Advert
If you’re looking for an electric SUV with maximum performance, surely the Porsche Macan Turbo Electric should be near the top of your shortlist, with 639 hp of power, 1,130 Nm of torque, 0-62 mph in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 162 mph.
We’ve tested the entry-level Macan Electric, which combines a tight Porsche driving experience with an electric powertrain and an SUV body style. The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric is the top-of-the-range model, offering more performance and more technology – is it worth the extra price premium of almost £30,000?
The Porsche Macan is available with an electric powertrain in four models: the Macan Electric, the Macan 4, Macan 4S and Macan Turbo. All feature four-wheel drive apart from the Macan Electric, which is rear-wheel drive. The performance figures increase from the Macan Electric through the Macan 4 and Macan 4S to the Macan Turbo – which has 639 hp of power and 1,130 Nm of torque. All Macan models have a 100.0 kWh battery (gross), with 95.0 kWh net useable capacity.
The Macan shares its Premium Platform Electric (PPE), featuring an 800-volt (DC) charging system, with the Audi Q6 e-tron.
The Porsche Macan Turbo 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. 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 Turbo Electric has a towing capacity of 2,000 kg.
The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric has more performance than the other models in the range, and more technology, such as adaptive air suspension including Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) electronic damping control, electric Porsche Traction Management (ePTM) with fully variable power distribution (but primarily rear-wheel drive under normal driving conditions), Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, an electronically controlled rear axle differential lock (PTV Plus), and Power Steering Plus. In addition, our test car had rear-axle steering, a £1,445 option.
The result of all this is that the Macan Turbo Electric is quite different to drive than the entry-level Macan Electric. The Macan Electric feels precise, but the Turbo Electric, with air suspension rather than steel springs, has more fluidity in its handling, and feels much better for it. Of course you also need to add the extra performance of the Turbo: 639 hp (with Launch Control) compared to 360 hp, delivering a blistering 0-62 mph time of 3.3 seconds, and so, even with the added grip of all-wheel drive, the Turbo feels a lot more adjustable and therefore more rewarding, and the ride quality is also better.
However you still get some road noise on certain motorway surfaces, not helped by the large 255/40 22-inch tyres at the front and 295/35 22-inch tyres at the rear – even though our test car had the £788 option of thermally and noise insulated glass.
The gear selector is a switch positioned to the left of the driver’s instrument display, partially hidden behind the steering wheel rim. This gives you the options of Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive, but no option for increased brake regeneration. There are no steering wheel-mounted paddles to change the level of regen, or any other physical controls to do this. Instead you have to delve into the touchscreen, select the car menu, and at the bottom left of the screen you’ll find a very, very small button that allows you to switch the brake regen on or off. Compared to a Porsche with a petrol engine, this is a surprisingly limited way to control the equivalent of engine braking.
Drive modes are much more easily selected, with a convenient dial on the steering wheel giving you the options of Normal, Sport, Sport Plus (not available in the entry-level Macan Electric), and Off-Road.
The Macan has a 10.9-inch central touchscreen, which isn’t that large compared to many other new cars, but it’s well designed and so it’s user friendly, with permanent shortcut buttons on the right-hand side, and a clear layout overall to help you navigate to other screens. As well as a wide 12.6-inch driver’s display, our test car also featured the £1,694 option of an Augmented Reality Head-Up display (and the £1,112 option of a passenger display).
The Macan features climate controls that are separate to the touchscreen, and despite all the high-end technology, one of our favourite aspects of the Macan were the physical buttons between the front seats which you can push forwards or pull backwards to increase or decrease the cabin temperature, without having to go into the touchscreen to do this.
Driving enthusiasts will no doubt be dismayed at the appearance of lane keep assist due to legislation on virtually all new cars, including from Porsche, which corrupts the experience of steering a rewarding car – or any car for that matter – down your favourite B-road. To switch off the lane keep assist, you need to head into the touchscreen, but thankfully Porsche has added a secret shortcut button to do this on to the bottom of the cruise control stalk.
The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric has an official WLTP combined driving range of 336 miles. Electrical consumption (WLTP) is 3.09 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 Turbo Electric is priced at £96,900. In addition, our test car had the options of Copper Ruby Metallic paint (£2,250), 22-inch Macan Exclusive Design wheels (£2,463), Extended leather interior in Black/Chalk Beige (£1,935), Seat heating, front and rear (£324), Front massage function including seat ventilation (£1,176), ISOFIX/I-Size mounting points on the front passenger seat (£140), Panoramic roof (£1,283), Extending towbar system (£945), Rear-Axle Steering (£1,445), Sports Chrono Package with Porsche Design clock (£783), Thermally and noise insulated glass (£788), Augmented Reality Head-Up display (£1,694), Surround View with Active Parking Support (£833), Porsche InnoDrive with Active Lane Keeping (£1,250), Advanced Climate Control (4-zone) (£333), Air quality system (£329), Passenger Display (£1,112) and Burmester High-End Surround Sound System (£2,778), taking the total price to £118,761.
There are four electric Macan models: the Macan, Macan 4, Macan 4S and the Macan Turbo. The Macan can be specified with an optional off-road design package.
The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric is a very impressive machine, offering a better driving experience, with more fluid handling, than the entry-level Macan Electric, with its air suspension rather than steel springs being a key reason for this. The Macan Turbo Electric also delivers a lot more performance, which is translated to the road securely via all-wheel drive. The Macan Turbo Electric has a long list of other technical features that aim to ensure that the driving experience is as capable as possible, as well as having a practical range and ultra-rapid charging. However all this comes at a price: £96,900 to be precise, or £118,761 in the case of our test car with all its options. So the Porsche Macan Turbo Electric is an amazing example of what is possible with a performance-focused electric SUV, but there’s certainly a premium to be paid for all that wrapped in a package with the Porsche badge. The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
Drive an EV for less than you think with Select Car Leasing 
Save 20-50% on an EV through salary sacrifice with The Electric Car Scheme 
ClearWatt supports buyers, sellers and owners of EVs with app-based battery health testing and detailed EV data insights available for every used EV in the UK. Take the stress out of buying a used EV with ClearWatt and save 10% on all their products with promo code “GCG10”. 
Zapmap: UK's No.1 EV charging points app 2025. Zapmap helps EV drivers search for EV chargers, plan longer journeys and pay for charging. 
With Pod, you're in good hands. With over 15 years of EV charging experience, drivers trust Pod to keep their EVs charged and ready to go. 
Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
