Pace has a great interior, very simple, clean and easy to use. Nice seats with a seat bottom extender which is a must for me at 6'3". Legroom is good but still a few inches short of what I would like. But still very comfortable set up. Good size vehicle for this category. Bigger than the other "small" SUV's. The first model I drove had 22" wheels and was a little bumpy with that set up. The second with 20" drove much better. Plenty of HP at 380 with a very good sounding exhaust in performance mode. 0-60 in about 5 secs which is decent. Quiets up when set on comfort. This is a very nicely finished car, with easy to chose options and is quite a bit lower in price than others in the category.

Range Rover Sport with the supercharged engine. Great driving car, but no seat extender so seats are a no go. Only drove a couple miles. Eliminated because of seats.

Went over the BMW dealer. I had an appointment and the sales manager was ready for me with the car parked in a garage. X5i50 with the M sport and handling package. Beautiful car. Seats and legroom about the same as the Jag. Seat just a little too short on the bottom even when fully extended and a few inches short on legroom. However was able to get in a pretty comfortable position. Like the size of this vehicle the best of the cars I looked at. The engine is a beast. Loads of power. Drives more like an SUV/Truck than a sports car. Couple times on a windy road it felt like the engine outperforms the handling. I think I scared the salesman...Very nice ride with selectable driving modes. Love the sound of the exhaust.

MB GLE AMG S63 Good service here too. GM had the cars warming up for me when I got there. No seat extender. What a disappointment...The smaller GLC had a seat extender and more legroom that the GLE. The engine is crazy powerful at 577 hp. Too much engine for the handling. This is a beautifully made car, but does not handle that well IMO. I would think an inexperienced driver could hurt themselves in this. The engine exhaust sound is truly remarkable. Power is off the charts but too unstable and the seat eliminates it. The fit and finish of the MB's I looked at was really good.
MB GLC AMG 43 this drives more like a sports car and is really fun to drive. I fit in it really well. Wish it had a touch more power, but it has enough to be highly entertaining. Great all around performer and actually a really nice fitting cockpit for a smaller vehicle.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Love the fit and finish of the Porsche. Feel like it was made for me. Great sounding and performing engine and everything just seems to be engineering perfection. Did not handle as well as I would have expected, but very fun to drive. Like how Porsche still uses some analog stuff and old school looking interior functions.
Porsche Macan GTS this car knocked my socks off. Even though it has the least HP of all the cars I drove, it drove the "fastest" and was the most fun to drive. I am going back to drive a Turbo when they get one in. I actually fit in this pretty well. Just as all others in the category, just a few inches short on let room and seat extender. However, I was able to get it set up to be comfortable and functional. The PDK transmission is amazing. Love the exhaust sound. Took this on a long drive up some windy hills and she performs like a sports car. Outperforms the bigger Cayenne by a mile IMO.

None of these vehicles are quite big enough cockpit wise for me, but going up in size, I will lose the performance I want.

In the end, the Jag F Pace S and the Porsche Macan were the clear favorites. The Jag is about 30k less than the Porsche. It seems Jaguar is trying to gain market share by pricing lower than their competition for similar category vehicles. Looked at other Jags on the lot and they are making some very nice cars these days. Jag offers the best warranty in the luxury segment and free maintenance. The logical choice for me and my budget would be the Jag; however, I am afraid when I drive the Macan Turbo with the performance package my emotions may override logic....

[lhanddds]

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Marcus09]

My personal favorite is the Macan. I like Porsche in general. There are also Audis you can consider like the Q7. But maybe too big?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Investr]

My buddy has a Macon Turbo and loves it!! He test drove cars for 6 months before deciding on this one. GTS or S could save you a little money???

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by Marcus09

My personal favorite is the Macan. I like Porsche in general. There are also Audis you can consider like the Q7. But maybe too big?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Marc. I am in a 2015 Audi S5 Cabio now. Love Audi, but just kind of bored with them of late. I like the looks of the slightly changed Q7, just wish they would put a little more power in there.

[eswilly]

I can dig it.
Your height is tough. I'm at 5'7 so I pretty much fit in a shoebox.

