If you were trying to check out an SUV for the first time, a racetrack wouldn’t normally be where you’d want to drive it. For one, it would be too smooth to figure out how the vehicle would tackle the rough and tumble of the real world. And SUVs are high vehicles that aren’t usually meant for speed and handling, right? Wrong, if the SUV in question is a Porsche.

Porsche India director Pavan Shetty says they would be rolling out the latest version of their midsize SUV, Macan, in India around July. Apart from the base two-litre, four-cylinder model, there will also be a Macan S model that will come with a three-litre, turbocharged V6 petrol engine. And it is this Macan S, in left-hand drive German spec, that we got a feel of at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida as part of the Porsche World Roadshow recently.

EXTERIORS

The design of the Macan was right for starters — what with the sloping roofline and broad haunches reminiscent of the 911 — and for the new model, changes to the exterior have been kept to the minimum. The front and rear bumpers have been redesigned a little. The headlamps have been changed from xenons to Porsche’s Adaptive Matrix LED units with the signature four-LED daytime running lights.

The most prominent change has been at the back, where, like the new 911 and Cayenne, the Macan, too, gets the LED light bar that goes right across the hatch door and connects the tail lights on either side. As earlier, despite being an SUV, the Macan still manages to look sporty.

INTERIORS

This is where the changes are more obvious with a dash that’s entirely new. It now has a bigger and sharper 10.9-inch touchscreen (the older car had a 7.2-inch one) infotainment system that’s going on most Porsche models like the Cayenne SUV and the 911 sportscar. This is a very responsive unit that has been positioned so well that using it even while driving is nearly not a distraction, although we were too busy driving to use it a great deal. Still it looks pretty good.

I quite like the fact that the Macan retains the buttons and the conventional gear lever (unlike the stubby one in the new 911) on the sloping central control. I just find these easier to locate and use than touch-sensitive stuff that one has to locate visually most of the time. So yes, after touch-buttons things might look a bit cluttered, but I just find buttons way easier to use while driving.

The new Macan also retains the three-dial (these are all real and not images on a screen) layout of the instrument cluster with the tachometer in the middle in true Porsche style.

Quality is top notch all around and fit is fantastic and there are lots of new finish options now. The moment one gets into the very well-contoured and supportive seats, everything falls neatly to hand. And, oddly enough, even though you’re sitting fairly high in an SUV, the position is still somehow reminiscent of a sportscar.

HANDLING AND RIDE

Now if you’ve got an SUV on a racing track with a whole bunch of sportscars from Porsche, the makers must have enough faith in its ability to keep up with the rest of the pack. And it did. The Macan S we were driving had the Sports Chrono Pack that makes its responses sharper. The zero to 100kmph time for this one is 5.1 seconds. So there was a solid shove every time we floored it.

What was more fun, however, was going round corners and chicanes. The Porsche Active Suspension Management continuously changes the damping for the four wheels individually to try to keep the Macan as flat as possible to improve sportiness but softens things up when going over rough bits like the kerbs — you just hear a ‘brrrr’. The setup not only inspires a lot of confidence in the driver, but ups the fun quotient by quite a few notches.

Extrapolating that to the non-track world, it appeared to have all the qualities to be a great deal of fun to chuck around. Vehicles equipped with the Sport Chrono Pack also get the dial on the steering wheel that lets you select the driving modes.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION

Now there would be two engines on offer in India. The first would be an inline, four-cylinder petrol making around 250hp and 370Nm of torque. This would be good enough to hit 100kmph from standstill in 6.5 seconds. The Macan S version with the six-cylinder, three-litre (2,995cc) version makes 348hp and 480Nm of torque. Now this is the same engine that goes into the bottom version of the Cayenne, which is a much larger and heavier vehicle. So, in the Macan S it produces quite a bit of go thanks to the lower weight. Not surprisingly, it was enjoyable to hustle it around corners and hold up the speed on the long sweeping curve at the far end of the track. And it was quite at home among the sportscars.

In fact, the power delivery is nicely linear and there is never any sense of lag at any speed. And the exhaust note is rather nice and rorty. This is a fun car that’s practical too in the way midsize SUVs typically are. You can take it to office, drop the kids off to school in it and then have a blast if you can find the road. Speed tops out at 254kmph and you’ll be lucky to find a place where you can reach it. The fun is in the acceleration. And you can get that thrill in a lot of places.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Porsche, unlike earlier, is expected to price the new Macan to be more competitive with the likes of BMW’s X4 and X5 and the Mercedes Benz GLE. So expect prices between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 70 lakh for the four-cylinder version. The Macan S should then cost between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 90 lakh. That’s a fair bit of money for a whole lot of thrills — and some practicality too.

The dashboard has a totally new design Image: Abhijit Mitra

Apart from the base two-litre, four-cylinder model, there will also be a Macan S model that will come with a three-litre, turbocharged V6 petrol engine. Image: Abhijit Mitra

It still has the three-dial instrument cluster Image: Abhijit Mitra