Looking for a capacious grocery-getter that can go like stink? You’ve got more options than ever before, because as Motor Trend‘s Jonny Lieberman notes, puzzlingly, hatchbacks don’t really sell here in the states, and that’s forced the creation of a new, exploding segment: hot-crossovers.
In this episode of Motor Trend‘s Head 2 Head, Mr. Lieberman drives the two hottest small, German crossovers back-to-back – the Porsche Macan Turbo, and the Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG – in order to figure out which turbocharged child-hauler comes out on top.
The specs of the two hot-sports utes isn’t giving anything away in terms of a winner; the Porsche Macan Turbo may make 400 HP to the GLA45 AMG’s 355, but the Mercedes also has the weight advantage by a laughably huge 900 pounds. The Porsche also relies on a twin-turbo 3.6-liter to produce its lofty figure, compared to the Mercedes’ 2.0-liter turbo.
[On a sidenote, that gives the Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG a specific power output of nearly 180 HP per liter, which is absolutely bonkers.]Regardless of which manages to do more with less, the two hot-utilities manage to post nearly identical acceleration, braking, and lateral Gs. Even after a mountain pass is closed off so that Lieberman can drive a makeshift course with the two, they cross the finish less than a second apart. So determining a winner comes down to cost, looks, and overall experience.
Want to know if the heavier, while more powerful, Porsche Macan Turbo manages to pull ahead of the AMG in this comparison? Watch the full episode to find out:
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