Back Seats Are Tight - 2015 Porsche Macan S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Back Seats Are Tight - 2015 Porsche Macan S Long-Term Road Test

You can't have it all when it comes to compact SUVS, so even the brilliant Porsche Macan has its flaws. Case in point: the back seats.

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rxanand

The "sleek roofline" that you journalists seem to love so much results in poor visibility and limited room in the back seat in so many cars nowadays. Not to mention that the rear windows have become minuscule making cars feel claustrophobic. Its not just the Macan. I sat in a Mazda 3 recently which felt similarly claustrophobic in the back seat.

joner800

from the picture, the only thing that looks small is the door opening.

gloss

Yeah, that doesn't look bad at all to me.

eurocarlover19

that's plenty of room for me and my friends.

frostyzoob

@Ed: Can you (or someone at Edmunds) measure them? I'd love to know how the rear seats compare to other CUVs on the market.

quadricycle

For anyone interested in seeing just how much the roofline is taking away from interior space, go to the introduction for this car and check out picture #3 (side profile) and #13 (the trunk opening).

So how about this: Normal, or slightly less sleek roofline, then push the backseat bench backwards two inches. More leg room, trunk space will stay the same or increase. Oops, it looks like a wagon now, might as well drop it two inches to the ground, improve the CoG, air resistance, and so on. Well look at that, a Porsche wagon that doesn't look like the Panamera. Thank goodness they didn't build that, that would have just been horrible - he said with an incredibly sarcastic tone.

legacygt

@quadricycle said:
For anyone interested in seeing just how much the roofline is taking away from interior space, go to the introduction for this car and check out picture #3 (side profile) and #13 (the trunk opening).

So how about this: Normal, or slightly less sleek roofline, then push the backseat bench backwards two inches. More leg room, trunk space will stay the same or increase. Oops, it looks like a wagon now, might as well drop it two inches to the ground, improve the CoG, air resistance, and so on. Well look at that, a Porsche wagon that doesn't look like the Panamera. Thank goodness they didn't build that, that would have just been horrible - he said with an incredibly sarcastic tone.

I love wagons as much as the next guy. Gut Porsche got into the CUV and sedan business because lots of people buy those types of cars. Lots of people DON'T buy wagons. Porsche wanted to supplement it's relatively low volume sports car business with large volume vehicles. Adding a wagon makes no sense for them.

ocramidajzj

@rxanand said:
The "sleek roofline" that you journalists seem to love so much results in poor visibility and limited room in the back seat in so many cars nowadays. Not to mention that the rear windows have become minuscule making cars feel claustrophobic. Its not just the Macan. I sat in a Mazda 3 recently which felt similarly claustrophobic in the back seat.

Really depends on your priorities. If you want to drive a box then you'll have plenty of headroom, but if you want a little more style then you loose some convenience. There's no free lunch. Personally I'd easily trade some convenience for a car that I enjoy looking at each day. Paying that much money for a box isn't appealing.

quadricycle

@legacygt: I know, I know... You're completely right, and I realize that there's only four of us interested in wagons in the NA market. I figure you've got to give a car guy one weekly rant about either diesels or wagons, or so it seems.

It also really doesn't help that I'm currently overseas being driven around in an A6 Avant, seeing 5's and E's in wagon form, Passats, and heck even Ford wagon variants of its vehicles. I'll try to sneak one into the country in my luggage if I can.

cjasis

Actually, there are five of us

@quadricycle said:
legacygt: I know, I know... You're completely right, and I realize that there's only four of us interested in wagons in the NA market. I figure you've got to give a car guy one weekly rant about either diesels or wagons, or so it seems.

It also really doesn't help that I'm currently overseas being driven around in an A6 Avant, seeing 5's and E's in wagon form, Passats, and heck even Ford wagon variants of its vehicles. I'll try to sneak one into the country in my luggage if I can.

fordson1

Six. If VW made a Jetta GLI wagon, I'd have one today.