Porsche Macan review - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Macan's boot is large enough to hold 488 litres of luggage while you've got the rear seats up, but you can fold them down to free up 1,500 litres of space. That means that despite its relatively sporty shape, the Macan is a genuinely spacious car, with room for a family and a large suitcase each.

Boosting its credentials is the fact that each and every Macan comes as standard with an electronically opening tailgate as well as front and rear parking sensors to help avoid any nasty scrapes.

Clearly, there's not as much headroom as some of the more traditionally styled SUVs that the Macan is competing with, but you'll have no trouble fitting five adults into the cabin. There's a fair amount of knee room, too. Since you've got four-wheel drive as standard, you'll be well-equipped if there's a sudden cold snap or if you need to do a bit of light off-roading.

We tackled some slippery inclines and descents in the Macan, helped by pressing the 'off-road' button. This prepares the throttle response and relevant torque splits to help with off-road driving.

Those cars fitted with optional air suspension rise by 40mm for off-road work, taking maximum ground clearance to 230mm. There's a separate button for hill descent control, too, which will take charge of the brakes for you on a slippery descent, keeping the speed between 3mph and 18mph and you in control of the car.

If you're planning on towing a reversing camera is fitted which has functions to help hitch up the trailer, while the torquey engines offer lots of pulling power.