I am trying to get a new car for year 2020. Had chosen either Macan 2.0 or Velar 2.0. Need some opinion from the sifu. Below is my research.

Macan 2.0
VW engine
New model should be coming out in year 2021
Safety issue (my friend experience brake suddenly not working on highway but only happen once in 4 years of ownership). Workshop also cant check y.
Good accelerant
Good handling
Good performance
Is "Porsche"

Velar 2.0
New design
Bigger space
More gadget in the car.

I only had a budget of RM500k to RM600k. Looking for SUV as a family car. Main concern on safety and maintenance as I normal drive for more than 15 years.

Putting the spec aside, for me Macan has that "wow" effect, it's just overall a better looking car.

maintenance and 15 years of ownership i would suggest Landcruiser.

I've owned neither but from reliable sources I can find online, 15 years is an overestimation these both cars would last.

whatever car for usage of more than 5 years, buy Toyota, you won't be wrong

I would go for velar if i were you. Macan looks so boring......

I was thinking the same. I have seen a 7 year old Cayenne that has cracked plastic engine parts that trigger fault codes. I don't think most cars with plastic engine parts are going to be reliable past 5-7 years at all. Given that planned obsolescence is the thing these days.

This post has been edited by netmatrix: Dec 9 2019, 08:33 PM

Porsche might be more sportier and nicer to drive but I'd pine for the Velar. Obviously don't get the base spec with the tiny rims! Anyways, if you're looking to stand out, it's the Velar.

Velar suits you well.

they will last 1/3 of 15 years

None of them will last 15 years. SUV is not a biword for safety, infact SUVs are less save than sedans, from weight/center of grav and even handling. It really depends on what your use case for your vehicle is. If you dont have more than 5 people to stuff into a car, you're not going to get any benefit over a sedan not even when it comes to ride quality, not to mention cornering is worse, fuel economy is worse in comparison too.

Go do another research, Put your use case down.

Most cars made new do not even last 5 years. The german brands start to have trouble at 5 years of age. The indian ones like jaguar and land rover dont even last that long before starting to have problems. Basically right after your warranty is over you're going to start regretting your german car as thats when they fall apart, tip top engineering from them to plan obsolescence. If you're going for a car that will last you 15 years, you're looking at toyota camry, honda accord, volvo XC90 (might not but will still last a lot longer than the german brands). Even mazda also has high end SUVs that are really good and reliable.

besides volvo is safer too. The XC90 is sporty and safe, and will definitely last longer than the german brands. porsche is just an overglorified VW. Infact subaru is similar to porsche in the past mechanically, utilising the boxer and AWD, only difference is just engine placement, subaru infront, porsche used to be at the rear. Now porsche uses VW engines and regular 2WD drivetrains. No longer the vehicle it used to be.

This post has been edited by System Error Message: Dec 10 2019, 06:03 PM

Thanks bro. Had a Volvo S40 before and after 12 years of driving, the maintenance and repairs cost me approx RM130k (almost 80% of the car cost). My Volvo only service is authorise Volvo service center. There I totally lost confident in Volvo.

Another things I like on Porsche is they do offer extended warranty for a small value. Total warranty can goes to 9 years.

Range Rover is famous for it safety.

range rover isnt safer. And im comparing cars for 2020. You should see the euro NCAP data for new car.

Im not keen on volvo either, but why spend all that money on an overglorified VW when you can get 2 volvos, thats a cost saving there when you include maintenance.

I cant believe people think porsche is safe or SUVs are safer, this really just isnt the case. Always pick the best car for your use case.

Also dealer repairs and maintenance are rip offs. Once the warranty is over, find yourself a trustworthy independent mechanic, plenty on this forum can advice you where depending on where you are and what car.

For instance, you can use VW parts in porsche, but the dealer will not let you do that. Porsche may have 9 year warranty but it does not include wear and tear, and the germans service manual is pricey including parts replacements at specific intervals which is not covered by warranty (as its considered regular servicing, not a fault, normal wear and tear).

I mean i could include other cars that are better that beat VW, for example the hyundai i30N beats the VW golf while costing less, its faster, better parts like better brakes, tyres, available in SUV/sedan, manual/automatic. You could consider a high end subaru which includes new safety tech that comes standard with their cars, and is the closest brand that offers a mechanical setup close to what porshe had, and makes good SUVs. There are many other choices that will last you 15 years that for your budget rather than trying to show off, you can get something far far better and still have a lot of spare change for maybe your kid's future investment?

