Help me decide

[macdub]

Hi All,
Sorry it may end up in a long post but need some thoughts from people here as I am very confused. I am still far from taking the decision but good to get some advise. Initially I was planning to buy very old Toureg under 20k, use it for 2 years and then buy near new car of my choice as our primary vehicle.

Now I am thinking of selling my R wagon, add some money and change our primary vehicle now. The budget will be 55-60k. I have beaten by the sporty SUV bug. Another reason is that I am having all sorts of back/leg pain issues driving around GTI/Rs for last 7-8 years so SUV may be little comfortable to deal with. So the shortlisted cars are

Macan S
Macan S Diesel
SQ5
Wait for T-Roc R

So my questions are
1. Is buying a used Macan (2015-16) even a good idea?? Or I am completely stupid. I have read that you can get up to 15 years warranty with Porsche even if the warranty has expired. Also if you buy from pre-approved program, you get one year warranty. I have never owned Porsche but always dreamt of owning one. All the reviews are raving about the car.

2. Which one to pick, S or S diesel? I have never owned diesel and S Diesel looks quick enough on paper. I will be driving about 20k a year. I ahev always driven GTI/Rs so car has to be fairly quick, under 7 secs.

3. If I go Macan way, how many kms on the ODO I should look at? With the budget, I can possibly get 60-80k on ODO. Is this a good idea?

4. SQ5 is very quick but I just dont like the exterior and interior that much. Any thoughts from owners here?

5. Then, I am thinking may be wait a little and can get new T-roc R for the same money. But it will be nothing new car wise as currently driving R wagon.

6. Do you have any other alternative suggestions?

The car has to be SUV and little sporty. I do not need 7 seater, mid size SUV is perfect. I also looked at new Q3s but they are slow.

Sorry for the long post.
TIA.

[Lucas_R]

Cant help you with the Porsche Macan questions other that in my opinion, avoid the diesel. Looks wise, i like the rear, but side on and front on doesnt looks quite right to me - especially with the smaller wheels on the lower spec models. Drivetrain wise, I believe the Macan S diesel use the 3.0 diesel V6 single turbo which is the same engine used in several Audi/VW models. The Macan S, with the 3.0 V6 TT petrol engine (250kw/460nm) would be my pick. And with those lowish power ratings it would be heavily detuned from the factory to differentiate it from the more powerful (265kw/500nm) and more expensive GTS model. Get that petrol engine tuned to release another 70-80kw and 120-150nm and it will fly.

I have a 2015 Audi SQ5 so can make comments on that. Yes its quick (faster than the Macan) and with a stage 1 tune its even faster again. But ive had several issues with the DPF and EGR already and am considering selling the vehicle (its only done 50,000km mind you) soon and getting back into a petrol powered car. IMO the diesel and all the sensors and emissions crap is just a pain in the butt these days. Looks wise, yes the SQ5 is showing its age, because it first came out in 2009 as the normal Q5, so its a good 10 yrs old now. But its solid inside and out, and very well built. If you find them a little bland, try to find one with the black optics exterior pack (blacked out grill, roof rails and window surrounds) and the quilted leather seats and carbon interior trim - they look much nicer. Oh also the optional 21" rims. Link to mine in my signature if you are interested. I managed to get pretty much every option except the black out exterior pack on ours.

Another option, within your budget, which im actually considering as my next car, is the 2014-2016 era Mercedes ML. They have either the 3.0 V6 twin turbo petrol engine or the 4.7 V8 twin turbo petrol engine. Both supposedly quite reliable engines, and no more diesel issues. And very nice looking cars too. Bit bigger (longer) than the Macan and SQ5 though.

[macdub]

Cant help you with the Porsche Macan questions other that in my opinion, avoid the diesel. Looks wise, i like the rear, but side on and front on doesnt looks quite right to me.

I have a 2015 Audi SQ5 so can make comments on that. Yes its quick (faster than the Macan) and with a stage 1 tune its even faster again. But ive had several issues with the DPF and EGR already and am considering selling the vehicle (its only done 50,000km mind you) soon and getting back into a petrol powered car. IMO the diesel and all the sensors and emissions crap is just a pain in the butt these days. Looks wise, yes the SQ5 is showing its age, because it first came out in 2009 as the normal Q5, so its a good 10 yrs old now. But its solid inside and out, and very well built. If you find them a little bland, try to find one with the black optics exterior pack (blacked out grill, roof rails and window surrounds) and the quilted leather seats and carbon interior trim - they look much nicer. Oh also the optional 21" rims. Link to mine in my signature if you are interested. I managed to get pretty much every option except the black out exterior pack on ours.

Another option, within your budget, which im actually considering as my next car, is the 2014-2016 era Mercedes ML. They have either the 3.0 V6 twin turbo petrol engine or the 4.7 V8 twin turbo petrol engine. Both supposedly quite reliable engines, and no more diesel issues. And very nice looking cars too. Bit bigger (longer) than the Macan and SQ5 though.

Thanks that's really helpful. Shame you are having so many issues with such low kms. The problem with petrol Macan is that budget climbs to 70k with reasonable kms..with my budget, they are all high kms..Never looked into Merc...I had A250 for a while and did not enjoy driving it as much I enjoy my R..I think Porsche discontinued Macan S Diesesl too so your comments on emission saga makes sense..They brought Macan with 2l turbo, which I think is GTI engine..however they came in 2018 so out of my budget..

[Lucas_R]

Needs new wheels pronto but nice car otherwise and low km's. Im sure you could get that negotiated down to $60k: CarSales Link

This is nice too, 2 yrs newer than the blue one and low km's: CarSales Link

This one looks the best out of the 3 in my opinion (due to paint colour and wheels) but higher km's than the other two: CarSales Link

I also added some more info to my original post about the Porsche engine.

[macdub]

Needs new wheels pronto but nice car otherwise and low km's. Im sure you could get that negotiated down to $60k: CarSales Link

This is nice too, 2 yrs newer than the blue one and low km's: CarSales Link

This one looks the best out of the 3 in my opinion (due to paint colour and wheels) but higher km's than the other two: CarSales Link

I also added some more info to my original post about the Porsche engine.

oh wow some great options interstate! I was only looking at Victoria!

[Lucas_R]

oh wow some great options interstate! I was only looking at Victoria!

Yes definitely look in other states. I bought our SQ5 from Melbourne and shipped it up to Newcastle, same with my Subaru Liberty GT. I bought my last car (Lexus IS-F) from Brisbane too. As long as you factor in the roadworthy check and rego once you get it back home you can look for bargains in other states, especially on rarer cars where you dont have many to choose from.

[Lellore]

It's always better to look in other cities too, sometimes there are really good deals