I do like the jag. Looked at it for my wife but with two small children it just wasn't roomy enough in the boot. That pretty much kills all sweet ass rigs in that class.
Believe it or not, she's getting a pick up. She didn't harass me when I bought my Mustang so I cannot tell her what to get. LOL.
Anyway, I think both manufacturers did a great job with both SUVs (Porsche X2) and I think you'll get what you pay for in the end. If you can do the Porsche that's my choice. Jag is too new to the market and I just prefer the Porsche. Haven't like the jaguar brand in quite awhile now. Just my 2 cents.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by Investr

My buddy has a Macon Turbo and loves it!! He test drove cars for 6 months before deciding on this one. GTS or S could save you a little money???

Thanks Rick. Ya, the GTS was really fun to drive. But if I do it, I will most liley go for the most power I can. May look for a slightly used CPO to better fit my budget.

[GB-man]

Macan is a really great package. The first compact SUV I've taken a liking to.

[eswilly]

My 2 cents never made it.
Great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[superdog]

I absolutely love the Macan.

In a different life, I'd be driving one for sure. The whole package is just awesome.

But I also love my X5 50i M. Interestingly, to me, after the RRS it really drives very car like. I am typically bored with things at this point. But I actually like it more and more everyday.

Great write up. Looking firearms to how this all goes.

[Marcus09]

There's the Macan turbo sports pack for more performance


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[texex91]

Macan is a fun ride indeed!

Looking forward to what you decide--a lot of choice out there these days.

[achenator]

Originally Posted by droptopman

Thanks Marc. I am in a 2015 Audi S5 Cabio now. Love Audi, but just kind of bored with them of late. I like the looks of the slightly changed Q7, just wish they would put a little more power in there.

I'm waiting on the 2018 SQ5 before I jump. My wife had two months on her 2014 Q7 Sline TDI lease and she went and got a 2017 x5 3.5 m sport. I have been driving the Q7 to run the miles out on the lease and I have concluded that I really like driving it. My normal daily is a 2016 f150 platinum but I have had it in storage for about 6 weeks and have realized that I haven't needed a truck once in that time. I am interested in maybe a 2018 SQ7 or SQ5 at this point.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by achenator

I'm waiting on the 2018 SQ5 before I jump. My wife had two months on her 2014 Q7 Sline TDI lease and she went and got a 2017 x5 3.5 m sport. I have been driving the Q7 to run the miles out on the lease and I have concluded that I really like driving it. My normal daily is a 2016 f150 platinum but I have had it in storage for about 6 weeks and have realized that I haven't needed a truck once in that time. I am interested in maybe a 2018 SQ7 or SQ5 at this point.

I'm a huge Q7 fan. When they come out with the S it's going to be awesome.

I just hope it's a V8. But the 17 version is an absolute homerun.

[achenator]

Originally Posted by superdog

I'm a huge Q7 fan. When they come out with the S it's going to be awesome.

I just hope it's a V8. But the 17 version is an absolute homerun.

I think it will be. I was at the dealer getting my 17 R8+ (trying to keep up with texex LOL) serviced last week and saw a 17 Q7 on the floor with a 2.0. I was really surprised they made this.

[droptopman]

Thanks for all the comments. Keep em coming.

LOL, no one has even mentioned the Jag...not a popular pick apparently Should have known this would be a more Porsche crowd

I have some time yet as my lease is not up until the end of the year. If Audi does something special, I will certainly add that to look at.

Guy from Porsche just called and said they will have a Macan Turbo with performance pack in when I am back over in the city on 4/7. Unless someone buys it

Also, still in the back of my mind is the 2 car combo. A corvette roadster and something to drive in the winter. I am pretty committed to a performance SUV but my wife seems to think I will really miss my convertible. I have been driving convertibles since my late teens. She usually knows me pretty well. My budget does not allow for 2 luxury cars...

[Marcus09]

Go for it! Maybe jag wasn't mentioned since it's still too new in the SUV market and there's also the Range Rover which is a better choice with lots of history. But I still prefer the Porsche.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cantab]

Alfa Romeo has a new high performance SUV coming soon. They test ahead of the competition, and they won't be seen at every golf course.

[incontrol]

Originally Posted by droptopman

Thanks for all the comments. Keep em coming.

