Macan loaner: why is the quality so much better?

[vmporsche]

I dropped off my Taycan to service today for the recall update (which they told me could take several days), and for rattles, again. Everything rattles- both front doors, the instrument cluster, the seats-- it's ridiculous. Yes, the foam stuffing works to some degree, but should we have to do that for such an expensive car, or any Porsche for that matter?

I was given a (base) Macan (it only has 2000 miles, so I assume it's a 2021) loaner and it's such a better interior experience; no rattles, PCM is fast, Wireless CarPlay connects immediately, etc. Re: PCM specifically, why is it so much better on the Macan? It's lightning-fast compared to the Taycan (switching apps, moving around), and the default CarPlay view allows me to see Maps and Sirius Radio in split-screen-- something I can't do on the Taycan AFAIK. I guess I just feel like a car that is 1/3 the cost of most Taycan's shouldn't be this much better in terms of rattles and PCM. Thoughts?

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[chrisk]

Everything you said is spot on.
It would have saved everyone a lot of frustration if the Taycan had the same PCM as the Panamera/Cayenne/Macan instead of using a beta of PCM 6.0.
I was a Macan owner and I have driven at least 10 Macans/Cayennes and I was never frustrated by their PCM. It is not as good as BMW's iDrive but it works as expected all the time without all these random glitches.

As for the interior rattles, it seems to me that some Taycans were rushed to be delivered and they did not do proper assembly and/or quality control.

Btw, are you in SoCal or NorCal? I am curious about the remedies that your dealer apply for the rattles.

 

[vmporsche]

Everything you said is spot on.
It would have saved everyone a lot of frustration if the Taycan had the same PCM as the Panamera/Cayenne/Macan instead of using a beta of PCM 6.0.
I was a Macan owner and I have driven at least 10 Macans/Cayennes and I was never frustrated by their PCM. It is not as good as BMW's iDrive but it works as expected all the time without all these random glitches.

As for the interior rattles, it seems to me that some Taycans were rushed to be delivered and they did not do proper assembly and/or quality control.

Btw, are you in SoCal or NorCal? I am curious about the remedies that your dealer apply for the rattles.

I'm in Northern California/Bay Area. So far, they have only stuck some felt in the same areas that your post shows. I've asked them (today) to try to remove the felt and provide a permanent, non-visible solution if possible. We'll see what they are able to do- I will update when I get my car back.

 

[Mike in CA]

Ok, so I guess I'll have to play the role of the contrarian just a little.

I took my 2021 4S in for the update this morning and was given a 2021 Macan S loaner with about 5000 miles on the clock. I didn't play much with the PCM except to select trip information and bring up some media but didn't notice any difference with those simple tasks. I did miss the haptic feedback in the Taycan but not a big deal one way or another.

Just from an esthetic standpoint, though, my Taycan interior is SO much classier than the Macan's. Maybe it's partly the Bordeaux Red full leather, which I love, but also the clean, modern layout of touch screens in the Taycan compared to the sea of buttons in the Macan. If my Taycan had a lot of rattles and squeaks that would make a tough comparison but my 4S interior is quiet as a church. I honestly think the Taycan interior is one of the car's best features and I much prefer it to the Macan's.

As for the software update, I took it in at 9:00 am and got a text at 2:00 pm saying it had been completed and the car was ready for pick-up; going down in the morning. Wishing the OP good luck that his update is done faster than he was told to expect.

 

[chrisk]

Ok, so I guess I'll have to play the role of the contrarian just a little.

I took my 2021 4S in for the update this morning and was given a 2021 Macan S loaner with about 5000 miles on the clock. I didn't play much with the PCM except to select trip information and bring up some media but didn't notice any difference with those simple tasks. I did miss the haptic feedback in the Taycan but not a big deal one way or another.

Just from an esthetic standpoint, though, my Taycan interior is SO much classier than the Macan's. Maybe it's partly the Bordeaux Red full leather, which I love, but also the clean, modern layout of touch screens in the Taycan compared to the sea of buttons in the Macan. If my Taycan had a lot of rattles and squeaks that would make a tough comparison but my 4S interior is quiet as a church. I honestly think the Taycan interior is one of the car's best features and I much prefer it to the Macan's.

As for the software update, like I said I took it in at 9:00 am and got a text at 2:00 pm saying it had been completed and the car was ready for pick-up; going down in the morning. Wishing the OP good luck that his update is done faster than he was told to expect.

