Went to Test Drive a Macan S Ended Up Driving This

"Shane Moore" (snakesm13)
08/22/2020 at 23:46 • Filed to: None

I had some extra time to kill after I realized there was a reason this Macan was being sent to auction. The salesman suggested I drive this:

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Still with this?

It was way more fun than I expected. 375hp and 350tq makes this feel like a rocket. One word to describe it would be eager. The Macan S is quick but it’s just so smooth and uninspiring sounding that it doesn’t feel it. The GLA instantly wanted to respond to the right foot, handled great and sounded fun. This one comes with about 18 months of warranty, any clue on the reliability of these things? Should I be interested or run away? Price is a little high I believe but no negotiations yet.

DISCUSSION (48)

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Shane Moore
08/22/2020 at 23:57

It’s a German, high-performance luxury sedan built in modest volumes. How bad can it be?

...Oh, wait a minute.

Good luck though! I’ve read great things.

Shane Moore > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/22/2020 at 23:59

Can’t be worse than my wife’s 3 MINI ’s right? RIGHT?

atfsgeoff > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:00

What... is it? I can’t decide if it’s a low SUV or a tall hatchback.

Shane Moore > atfsgeoff
08/23/2020 at 00:04

It feels like a grown up golf R Coupe. More wagon/hatch than suv.

Spasoje > atfsgeoff
08/23/2020 at 00:06

Tall hatchback! Like an off-road Golf hatch hehe

Jewish Stig > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:06

I despise the gla interior, because it looks and feel like a cheap after thought.

Mainly that horrible screen that is just stuck in the middle like someone remembered in the last minute that they need an infotainment screen in the car.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:08

Yeah... this is true.

Funny, as much as I gave my wife the “side eye” on her Countryman, I’d have to concede that it’s actually been as reliable as anything “European” in our fleets. Almost certainly the most reliable BMW since the E34. YMMV

Shane Moore > Jewish Stig
08/23/2020 at 00:08

The screen is a downer but this one has brown leather AMG Performance Recaro seats and aluminum trim that make it feel slightly more upscale.

atfsgeoff > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:11

Ok fair enough!

My biggest question is long term reliability of a 2.0l 4-cyl that’s subjected to 26 PSI of boost with the factory tune. That 375 horsepower’s gotta come from somewhere, and if it ain’t displacement or revving to the moon , well...

Jewish Stig > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:12

But is it really better then the parsche?

Personally, to me they are incomparable, the macan is light years better then the gla

Shane Moore > atfsgeoff
08/23/2020 at 00:21

The new cla/gla is using the same hand built AMG engine with over 400hp. Renn tech has a 460hp tune. But point taken.

CB > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 00:22

No dumb wing = no buy

Shane Moore > CB
08/23/2020 at 00:25

The real reason not to buy.

Shane Moore > Jewish Stig
08/23/2020 at 00:28

Good question, as far as pure driving enjoyment? Absolutely the MB. As far as having a local dealership, agin MB (no Porsche witching 120miles). Also warranty on the MB. As far as fit, finish, and quality of materials, no question Porsche hands down.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 01:03

Do not aftermarket tune these. Unless you hate money.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 01:21

It’s funny you bring this up! I was just talking with someone else about these the other day. These are actually extremely reliable. I can’t even name a common engine or drivetrain issue at all. I’ve definitely seen failures here and there, but for good reason, i.e. some dumbass did something or it was an early build issue that’s since been remedied.

Biggest issue will be maintenance. Everything else will most likely be fine. Owning one of these outside of warranty wouldn’t scare me at all.

As far as maintenance goes: regular service every 10k, air filter every 10k, brake fluid every 20k, trans fluid every 30k, rear diff fluid at 10k then every 20k after that, plugs at 50k. Tires and brakes will depend on how hard you drive it. But could be as low as 15k or as high as 60k. Rotating tires every 5k will help with that a lot. Use only top tier premium gas. Use only factory parts to service.

Do not modify it for increased performance. Trust me, this engine is already tuned to a high level, taking it further, with what will absolutely be an imperfect time that hasn’t been tested for thousands of hours by a team of engineers will at best eventually burn valves. I've been meaning to post a horror story about this scenario for a few months now.

