Porsche Macan GTS Takes On BMW X3M Competition in an Off-Road Head-to-Head Battle

Today, we have an overflow of Sport Utility Vehicles roaming the streets of all makes and models and even sizes: compact, mid-size, and large SUVs. In theory, the whole idea of an SUV is to have the 4WD capabilities and high driving position of off-roaders while still maintaining the looks and profile of a pretentious city automobile.

But are SUVs any good when taken outside their natural concrete-poured and asphalt-paved habitat? Well, the ever-curious YouTuber Mat Watson of carwow took two sporty Sport Utility Vehicles – one BMW and one Porsche – and ran with them to the hills.

Of course, they’re not ordinary SUVs – their badges imply that – but the BMW X3M Competition and the Porsche Macan GTS. Not the first option for any driver when going on muddy, slippery, rocky, dusty, curvy, slanty, and woody trails.

They are great automobiles – for driving on the highway, doing school runs, groceries, and vacations. But the two German car builders did not intend to have these particular models thrashed on forest roads. Their specs tell the story.

The BMW X3M Competition draws its 503 bhp/479 lb-ft (510 PS/650 Nm) strength from a three-liter twin-turbo straight-six. It drives all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic, weighs in at 4610 lb (2,010 kg), and can hit 60 mph (96 kph) from a standstill in around 3.8 seconds.

Not that it would matter for this particular test. It has no fat tires with loads and loads of grip, the approach, break-over, and departure angles are tiny, and the ground clearance is just big enough to fit a large cup of soda under the car – around eight inches. Wait till you see what’s it up against.

In the opposite corner of the gravel ring, the Porsche Macan GTS is even lower, slower, less powerful, and lighter. Its 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 puts out 434 bhp and 405 lb-ft of torque (440 PS and 550 Nm), enough to thrust the 4321 lb (1960 kg) car to a 0-60 mph (96 kph) in around 4.2 seconds.

Again, these are useless numbers when it comes to off-roading, especially when the ground clearance is seven inches, and the tires are very much at some on a closed circuit, hitting apexes and smoking drifts.

But Mat Watson had a series of unconventional tests for these two SUVs. Hill climb, hill descent, bumpy slope climb, and side-incline driving. Look at the photos to see what challenges the unlikely off-roaders had to overcome.

A note-worthy mention is the fact that the Macan comes equipped with an off-road setting for its transmission, while the X3 does not (if somebody needs proof that this SUV is for on-road driving, there it is).

Although it’s massively underpowered – something distinct in the video – the Macan is beautifully engineered and takes a three-out-of-four overall win. To everyone’s surprise, the city-born-and-raised compact luxury SUVs did a pretty good job on this minor test. I'm not going to spoil the surprise; play the video to see how the racier of the two won the off-road contest.

Since we mentioned the SUV as a class of vehicles, it would be polite towards this segment to say that the genre is respectably old – it emerged in the late ’30 and gained popularity after the war. Still, it kept its utilitarian trousers on for the next four decades until Jeep (with the 1984 Cherokee XJ) decided to make a modern-looking mass-produced version.