If you are considering light offroading, subaru SUVs are a good choice, i mean why else would you get one other than for a large family? When i see someone owning a SUV usually it means either they have a large family or have an offroader, so i dont see how owning a porsche SUV is something of an image as if you really want to show off, go with italian. Choosing a car brand today isnt like it was, mostly its just having the car type you like with a badge of your choice stamped on rather than before where they all differed hugely in what they offered, from mechanical to luxury. Now every car brand has their luxury segment that not even a merc could seperate themselves from, and mechanically, you can find BMWs with 20 gear autos and crazy designs that beats todays porsches, heavy duty CVTs on subarus, the toyota TRD focused cars having a comeback just like how mercedes has AMG line cars. Porsche has been left in the dust. Ford makes big luxurious heavy duty trucks.

for a family SUV, the luxury brands dont design it as well as the pedestrian brands. Toyota introduced the minivan, which ended up beating the ford wagon.

This post has been edited by System Error Message: Dec 10 2019, 09:45 PM

Toyota Prado 4.0 better value.

Buy the car that you like, don't listen to all the theories especially from someone have never own a car himself.

You use your hard earn money to reward yourself, why care so much? I like my BMW so much, although it's a second hand and maintenance is higher than jap cars, but I never regret, because the driving experience and how ppl look at me are difference...

My next car gonna be German car again, this is how I motivate myself to earn harder in order to maintain it.

Porsches tend to look dated once a new model comes out.

Land Rovers and Range Rovers less so as the design language tends to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Powertrain I would say the Porsche has the better of the 2. Jaguar Ingenium engines aren't anything to shout about. The ZF gearbox on JLR products is a major disappointment when you compare it against how BMW managed to tune it to be so smooth yet responsive yet in a JLR product it is laggy.

I doubt either of these would last 15 years in this climate.

even for german cars i have my recommendations too. Its not about whether you've owned a car because there are always more brands, cars, newer ones coming out all the time.

If you have the money and the car fits your needs, by all means by a german car. For the OP case it doesnt. Porsche do not make SUVs suitable for large families, unlike other manufacturers that give you more options on flexibility, practicality and luxury, and some even offer performance too. The problem with porsche today is that maintenance and reliability wasnt what it used to be. Before VW bought over porsche, they were performant, reliable and agile cars thanks to their mechanical setup. No question about safety but for OP use case, not going to be great and lifespan not great either.
Ofcourse there are other german SUVs like the BMW X series, and having been in one and driven around in extended family X-series in germany, not good since the reliability is poor in that it entered limp mode a few times despite being less than 2 years old. A SUV made in germany, designed by germans has a lot of trouble within a couple years of ownership from new, and this trend happens globally too. So not suitable for the 15 year reliability.


Malaysian weather only affects reliability in that you have to change the oil and filters more often because of our increased humidity, otherwise thats not a problem. We are only 10-20 degrees C hotter than europe between autumn and summer, thats a 10% max increase in cooling effort if you read about combustion temperatures, oil temperatures and which temperature ranges including which ones the engines hate that promote carbon build up.

the OP wants a car no fuss for family, not to show off. Porsche used to known for being luxurious, performant, safe (except for the widowmaker) and reliable, who wouldnt want that for their family? he/she is willing to spend a lot of money on a good SUV that is best suited. I recommended subaru because i know subaru has a lot of safety and is the closest to what porsche used to be mechanically, they have upgraded their reliability and make decent quality SUVs for the interior and they have upgraded their quality for newer models. As i mentioned elsewhere its the industry direction, subaru has made various active safety tech standard on their vehicles so you get the same safety even on the poverty pack. Older subarus are known to last for years only they dont do well on mileage reliability, but that has changed with their new headgaskets and changes in their design.

Other than subaru plenty of other cars mentioned especially if you want a 15 year fuss free ownership. German care brands will not make it to 15 years with easy maintenance, even more so for the indian ones (jaguar and rover). American ones not so much except for ford, but ford is focusing on SUVs and trucks though their SUV line tends to lack luxury for their interior (their luxury variation if i remember doesnt match up well to what you get compared to others) and a truck is out of the question.