If you have any questions just ask.

Discerning > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 01:38

Check o ut the Macan turbo. The macan has the better chassis and the better drive train. You can also tow with the macan

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 02:11

They seem like fun cars. Albeit a bit smaller and lower than the Macan.

Napoli > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 06:59

I have a 2016 GLA45. It’s been a great daily driver. My daughter fits well in the back and it’s really useful being able to fold down the back seats to haul stuff. If you are seriously considering this car, find out if it’s too late to extend the manufacturer warranty. I think you have to do it before the regular warranty expires. I ended up extending it for an extra three years as repairs are not cheap on this car . Also, I see these selling for less miles closer to $30k. And this doesn’t have the AMG race mode. If I could do things over I would have gotten it with race mode. Let me know if you have any questions.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 07:48

I had the almost base GLA250 vers ion . I leased it. I turned it in early. After the “ newness” wore off, it really was not a pleasant vehicle. Uncomfortable on long trips, the Frontier I rented was loads more comfortable . Interior was pretty terrible. It always had issues with the start/stop system and auxiliary battery, it was in 16 times during the 2.5 years I had it . I ignored most of the squeaks and rattles, I worked for M-B at the time and I hated dealing with those, so I never had it looked at. It looked very pretty, dark gray with black “leather, ” but it was boring. Dual clutch transmission just wasn’t quite there yet and jerked and juddered at times, still better than a Focus, though. I turned it in early, and willfully, happy to pay the expense. I replaced it with a high mileage Xterra and never looked back. It is top 5 most hated vehicles I’ve owned, next to a base model Mercury Sable that was a dealer loaner its entire life, at a time when my previous car to that was a twin turbo’d Northstar powered Fiero. And my wife hated it even more, I traded in her Mini Cooper and my Land Cruiser for it. Should have kept the Land Cruiser, they have exploded in price since then.

Plus that one is a pretty low option AMG. Ugly wheels, no wing or front canards, and white. I love the light blue ones .

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/23/2020 at 11:47

Was hoping you would make an appearance on this post! So many questions, I’ll just ask a couple. I found another one about 200 miles away. 2017 highly optioned with less miles same price but not certified so warranty ends in about 6 months. It’s not from a MB dealer so is it still possible to extend the factory warranty another year like others have mentioned? Also I hear you on the tune, I was mostly making a point to the comment about the reliability due to the current output. It seemed plenty fast to me.

As far as maintenance, is it something I will be able to tackle after warranty or best practice to get serviced at the dealer? I’m very mechanical inclined but if it takes specialized tools and computers to reset simple maintenance minders (porsche) I may be inclined to take it in.

Thanks for the reply!

Shane Moore > Discerning
08/23/2020 at 11:51

Yeah the turbo is on my list but I live where the S only comes around once or twice a year up for sale and with the pandemic still not under control in Texas, traveling to check one out doesn’t measure well on my risk/reward scale. The other factor is no Porsche dealer within 120 miles. Which wasn’t much of a problem until this whole lockdown thing.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 12:13

I don’t care what anyone else says, i think they’re pretty damn cool, though I prefer the non-lifted version.

Small fast and practical is a fun combo. That said, my friend has a Macan GTS that i’ve driven and its a very impressive vehicle. really really handles well for an SUV.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 12:14

Definitely get the certified one. Vast majority of used car lots selling these are poorly maintained or wrecked examples. That shouldn’t be an issue (still possible, but very unlikely) with a certified one. You can get up to three years on the CPO warranty. And no, you cannot extend the warranty on one bought elsewhere.

Maintenance is easy! You can almost certainly do everything yourself aside from trans service and rear diff service. Plugs are kind of tough, so just be careful getting those out, but you can totally do it. Trans isn’t a lot of fun even for me, they’re messy. But diff requires you to actuate the clutch solenoid with a computer and turn the wheels over by hand to bleed the fluid circuit. It's really a pretty simple car for what it is.

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/23/2020 at 12:45

Noted. This is the other in question:

https://www.cowboykia.com/vehicle-details/used-2017-mercedes-benz-gla-amg-gla-45-WDDTG5CB8HJ341547

Seems to be serviced regularly at Mercedes except for the brakes in January. Lower mileage more options one year newer.

