The corners are blind. An oncoming car, bus, or bicyclist could await on the other side. Please don’t be a bus. The lane is narrow. The SUV I’m in takes up almost all of it. There is barely any shoulder, and sometimes a guardrail sits right on the lane line and threatens to add an unintentional racing stripe to the passenger’s side.

And yet these tight switchbacks in the mountains of Mallorca, Spain, beg for hard driving in the moments when I can see all is clear ahead. While these roads are best traveled on a motorcycle, if it’s going to be an SUV, I’m glad I’m in the nimblest of them all: the revised 2019 Porsche Macan S.

With Citroen Jumpys to the left of me and drop-offs to the right, it’s best to be stuck in the middle in a vehicle that I can place with precision and will respond to my inputs with immediacy. Porsche knew its compact crossover was dynamically gifted since it debuted for the 2015 model year, so the changes for 2019 honed and toned the brand’s best-seller rather than starting from scratch on a new platform. Good call.

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

Tweaked, not redesigned

The 2019 Macan is based on the first generation of VW Group’s MLB platform, which it shares with the last-generation Audi Q5, though 70 percent of its parts are unique. The Q5 has since moved forward, but the Porsche doesn’t need to.

Porsche’s 2019 update nips and tucks the exterior, adds connectivity and comfort to the interior, revises the engines for better emissions, and tweaks the already sporty driving experience without changing it significantly.

First the dynamics.

Porsche replaced the lower forks that connect the springs to the dampers on its double wishbone front suspension with aluminum components instead of steel. The change cut 3.3 pounds of unsprung mass, and Porsche says it improved both ride quality and steering response.

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2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

Like the last model, the new Macan offers staggered tire sizes with wheel sizes ranging from 18 to 21 inches. Porsche widened the front wheels by a half inch for the 19- and 21-inch sizes, which provides more lateral stiffness for the tire sidewalls and also improves steering response.

Porsche engineers also revised the anti-roll bars, the air suspension spring rates, and the damping rates. They chose new tires, and installed new engine mounts to reduce the pendulum effect of engine movement.

The Macan S models Porsche has provided for this drive are outfitted with all the goodies: air springs with adaptive dampers, torque vectoring rear differential, 21-inch wheels, Sport Chrono package, GT Sports steering wheel, and adaptive sport seats, to name my favorites.

The original paths for some of these roads could date back to Roman times or at least the Middle Ages, and they were likely sized for oxcarts. I can’t stretch the Macan S to anything close to its limits when a distracted tourist may roll into my lane around the next bend, but I can have some fun within my lane.

The Macan steers precisely into corners, and additional weight in the Sport modes adds some needed stability that helps me place the vehicle even more precisely. Models with the air suspension sit 0.59-inch lower than others, and the Sport + mode lowers the ride height another 0.39 inch. Even at that, the Macan S acts like a raised sport sedan through turns, with the air suspension fighting lean and mostly winning. I’m not worried about grip, either, because the optional 265 mm front and 295 mm rear Pirelli P Zeroes on this tester claw at the pavement.

Porsche’s all-wheel-drive system works well here. It uses a multi-plate clutch that can send 100 percent of the power to the front wheels, but it tends to send roughly 80 percent to the rears to make the Macan feel like a rear-drive vehicle. The optional Torque Vectoring + system also feeds power to the outside wheel on the rear axle to help the Macan pivot through corners. That’s welcome in these tight confines.

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Porsche even tweaked the brake system, switching to a lighter pedal, a shorter pedal arm, and 0.4-inch wider front rotors. The result? A high, strong pedal that inspires confidence in any Macan, but especially in this Miami Blue model with its optional track-ready carbon-ceramic brakes.

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

More power, less consumption

The Macan S features 2019’s most significant change. Under the hood sits a new 3.0-liter V-6 that replaces an engine of the same size.

Instead of twin turbos, this version uses a single dual-scroll turbocharger mounted between the cylinders, which gives the exhaust gases a shorter path to travel and therefore increases throttle response. Its direct injection system now squirts from above the combustion chamber and at greater density. Both changes better atomize fuel, which improves fuel economy and lowers emissions.

The new V-6 spins out 348 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque, gains of 8 and 15, respectively. It’s good for a 5.1-second 0-60 mph time, a tenth of a second faster than the outgoing model.

This vehicle has the Sport Chrono package, so it gets a steering wheel-mounted mode controller. When I turn it to the Sport or Sport + modes, the throttle response becomes more and more immediate, and the Sport Response button in the middle of the dial adds a 20-second shot of adrenaline to make the Macan that much more alert. Both Sport modes keep power at the ready for the few shots I can take when the road and the view unwind before me.

Also in the Sport modes, the quick-shifting 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission hangs onto gears to keep the engine in its power sweet spot. Choose Normal mode, and the powertrain relaxes without feeling sluggish.

Connected cockpit, toned exterior

The seating position adds confidence to this harrowing drive. It’s a sports car position, just raised up, thanks to enveloping adaptive sport seats and an Alcantara-wrapped, small-diameter GT Sports steering wheel from the 911. I push the seat bottom down as far as it will go, raise the front of it up, and pull the steering wheel toward me and to its highest position. That gives me the anchored, confident position I prefer. I appreciate the range of motion of the seat and steering wheel.

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Finally clear of the mountains, I can appreciate the other changes Porsche has made to the Macan’s cockpit. The infotainment touchscreen grows from 7.0 to 10.9 inches and adds more functionality. It offers cloud-connected navigation, a Google search function, and Apple CarPlay compatibility, and it can interface with the Porsche Connect app. Owners can send navigation routes to the car, monitor vehicle and security systems, lock the doors, and connect to an Amazon Music account from the app. A new Off-Road Precision app uses vehicle systems to record off-road runs on a navigation map and it can even work with a smartphone or externally controlled camera to include video within the app.

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

2019 Porsche Macan

The final 2019 changes are on the outside. Porsche has revised the front fascia with a larger central air intake and wider corner intakes that now house the driving lights. The headlights are now standard LEDs. Along the sides, the side blades are available in silver, as well as black and body color, and new wheel designs are offered. The look is most changed at the rear where the Macan adopts a three-dimensional LED taillight strip with integrated Porsche lettering.

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

2019 Porsche Macan media drive, Mallorca, Spain, November 2018

Maxed out but reasonable

All of the goodies on this test vehicle make it great to drive in Mallorca but hard to pay for at the dealership. The Macan S starts $59,650, including a $1,050 destination charge. This model, however, probably costs about $75,000 with all its options. The carbon-ceramic brakes alone are close to $9,000.

For those who want to save money, the base Macan will come with a 248-hp 2.0-liter turbo-4 and cost $50,950 to start. With either model, add a few well-chosen options, and you’ll have an athletic crossover that’s good at threading the needle between oncoming traffic and guardrails that are too close for comfort, be they in Mallorca or middle America.

Porsche provided travel and lodging to Internet Brands Automotive to bring you this firsthand report.