LOL, no one has even mentioned the Jag...not a popular pick apparently Should have known this would be a more Porsche crowd

I have some time yet as my lease is not up until the end of the year. If Audi does something special, I will certainly add that to look at.

Guy from Porsche just called and said they will have a Macan Turbo with performance pack in when I am back over in the city on 4/7. Unless someone buys it

Also, still in the back of my mind is the 2 car combo. A corvette roadster and something to drive in the winter. I am pretty committed to a performance SUV but my wife seems to think I will really miss my convertible. I have been driving convertibles since my late teens. She usually knows me pretty well. My budget does not allow for 2 luxury cars...

My two favorite cars in this category are easily the Jag F Pace and the Macan. If I were buying, I would probably pick the Jaguar for size since it seems a little bigger and I need some rear seat room. Also the price is very good.

Since I won't be looking till the 2018 model year, I am staying away from the dealerships to prevent me from wanting it now.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by incontrol

My two favorite cars in this category are easily the Jag F Pace and the Macan. If I were buying, I would probably pick the Jaguar for size since it seems a little bigger and I need some rear seat room. Also the price is very good.

Since I won't be looking till the 2018 model year, I am staying away from the dealerships to prevent me from wanting it now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Kevin. I need to drag my clubs with me next time to see if they actually fit in the back...I am guessing the seat will need to be put down to fit in the Macan, but they may fit in the Jag. I will be at the end of the year so I should have options on 2017/2018 models and depending on residual could look at keeping mine a few more months to order an early 2019. That is what I did with the Audi. Early 2015 order picked up July of 2014. I think it was one of the first 2015's to come into the USA.

[texex91]

If you're not buying until end of this year you are probably just torturing yourself at this point.

Wait and see what comes out in the Fall and then start looking.

[incontrol]

I think Paul is right. Who knows what changes and updates will be available in the 2018's!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by texex91

If you're not buying until end of this year you are probably just torturing yourself at this point.

Wait and see what comes out in the Fall and then start looking.

LOL, how true my friend. I may change my mind six times before then. But I do enjoy the process. Oddly enough, it seems to get worse with age with me. When I was younger, I was very spontaneous with car purchases and would flip all the time.

These days, certain things I tend to grind on. Generally not with watches, but other items.

[Psmith]

Originally Posted by Cantab

Alfa Romeo has a new high performance SUV coming soon. They test ahead of the competition, and they won't be seen at every golf course.

And the Maserati Levante is available now. The 'S' version has a 424 HP Ferrari-built V6 engine.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Psmith

And the Maserati Levante is available now. The 'S' version has a 424 HP Ferrari-built V6 engine.

It's so sexy.

I have not seen in the metal. But wow. So nice looking.

[G8RDPM]

Great review.

I'm only 5'9 so all cars are made for guys like me!
Never drove the Jag. Likely never will. Jaguar service department here is horrible.
Porsche at the same dealership is amazing.

So,another vote for the Macan. Wife drives a 2016 Macan S. I get to pay for it and drive it when it needs gas!

Handles better than her previous X5 and Cayenne.

I'd love to test drive the Turbo!

I think we have a lot to discuss at the GTG.

[jwill051]

I have had my Jag F-Pace S for about four months now and I love it. I am 6 ft and find the seats very comfortable on long hauls. As far as quality is concerned I have had no issues what so ever, fingers crossed. Have had occasion to have several back seat passengers and all said they were very comfy.
It seems that Jag did there homework on this one and really got it right, just my opinion of course. Just an aside I came out of an MB ML 350 before the Jag and as far as performance there is no comparison.

[1st amg]

The jag when I come across one on the road always get my attention, sweet looking....I also saw the new maserati, very nice and the interior is stunning. But I must say, I agree with your wife, a Vette convertible and maybe a nice four door pickup for the winter months, lots of nice stuff out there, keep us posted, if we are watch wis, we are also car wis!

[DeeTee]

You have some serious discipline or you haven't found the car you liked.
Have you driven the Escalade at all?

[VICI]

You can't compare a jag to a Porsche.

When the other guy buys the jag and it's in for service (many times), wave to him in your Porsche as you fly by.

The most reliable car I've ever owned (had several) and fun!