Shane Moore > GoodIdeaAtTheTime
08/23/2020 at 12:54

Seems that anything other than black or white is hard to come by. I would LOVE the green but none available. You are the first to tell me about a bad experience with one. Maybe the 45 is slightly better. Thanks for the honest review.

Shane Moore > Napoli
08/23/2020 at 12:58

How old is your daughter? Any car seat experience with it?

I agree the price is high but no negotiations yet, I needed to do the research as these were not even on my radar. They did say I could extend the warranty to 3 years but I don’t keep vehicles long so maybe the 18 months is enough. I did find a 17 with the aero and race mode but not certified.

https://www.cowboykia.com/vehicle-details/used-2017-mercedes-benz-gla-amg-gla-45-WDDTG5CB8HJ341547

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 13:00

I can check the VMI on both tomorrow when I’m at work, and recommend from there. Without doing that I’m still saying CPO, and that probably won’t change. Kia will probably offer a warranty for sale, but it will be an aftermarket service contract and those are notoriously terrible aside from like one or two companies and even then only if you get the most expensive option.

The Kia one is at 30k right now, so trans and diff are due assuming they weren’t done already. Most people don’t do the air filter every 10k. I would bet money that Kia didn’t go any of that, and maybe only did an oil change with the cheapest oil and filter they could find.

CPO requires all overdue maintenance to be taken care of as well as all maintenance due within 6 months or 6k miles. So it should’ve just had plugs, diff, oil change, air filter at least. And maybe trans if that wasn’t already done. And if those things aren’t up to date, you can use that in your negotiations, make them get it up to snuff because they fucked up.

Mileage doesn’t mean shit on these of they’re maintained. And that brown interior is extremely rare and will almost certainly help the car hold better value over the Kia one.

But yeah, if I don't let you know about the VMI's be end of day tomorrow, remind me again and I'll look into them for you

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/23/2020 at 15:29

Thanks! You are very persuasive, the brown is fantastic and I don’t think I would miss much driving experience without the other options.

I guess getting you that CLK GTR secret Senna ‘16 might pay off...:)

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 21:11

You won’t

It’s favorite shelf decoration! Sitting about 5 feet from me right now!

Napoli > Shane Moore
08/23/2020 at 21:25

I got the car when she just turned 1 so I still had the seat facing backwards. The front seat had to be pretty far forward in order for the rear facing seat to fit. She’s now three and the seat is facing forward. It’s definitely not the ideal car for a rear facing child seat but it’s definitely possible. And my daughter absolutely loves being in the car. My dad a bunch of unusual cars when I was a kid and I have really fond memories of them. I’m trying to keep the spirit alive for my daughter so I started with the GLA.

Shane Moore > Napoli
08/23/2020 at 22:26

Very cool! My daughter turns 3 on the 29th and as long as she makes the weight we will be turning her around. She fits rear facing in my wife’s clubman so I’m sure it will be fine.

I had no car influences until I was I maybe 6th grade so I’m not sure how the passion is so strong but I’m instilling it in my daughter too. Her favorite toys are my old hot wheels.

Textured Soy Protein > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 11:27

I’ve been looking at CLA/GLA45s but not willing to buy because I’m drawn to a comfier, better-optioned Stinger GT2.

This particular car at Cowboy Kia has some of the main options I want on these cars, namely the pano roof, AMG Dynamic Plus package (adaptive shocks, race drive mode, top speed limiter raised from 155 to 167, mechanical front LSD), and dual-mode AMG exhaust. You can run the vin here .

It doesn’t have active cruise, which I personally am kinda hung up on. That was an available option on these cars but exceedingly rare to find.

Shane Moore > Textured Soy Protein
08/24/2020 at 11:46

Stinger might be a bit long for me. Almost the same dimension of my Chevy SS was. It is an interesting vehicle I had not thought about. Honestly the GLA was a vehicle I had not thought about either. While those options are nice if I had not known about them (race mode, suspension) I don’t think I would have missed them. The AMG sport seats and exhaust seem like a must though.

