Welcome to a Michigan Edition Luggage Test, featuring the 2020 Porsche Macan Turbo. We’ve spent plenty of time behind the wheel of this firecracker, but this Porsche is designed to haul you and your things at alarmingly fast speeds. To that end, let’s see how utilitarian the Macan really is.
Getting into the rear hatch is easy. Use the fob, driver side door button or press the rear wiper-mounted button to raise it. That secret wiper button is already a neat touch, allowing Porsche to execute a seamless and flowing rear end design. Plus, you don’t need to search around for a prohibitively dirty, hidden release pull.
Once in, the 17.7 cubic-feet of space looks fairly useful for the crossover’s shape. The spoiler may play tricks on the eye, but the Macan is far more coupe-like with its severely raked rear window than an initial glance may reveal. You’ll notice that the luggage space is nearly identical in shape (and size) to that of the 17.6 cubic-foot Cayenne Coupe hatch we tested a few days ago. As we’ll soon find out, the luggage area in the Macan is deep enough to be plenty useful, but still compromised like the Cayenne Coupe..
The equipment: Two carry-on suitcases sized (24 inches long, 15.5 wide, 10 deep); one carry-on suitcase (21.7L x 13.7W x 9 D); one medium-size suitcase you have to check (24.5L x 16.8W x 11.5D) and two larger, full-size suitcases (33.8L x 21.5W x 13D) and (28.1L x 18W x 10.5D).
To start, I threw in the four smaller suitcases to test the height. Even with the privacy shade in place, the hatch closes easily with these bags stacked on top of each other. You’re left with tons of extra space on the side and in front of the bags for whatever else you'll need to throw in there. However, it's impossible to stack more suitcases or tall items vertically in front of these, since the hatch intrudes on the space.
Next, I lined them up on their sides to test the depth of the hatch space. As you can see from the photo, these carry-on suitcases leave plenty of room for the hatch to close around them. There was so much room that it seemed possible to squeeze in another suitcase in front of these, just like the first stack. Assuming you point the wheels in toward the car, the hatch is happy to close with that extra carry-on in place. Thin items can be slid on top of this stack, but there isn’t a ton of extra space above when arranged in this fashion.
Since all of this was going well, I decided to break out the full-size suitcases. Even with two carry-ons stacked horizontally on top of the full-sizers, it all fits, and the privacy shade does its job. I took the shade out (slides back and lifts out easily), but quickly learned that anything stacked above it would cut deeply into rearward visibility. Even with nothing blocking the view, the Macan’s rear visibility is rather poor. However, there was more space, so that means it’s time for the fancy bag wildcard (22L x 8.8W x 12D). The Michigan fancy bag has fewer scales on it than that used by West Coast Editor James Riswick, but the overnight use case is the same. And yes, it fits. The best placement is behind one of the rear headrests, since it does pop up above the height of the privacy shade and into the driver’s line of sight.
Both rear seats do fold down, but you have to physically pull them down after depressing a button next to the headrests. That means you have to do it from the rear door, unlike some competitors that allow you to flatten the rear seats from the hatch. This unleashes 53 cubic-feet of space for the taking, but only one friend can come along for the ride.
But wait! Porsche has a little bit more for us. Pop open the under floor storage, and you’re met with a spare tire and plenty of space around it for additional small items. It’s a deep storage pocket, making it perfect for tucking away those unexpected extra purchases from a vacation. There’s also a tiny, netted storage pocket on one side and a 12-volt outlet on the other. Assuming you don’t stack suitcases to the top of the privacy shade, there’s netting underneath it to stow away further items.
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