KIA and hyundai have very good SUVs for families, they do not have as good reliability as subaru, honda (mechanically), toyota but they do have decent customer service i hope (ell at least they do in the 1st orld) so its not a fuss free ownership, and i do know people who've owned kia cars that are more than 10 years old and more than 100Mm in mileage but all the parts still stock, so i would consider them too.

So its your decision to make what car you wanna buy, all im doing is suggesting what would be right for your use case. You probably dont have a family so you might not know what the OP feels. I dont have kids either but i can empathise with the OP. If you wanted a car that would last for 15 years without issues would you get a german car knowing full well that they will break after 5 years or start to run into major issues after that? You might also consider preventative maintenance, but have you also considered the cost for maintenance considering it one of the OP's criteria?

the only luxury alternative i know to indian,german and american for SUV is volvo, and OP did not have good experience for them, not to mention im not keen on them either. Better than german brands in lifespan but not near as needed by OP. Plenty of shiny american SUVs loaded with tech not sold here because of size, but they also do not last as long as needed.

Honda's build quality isnt as good as their mechanical quality. Before you question how i know something, why not read up on peoples experiences, what the mechanics and engineers say as well, and totally ditch media. I literally go through peoples experiences If you import a car from japan, its going to have better quality and last longer.

What about you, what do you want in a car?

This post has been edited by System Error Message: Dec 11 2019, 01:15 AM

instead of asking . just go to the showroom and test drive

both car won't last 15 yrs.

I heard Porsche Malaysia going to increase their prices for 'add-on' features by next year, currently still can get RM 5++k after 'add-on' for 2.0T, probably will be RM 6++k for the same features by next year.

I did my survey on the safety of the type of car in Malaysia. Given that Malaysia uneven road condition, high pump, flood, snatch thief. SUV is still the best of all. The con of SUV is cornering which I am not those fast and furies guy. If I am going for speed, will probability goes for Merc AMG, Porsche 718 or M3.

Agreed with most of the Sifu comments here which Continental car will not last for 15 years and high cost of maintenance. BUT it also comes with the safety features and the "solid" feel. The only Jap car I have the same feeling is Lexus and Infiniti.

As mention, the main pain point of Porsche is the "VW" (few of my friend really had bad experience of owing it, 1 even had a problem on the Golf GTI).

Forgot to mention this is main a family car which will not drive day to day to work and stuck in the traffic. My usual mileage is approx. 15,000 to 20,000km. so service will be once a year.

Currently not consider any of the Korean or China brand until they can proof themselves the reliability and track record.

Toyota Prado or Landcruiser is a very good car (V8 engine) but is 4x4. I am looking at SUV for a comfortable family use car.

Thanks for the information. The current Macan interior is abit old. I really hope Porsche is release new Macan model like the new Cayenne or Taycan. Let see what Porsche announcement on Jan 2020 on their pricing.

Hi OP, I don't own either but have driven the 2017 Macan (base not S but with some options, post-FL) and 2015 RR Evoque (base; not Velar) so here's my 2 cents, most of which are subjective but hopefully some are helpful:

Macan vs Evoque:
- interior - prefer the way its laid out in the Macan and it feels more well put together.. i also like the seats in the Macan more because its more "sporty". the Evoque had some wrattles even at low speeds, but maybe the issue is limited to that unit
- infotainment - not much between the two, imo they're both mediocre when compared to user friendliness of iDrive or MBUX...but maybe now theyve made quantum leaps
- ride comfort - Macan less comfortable, probably thanks to the lower profile RF tires
- drive - this is where the Macan shines so much more, especially in sport mode... the gearbox kicks down so much faster than the Evoque. Macan's acceleration is well taken care of thanks to the 2.0T VW engine, the Rover felt sluggish.. and imo Porsche has done a great job at making the SUV feel less "SUV-like" especially around corners
- image and brand prestige - for sportiness go for Porsche, for gangster go for Rover...both will put you way above the plebs like me
- reliability - all these are anecdotal but GENERALLY: "german engineering (or over-engineering)" gives you great ride, driveability, initial quality and everything else at the expense of long term reliability (parts cost more, parts dont last as long). FYI, the owner of the Macan kicked up a fuss and replaced the entire steering rack (noises when turning) and gearbox (shuddering) under warranty (standard 4 years for Porsche Malaysia)... had to wait for months for the parts to arrive, although its worth noting that the car was still driveable