I don't think this thread is comparing the interior aesthetics. The Taycan's interior is certainly more modern as it should be for a car released in 2020. Macan's interior is almost unchanged since 2015 with a mild refresh that included the newer PCM in 2019 and it show's its age. This thread is comparing the interior's assembly quality and PCM's software quality/functionality.

 

[Jhenson29]

I have to agree with @Mike in CA. I’ve had numerous loaner Macans, as recently as 2 months ago when we were getting PPF on the Taycan. We have a 2021 Cayenne loaner right now while our Taycan is in for the recall update (since Thursday…?).

But I don’t notice anything inferior in our Taycan regarding build quality or PCM operation. We don’t have rattles and I don’t really experience any slowness or other misc issues reported on the forum.

I’m not discounting others more negative experiences. Just pointing out that they aren’t universal.

 

[vmporsche]

I have to agree with @Mike in CA. I’ve had numerous loaner Macans, as recently as 2 months ago when we were getting PPF on the Taycan. We have a 2021 Cayenne loaner right now while our Taycan is in for the recall update (since Thursday…?).

But I don’t notice anything inferior in our Taycan regarding build quality or PCM operation. We don’t have rattles and I don’t really experience any slowness or other misc issues reported on the forum.

I’m not discounting others more negative experiences. Just pointing out that they aren’t universal.

I have to agree with @Mike in CA. I’ve had numerous loaner Macans, as recently as 2 months ago when we were getting PPF on the Taycan. We have a 2021 Cayenne loaner right now while our Taycan is in for the recall update (since Thursday…?).

But I don’t notice anything inferior in our Taycan regarding build quality or PCM operation. We don’t have rattles and I don’t really experience any slowness or other misc issues reported on the forum.

I’m not discounting others more negative experiences. Just pointing out that they aren’t universal.

I'm surprised that you and others are not experiencing the same PCM issues that I see on a regular basis-- aside from just being slow (UI) compared to the Macan, for example. Here's what I experience on a very regular basis:

- Can't login (automatically) with my profile even though I didn't change anything; have to use "Guest" and then it starts working again later in the day
- Favorites are wiped/must re-add
- "Check your satellite antenna" error message almost every day
- Navigation takes at least 30-60 seconds to begin working/ready for input
- Apple Music (not CarPlay) is either not there or takes 2-5 minutes (or more) to show up
- Wireless CarPlay takes 1-2 minutes to connect

Maybe these aren't as common as I thought?

 

[Mike in CA]

I don't think this thread is comparing the interior aesthetics. The Taycan's interior is certainly more modern as it should be for a car released in 2020. Macan's interior is almost unchanged since 2015 with a mild refresh that included the newer PCM in 2019 and it show's its age. This thread is comparing the interior's assembly quality and PCM's software quality/functionality.

To be specific, then, the interior assembly quality of my 4S is excellent; fit and finish, appearance, and freedom from interior noise/rattles/etc. is first class. The Macan I drove was nice too, but overall I much prefer the Taycan, for whatever that's worth.

As far as PCM is concerned, so far I have no complaints. Like @Jhenson29, I'm not suggesting that others may not be dissatisfied with the Taycan's PCM, it's just that it works well for me.

 

[Mike in CA]

I'm surprised that you and others are not experiencing the same PCM issues that I see on a regular basis-- aside from just being slow (UI) compared to the Macan, for example. Here's what I experience on a very regular basis:

- Can't login (automatically) with my profile even though I didn't change anything; have to use "Guest" and then it starts working again later in the day
- Favorites are wiped/must re-add
- "Check your satellite antenna" error message almost every day
- Navigation takes at least 30-60 seconds to begin working/ready for input
- Apple Music (not CarPlay) is either not there or takes 2-5 minutes (or more) to show up
- Wireless CarPlay takes 1-2 minutes to connect

Maybe these aren't as common as I thought?

I don't use Apple Music. Otherwise, I've had literally none of these problems.

 

[chrisk]

I'm surprised that you and others are not experiencing the same PCM issues that I see on a regular basis-- aside from just being slow (UI) compared to the Macan, for example. Here's what I experience on a very regular basis:

- Can't login (automatically) with my profile even though I didn't change anything; have to use "Guest" and then it starts working again later in the day
- Favorites are wiped/must re-add
- "Check your satellite antenna" error message almost every day
- Navigation takes at least 30-60 seconds to begin working/ready for input
- Apple Music (not CarPlay) is either not there or takes 2-5 minutes (or more) to show up
- Wireless CarPlay takes 1-2 minutes to connect

Maybe these aren't as common as I thought?

