When Porsche announced a new version of the Macan crossover with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine a couple of years ago, the automaker neither confirmed nor denied that the gas-fed four-pot Macan would be sold in the U.S. Certain global markets would receive the entry-level Macan, for sure, and just such a model already is on sale in the U.K. Now, Porsche has officially decided to bring the base Macan to the U.S., and it will debut at the 2016 New York auto show in April.
Before you get too excited, the four-cylinder Macan uses a corporate VW Group inline four-cylinder engine—not the turbocharged flat-four fitted to the new 718 Boxster sports car. Even so, the turbo four makes 252 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque and comes mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Until now, the U.S. market’s entry-level Macan has been the S, which is powered by a 340-hp twin-turbocharged V-6, with the (also twin-turbo V-6) 400-hp Macan Turbo topping the range and the extra-sporty Macan GTS recently slotting between those two. Porsche claims the turbo four can motivate the Macan to 142 mph, and from zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, respectable figures all around.
Besides improving the Macan range’s fuel economy (as will the forthcoming V-6 diesel model, should emissions-battered VW Group feel compelled to send it to our lion pit) to 20 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, the four-cylinder drags the luxury crossover’s base price down below $50,000. Whereas the Macan S starts at $53,650, Porsche will charge $48,550 for the version with two fewer cylinders. Based on its specs alone, the Macan’s four-cylinder engine appears to be similar to the unit fitted to the 2017 Audi A4. How the engine acquits itself in the heavier Porsche crossover in real life is an open question—one that will need to wait for an official test.