A note about Porsche being a glorified VW/Audi and Lexus being a glorified Toyota.. reality is that the buyer of the Porsche or Lexus is partly paying for the brand prestige.... FYI, the previous and current generations of Mercedes A-class (i think A200 and below) uses an engine that Mercedes "co-developed" with Renault - pretty sure most consumers do not care what is under the hood as long as there's a 3 pointed star upfront. If you want a Porsche with a Porsche engine, look at the sports cars and sedan lineup... not the SUVs

Anyway, at budget of RM500-600k the world is your oyster....test drive all the SUVs in that vehicle class and also look at SUVs a class above the Macan like maybe the XC90 or RX350 (i think Cayenne is not in that budget range) and consider all the pros and cons of each against the other before you put your money down. cheers!

Thanks bro. It really is helpful to me.

Truth, Porsche is really good in their performance which Velar is far behind.

Land Rover/Range Rover aren't doing very well currently in terms of reliability.
For something which may last 15 years, Lexus may have a higher probability of lasting that long. You can still get a NA 3.5V6 for the RX.
By the way, the latest X5 should fit your budget too.

LX570

But that 'someone' is more knowledgeable than a professor wor! He said German car is the lousiest in the world! Lol!

Get an Urus bro

Did consider RX350 earlier on BUT Lexus Malaysia had discontinue importing the RX350. Currently only have RX300 which is 2.0 turbo engine.

I am not a BMW fans as is either "Be My Wife" or "Be My Worried"

LX570 is good but that is overpricing. For that range will compare with Cayenne or Range Rover Sport.

the reliability will outclass both RR sport and cayenne by huge margin

he got Ir in automotive one you know

Most SUVs have thet same suspension and height including angle of attack as a sedan, and this is what you will need to compare. The range is pretty funny as you scale in tier and price. Budget ones start higher off the ground and the further up the price, the closer it gets to the ground, there are some exceptions though.

The other thing is rim and wheel size, this is a consideration to avoid damage when you enter a pot hole. If the tyre is bigger vs the rim size, it reduces the chance of a pothole, and provides a softer ride.

Your service will be twice a year (our service here with fully synthetic is around 10Mm, due to more humid so filter and oil change would be a little more often)

My suggestion of subaru is because they are decent offroad and focus a lot on SUVs and having the closest mechanical similarity to porsche in the past (boxer + AWD) giving better cornering and straight line traction because lower center of grav, and the AWD can help you with traction. Its not the greatest in cornering as you do not want to exceed the differential (something merc does easily and many offroad trucks do in 4WD mode). Safety wise they have a lot of new tech as well all across their range, and it would not matter if you got a CVT or Auto for them. Some will say that boxers are outdated which isnt true, they just have a lower volumetric efficiency due to more cylinder walls but otherwise they are pretty much the same as every other piston engine only mounted lower giving better center of grav. Maintenance is more than other brands because of the AWD and boxer (harder to change spark plugs), but otherwise if you can afford, the 6 cylinder boxer from subaru preferably naturally aspirated if you are worried about servicing and life is a good choice if sold in Malaysia.

So if your worry is offroading, safety and family focused, subaru does this very well while being close to what porsche used to be before VW took over it in terms of mechanical. Boxer engines mounted lower like in subaru's case helps cornering and they have a lot of new safety tech if you are going to be distracted in your car.

Some do recommend toyotas, they arent bad but turbos and big engines can be pretty costly to run (turbo in lifespan). I would recommend them too, but i dont think you need a serious offroader. Pick a route that has the road hazards you mentioned, or bad roads and go to each car and test drive them at that route you picked, see how they handle the potholes and uneven surfaces.

Didn't notice the stopped the RX350. I guess the RX300 has an advantage of both road tax and import tax being a 2.0.
Pity that the 350L (the 7 seater stretched version, not the luxury spec) was dropped, probably because it is only available in 3.5V6 globally.

Just curious why not x5 or xc90

TS budget is 500-600k

Probably X5 over RM 640k

XC90 below 500k, so out!

Not really to do with budget, but if you read up OP is fed up with volvo from high maintenance cost experience.