The satellite antenna issue is known to Porsche, they have a TSB acknowledging it but no fix This is one more known issue without a fix https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10191723-0001.pdf

I used to have the slow map load very often and the dealer "recoded" the PCM which improved things. It still happens but rarely. Btw I did not have this issue at the beginning, it just degraded over time. Same with some rattles that developed over time. So I would like to hear back from those people that say every works fine after a few months. Maybe quality has improved in recent builds.

 

[KensingtonPark]

I'm surprised that you and others are not experiencing the same PCM issues that I see on a regular basis-- aside from just being slow (UI) compared to the Macan, for example. Here's what I experience on a very regular basis:

1- Can't login (automatically) with my profile even though I didn't change anything; have to use "Guest" and then it starts working again later in the day
2- Favorites are wiped/must re-add
3- "Check your satellite antenna" error message almost every day
4- Navigation takes at least 30-60 seconds to begin working/ready for input
5- Apple Music (not CarPlay) is either not there or takes 2-5 minutes (or more) to show up
6- Wireless CarPlay takes 1-2 minutes to connect

Maybe these aren't as common as I thought?

I get #3 and sometimes #6. I don’t use PCM Nav or Apple Music, so I cannot comment on those.

 

[Jhenson29]

I'm surprised that you and others are not experiencing the same PCM issues that I see on a regular basis-- aside from just being slow (UI) compared to the Macan, for example. Here's what I experience on a very regular basis:

- Can't login (automatically) with my profile even though I didn't change anything; have to use "Guest" and then it starts working again later in the day
- Favorites are wiped/must re-add
- "Check your satellite antenna" error message almost every day
- Navigation takes at least 30-60 seconds to begin working/ready for input
- Apple Music (not CarPlay) is either not there or takes 2-5 minutes (or more) to show up
- Wireless CarPlay takes 1-2 minutes to connect

Maybe these aren't as common as I thought?

-No issues with login
-not sure what favorites you’re referring to.
- I’ve never received a satellite antenna message. I also don’t use satellite radio though.
- don’t use car nav. Occasionally pull up the map just to have it on, but otherwise don’t use
- don’t use Apple Music.
- no issues with car play.

March 2021 build - 4S - driven 2 months/2200 miles so far.

as I posted in my pro-pcm thread, a lot of my lack of issue may also be related to lack of use. I don’t really do much with it. But what little I do use it hasn’t been a problem as of yet. I‘ve also never done the pcm reset people refer to. No need.

Edit: I have no doubt that there are real issues people are regularly dealing with. I hope they get worked through/resolved so everyone’s Taycan experience is as fabulous as mine!! ??

 

[jimshadow]

Woah…..currently driving a base Macan and I HATE it!!! I want my Taycan back. No rattles at all and a TON more driveability.

FWIW, YMMV but I’d never buy a Macan based on my loaner experience.

Jim

 

[mokre]

I've definitely noticed software issues in the pcm. Carplay takes so long to connect I went back to using my android phone for audio. This is when I discovered a bug that the pcm never properly deleted my iPhone and kept trying to connect to carplay as if it was the default media player.

I eventually fixed this by re-pairing my android phone with the car.. and now it connects to Bluetooth audio just fine.

I have also had rattles around the car, the biggest one was fixed by the dealer. The others don't bother me enough. You're not alone in noticing the Macan is generally better built

I suspect a lot of this is related to the Taycan being a relatively new car and Porsche hasn't quite worked through these smaller quality issues, where the Macan has been around for long enough that they've found almost all small defects and have fixes for them.

 

[mokre]

Woah…..currently driving a base Macan and I HATE it!!! I want my Taycan back. No rattles at all and a TON more driveability.

FWIW, YMMV but I’d never buy a Macan based on my loaner experience.

Jim

I wouldn't buy a base Macan for sure. I would be interested in seeing what the higher trim levels offer (especially the upcoming electric one), but I agree.. the base model is terrible. I understand why dealers use them as loan cars but unfortunately they leave terrible impressions.. but the dealers don't really have any other choices of the they want to offer a loan car with a Porsche badge..

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