Arrivederci > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 11:52

I’d hold out for the Parsh, but I’m definitely biased against the A-class cars, so take my opinion with a grain of salt :).

Shane Moore > Arrivederci
08/24/2020 at 12:27

Biased from personal experience or just unfounded seething resentment. Understandable on both accounts. While the Porsche is the better brand/vehicle. When I had my Cayenne GTS scheduling appointments 120 miles away would now be extremely hard with the pandemic.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 12:56

Certified car had: brakes (not sure if front or rear or both), new tires, air filter, A service , battery, wipers all at 52k. Windshield at 50k. B service at 42k. A service at 3 1k. B service and brake flush at 20k. A service at 10k.

Looks like: plugs were missed at 50k. Trans was missed at 30k and at CPO. Also (over)due for brake fluid. All three diff services that should’ve been done were missed, which makes me fear that that diff isn’t long for this world. I would make them do those services and take special note of diff fluid condition and function test it to make sure it actually puts power down to the rear wheels. One way to do this is see if it just doe s (or wants to do, but traction control limits it ) a front wheel burnout on full throttle from a stop. They could also put it in the air in drive and try holding one or both rear wheels, they shouldn’t be able to with a small amount of throttle . I’ve replaced a few of these due to lack of maintenance. The dealer could warranty it right now probably. The trans being over doesn’t concern me, but it needs to be done. All of these things needed to be taken care of for it to pass CPO. They dropped the ball. You can show them this for all I care.

Kia: A service at 7200. B service at 16k. A service at 26k.

It has not had any diff services, trans service, air filters, or brake fluid done. Same fear here for the diff as above, but no CPO warranty.

I wouldn't buy either of these if the seller refuses to bring them up to date on services and also check the diffs. An exception would be if they took retail price off the top for those services, but that would be dumb because they can do them cheaper at their cost.

Arrivederci > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 13:16

100% unfounded aside from casually looking at them. Just never got onboard with that styling aesthetic and the interiors don’t seem to match up to the rest of MB’s quality. It feels to me like it should be a budget sub-brand of Mercedes. Meanwhile I never got the same sensation from the contemporary BMW 1-series or Audi A3, so it just seems as if MB just didn’t try.

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/24/2020 at 13:37

Woah dude, way to come with it. That is pretty concerning for the dealership to not do the required work. I am still interested in the vehicle but I will mention it and see where it goes. Definitely wont get it if its pointed out and they turn a blind eye.

Thanks for looking into the Kia but that seals the deal on that one, going to pass.

Thanks again!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 13:45

Many dealers have less experienced techs doing used cars. They miss things. If they make it right, I wouldn’t fault them for it. 45's are weird in that they require more stuff and at way different intervals from everything else we have, brain farts happen, and the service sheet is a big jumble of words and a matrix, stuff is real easy to miss. I know, because I’ve been at this for a while and it’s my job to look after the other techs and to know AMG’s. But also, sometimes sales tries to force a CPO through without doing everything because of how much it costs to do all the maintenance, and that is shitty. If they don't like how much it costs to CPO, then they shouldn't CPO it

Textured Soy Protein > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 15:38

The most important part of the Dynamic Plus package is the one you didn’t mention: the LSD. The awd system on these is a pretty basic fwd-based setup with open front and rear diffs. Adding the front LSD gives a ton of additional mechanical grip for powering out of corners. For me, this is a must-have on any _A 45 AMG car. The suspension can also be had as a standalone option, but it’s also a must-have for me because the ride on the base non-adjustable suspension is stiff as hell. The ride on the adjustable suspension in comfort mode still isn’t good but it at least gives a little more compliance than the base suspension.

I actually wanted to avoid the AMG/Recaro seats as the base ones are already somewhat racy looking and the bolsters on the upgraded ones can be a bit confining. I’m a big gym rat with a very wide upper back and sometimes extra-bolstery seats can be confining for me.

FYI if you’re shopping these, in 2016 the engine got a power bump from 355 to 375 hp, and the transmission got shorter gearing and was reprogrammed for snappier shifting, especially in low-speed, part-throttle situations. I would avoid the 2014-15 cars mainly for the transmission. The styling on the CLA got facelifted in 17 and in 18 on the GLA. The articles describing the facelift will sometimes mention the 2016 powertrain updates as part of the facelift but I went down this rabbit hole and it’s because some of the facelift press releases from Mercedes mentioned the powertrain updates that came in 2016. But there were no additional powertrain updates directly tied to the facelift.

