dgkhn
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- David
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2024
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 70
- Location
- New Hampshire
- Vehicles
- 2024 Macan 4 (Volvo XC60 PHEV, Subaru Forester ICE)
- Thread starter
- #1
I've had a Macan 4 for about a month and driven about 1500 miles so far. I do not have Sport Chrono so do not have the Sport+ drive mode setting.
Playing with the drive mode settings (and I am including a little bit of info here slightly off-topic just because not everyone reading this might be aware), in my situation, both Normal and Sport mode can be customized, but only Sport mode can save settings. By default, Sport mode sets the "Chassis" to sport, and the ride height to lowered. I typically switch the drive mode to Sport when I get into the car (I'll explain why in a moment), and have modified my custom setting so that the ride height is set to Normal when in Sport mode. Therefore, when I switch to Sport mode, the instrument cluster shows Sport mode, Sport chassis, and does not indicate lowered ride height.
The first side issue I will point out here for those who don't know, with ride height set to Normal, it will still change to Lowered at highway speeds (I'm pretty sure it changes at about 60 mph, and stays there until you slow down quite a bit (I'm not sure at what speed it switches back).
Why do I typically prefer Sport mode? I do prefer the athletic feeling of the Sport chassis setting. However, what I am not sure of, and might be in my imagination, is that I find both steering feel and throttle response to be improved in this mode. However, both differences, if they truly exist, are subtle and I wonder if it's really in my head. Does anyone know?
What I did not realize until now, and the main point of this post, is that power distribution and projected range also change when you go from Normal to Sport drive modes. This can be seen on the Car/Trip screen, where, on the passenger side of the center screen (and I say that deliberately for our RHD friends), is an animated display of power distribution.
So the first thing you might notice when switching from Normal to Sport mode is that the projected driving range drops in the instrument cluster. Then, looking at the Trip screen animation, at least with gentle driving on non-slippery surfaces (I have yet to experiment with different scenarios), when in Normal mode you will see that power is applied and regenerated only from the rear motor; when in Sport mode power is mostly applied and (as far as I can see) always regenerated from both the front and rear motors. Presumably the reduction in projected range is due to the more frequent application of power to the front motor. (When I talk about regeneration here, I am speaking of both lift throttle and brake pedal application. I have NOT experimented yet with how this looks at highway speeds, on slippery surfaces, or with rapid acceleration or intense braking, all of which might potentially independently involve the front motor in Normal mode; I don't know yet.
In terms of regeneration, I don't know whether therefore more regeneration is available in Sport mode (logically, using both motors for regeneration increases the potential, but perhaps a hard brake press in Normal mode will engage front motor regeneration.) Some experimentation with this is called for.
It is unfortunate that Porsche does not more clearly explain these differences.
Playing with the drive mode settings (and I am including a little bit of info here slightly off-topic just because not everyone reading this might be aware), in my situation, both Normal and Sport mode can be customized, but only Sport mode can save settings. By default, Sport mode sets the "Chassis" to sport, and the ride height to lowered. I typically switch the drive mode to Sport when I get into the car (I'll explain why in a moment), and have modified my custom setting so that the ride height is set to Normal when in Sport mode. Therefore, when I switch to Sport mode, the instrument cluster shows Sport mode, Sport chassis, and does not indicate lowered ride height.
The first side issue I will point out here for those who don't know, with ride height set to Normal, it will still change to Lowered at highway speeds (I'm pretty sure it changes at about 60 mph, and stays there until you slow down quite a bit (I'm not sure at what speed it switches back).
Why do I typically prefer Sport mode? I do prefer the athletic feeling of the Sport chassis setting. However, what I am not sure of, and might be in my imagination, is that I find both steering feel and throttle response to be improved in this mode. However, both differences, if they truly exist, are subtle and I wonder if it's really in my head. Does anyone know?
What I did not realize until now, and the main point of this post, is that power distribution and projected range also change when you go from Normal to Sport drive modes. This can be seen on the Car/Trip screen, where, on the passenger side of the center screen (and I say that deliberately for our RHD friends), is an animated display of power distribution.
So the first thing you might notice when switching from Normal to Sport mode is that the projected driving range drops in the instrument cluster. Then, looking at the Trip screen animation, at least with gentle driving on non-slippery surfaces (I have yet to experiment with different scenarios), when in Normal mode you will see that power is applied and regenerated only from the rear motor; when in Sport mode power is mostly applied and (as far as I can see) always regenerated from both the front and rear motors. Presumably the reduction in projected range is due to the more frequent application of power to the front motor. (When I talk about regeneration here, I am speaking of both lift throttle and brake pedal application. I have NOT experimented yet with how this looks at highway speeds, on slippery surfaces, or with rapid acceleration or intense braking, all of which might potentially independently involve the front motor in Normal mode; I don't know yet.
In terms of regeneration, I don't know whether therefore more regeneration is available in Sport mode (logically, using both motors for regeneration increases the potential, but perhaps a hard brake press in Normal mode will engage front motor regeneration.) Some experimentation with this is called for.
It is unfortunate that Porsche does not more clearly explain these differences.
