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The Porsche Macan Electric aims to combine the driving experience of the Taycan sports saloon with a more practical SUV body shape; the Macan Electric is the entry-level model, and with rear-wheel drive, it has the longest electric driving range.
The Porsche brand is synonymous with a sporty driving experience, as displayed by generations of 911s and more recently the electric Taycan. But a sports car – or even a sports saloon – isn’t the most practical car for many drivers with families, so Porsche has now given us the Macan in all-electric form. Does it strike the right balance between being sporty and practical?
The new Macan is available as a four-model line-up: the Macan Electric as tested, the Macan 4, Macan 4S and Macan Turbo. The Macan Electric is the entry-level model, and the only one with rear-wheel drive, and 360 hp of power (with Launch Control) and 563 Nm of torque. All Macans have a 100.0 kWh battery (gross), with 95.0 kWh net useable capacity.
The Porsche Macan shares its Premium Platform Electric (PPE), featuring an 800-volt (DC) charging system, with the Audi Q6 e-tron.
The Porsche Macan Electric is 4,784 mm long, with a 540-litre boot, which can be increased to 1,348 litres with the rear seats folded, and there’s also an 84-litre front trunk (‘frunk’). While there’s lots of luggage space, rear legroom isn’t as expansive as some rivals, and Porsche states that the Macan has “4+1 seats”, rather than 5 seats.
The Porsche Macan Electric has a towing capacity of 2,000 kg.
The driving experience of the entry-level Porsche Macan Electric feels tight; in other words aspects such as the steering and the body control feel precise, which is in keeping with other Porsche models. The Macan Electric is rear-wheel drive, which some would say provides more of the traditional Porsche handling feel than all-wheel drive. A key point to note is that the entry-level Macan Electric has steel spring suspension as standard, whereas the Macan Turbo Electric has air suspension – the latter provides more fluidity in the handling department, and is better at dealing with the weight of a sporty electric SUV (2,345 kg in the case of the Macan Electric).
The gear selector is positioned to the left of the driver’s instrument display, partially hidden behind the steering wheel, giving the choices of Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive – so there’s no option for increased brake regeneration. There are also no steering wheel-mounted paddles for this, or any other physical buttons. To change the level of brake regen (with the choices of ‘on’ or ‘off’), you need to go to the touchscreen and look for a very, very small button at the bottom left of the car menu. This is an unusual solution for brake regen control in a driver’s car, especially as the Audi Q6 e-tron features a gear selector which allows you to select ‘B’ mode to increase the level of regenerative braking, and it also has steering wheel-mounted paddles for extra control of the regeneration level.
Drive modes are much more easily accessed thanks to a control on the steering wheel, which you twist to select Normal, Sport and Off-Road. The Macan also offers a simulated sporty soundtrack.
Although the Macan feels very well engineered, some road noise from the tyres is evident at higher speeds especially on certain motorway surfaces.
At 10.9 inches in size, the Macan’s central touchscreen isn’t as large as many rivals, but thankfully it does feature simple shortcuts on the right of the screen. And even better news, it has separate climate controls, including brilliant buttons between the front seats which you press forwards or backwards to change the cabin temperature – which is much more user-friendly than having such controls buried in the touchscreen.
Like virtually all new cars, the Macan’s steering is corrupted by the lane keep assist, which is something that Porsche drivers are likely to be unimpressed by. To switch this off, you’ll need to go through menus and sub-menus on the touchscreen, but there’s also a secret shortcut to do this by pressing and holding the button on the bottom of the cruise control stalk.
Another hidden feature are the two USB-C sockets for front occupants, which are very concealed under the central console.
Once you’ve managed to adjust all the Macan’s settings to your liking, if you get out of the car for a few seconds it switches itself off and you need to reset your preferences.
The entry-level Porsche Macan Electric with rear-wheel drive – which as a result is 110 kg lighter than the Macan 4 – offers the longest range of all the models, up to 398 miles. Electrical consumption (WLTP) is 3.34 miles/kWh.
The Macan’s 800-volt charging system means that it can DC charge at up to 270 kW, delivering a 10% to 80% charge in 21 minutes. As the level of battery charge increases, the charging speed of EVs decreases, but the Macan is capable of achieving more than 200 kW of charging capacity up to around a 55% state of charge. This enables it to gain a range of up to 155 miles in 10 minutes.
At charging stations up to 135 kW, the Macan can split its 800-volt battery into two halves, for more efficient charging. It can AC charge at up to 11 kW at a household or workplace wall box.
The Macan has two charging ports at the rear as standard, with the connection for AC and DC on the left of the car and the connection for AC on the right.
A heat pump is featured as standard which aims to minimise any loss of range in cold weather due to cabin heating.
The Macan has a Plug & Charge function, allowing the charger and car to communicate to enable charging without having to make a payment such as with a credit card.
The Porsche Macan Electric is priced from £68,500. Our test car had options including Dolomite Silver Metallic paint (£741), black leather interior (£1,203), ISOFIX mounting points on the front passenger seat (£140), roof rails in black aluminium (£269), extending towbar system (£945), compass display on dashboard (£287), surround view with active parking support (£833), and adaptive cruise control (£509), taking the total price to £73,612.
There are four electric Macan models: the Macan, Macan 4, Macan 4S and the Macan Turbo.
The Porsche Macan Electric combines the driving experience associated with the brand, including elements such as precise steering and body control, with an electric powertrain and the practicality of an SUV. The entry-level model with rear-wheel drive has the longest range of all four electric variants, with an official WLTP figure of up to 398 miles. A key point to note is that the entry-level model has steel spring suspension rather than the air suspension of the Macan Turbo; as a result the Turbo has more fluidity in its handling, as well as more performance, but there’s predictably a price premium – the Turbo is priced from £96,900 compared to £68,500 for the entry-level model. Many people will be passionate about having a Porsche badge on an electric SUV, but there’s a price to pay for it. The Porsche Macan Electric is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 8 out of 10.
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