The Stinger is on the big side for me as well but the GT2 trim is fully loaded with a ton of options. There are 3 in particular that I’d get value out of: active cruise that can come to a full stop (it will resume driving if stopped for 3 seconds or less but after that you have to put your foot on the gas or hit the resume button), ventilated seats, and an awesome surround view camera that lets you select any one of something like 6-8 different angles of different parts of the car, including straight ahead to never ever scrape on a cursed parking block ever again (this was added for 2019, the 18 GT2 has a regular backup camera).

I’m tempted by the 45 AMGs’ smaller size, zippier handling, obnoxious noises, and quicker acceleration stock, but frustrated at their lack of options. Active cruise was available but as I said uncommon, no vented seats at all, and the GLA (but not CLA) got a surround view cam from 18-20, but again it’s very rare. I definitely prefer the styling of the CLA over the GLA. If I could find either one with the roof, LSD, suspension, exhaust, base seats & active cruise I’d be tempted. But so far every one where I’ve decoded a VIN has either had the active cruise and none of the sporty stuff, or vice versa.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, even auto-dimming mirror is an annoyingly uncommon option on these. The one you drove has it listed on the dealer site but that was another thing I found in my VIN decoding where a lot of these cars were missing that.

Shane Moore > Textured Soy Protein
08/24/2020 at 16:59

Wow, thanks for the wealth of knowledge in your comment! The VIN decoder came in handy. I may take the GLA for an extended test drive and see how I feel about it. With it being a high performance luxury vehicle I think the CPO or warranty might have a bigger pull with me... maybe that means this isn’t the vehicle for me...

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/24/2020 at 17:56

They said all mentioned service would be taken care of. Not sure if that is only if I buy the car or taken care of regardless. I am taking it for an extended test drive tomorrow and keeping it over night.

Any particular things I need to check out aside from normal used car inspections?

Also how is the asking price? Competitive or high? I doubt there is a high demand for these in our area.

Thanks again!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore
08/24/2020 at 18:10

Hell yeah! Ask for an updated VMI after they close the new RO with the services I mentioned. Or have them show you the RO with those services . Don’t let sales just talk a big game and then not follow through, either by forgetting or just being sheisty.

Enjoy it. Make sure you like it. Hot some rough roads and some smooth roads. Hot some twisties. Drive some boring interstate. Familiarize yourself with all the controls and menu options. Otherwise, it’s CPO, so you’re good to go! Look at whatever you want, or don’t. That’s what the warranty is for. Keep in mind it doesn’t cover things like leather and other cosmetics, so if there are issues there, you’ll need to negotiate that before buying.

As far s price... I have no idea. That’s one area my expertise doesn’t reach. I do suggest going for the maximum CPO length term though, just in case you get unlucky or that diff fails in two years. Parts are expensive. The lack of hassle is nice there too. If you bring it in for service and they find something wrong that’s covered, they’ll just knock it out for you.

Shane Moore > Textured Soy Protein
08/28/2020 at 14:55

Man, thanks to you I found a Stinger GT2 I want....

Textured Soy Protein > Shane Moore
08/28/2020 at 16:47

Nice, not really any options caveats on those, except like I mentioned before, if you want the surround view camera it was added for 2019.

Shane Moore > Textured Soy Protein
08/28/2020 at 17:51

Yeah they come with a lot for the money. Seems like dealers are willing to work on the price. I found a brand new 2020 I like for $10,000 off MSRP. So right at $42k for RWD GT2 with the red interior and ceramic silver exterior. That’s within $3k of used 2019s.

Textured Soy Protein > Shane Moore
08/28/2020 at 17:56

We apparently have similar tastes. Ceramic silver over red GT2 rwd is what I want to get. I never buy silver cars but that ceramic silver is really more of a pearl-effect flat gray. I’m just not in a rush to buy it right now since I’m full WFH with no end in sight and my 335xi is paid off.