You have to give Porsche credit for being an early adopter of EVs. The Taycan is a great sedan/wagon that just got even better. But even for a niche manufacturer like Porsche, this isn’t exactly a mass-market machine. To really move the needle on EVs, you need something more family-friendly, and for the brand from Stuttgart, that’s the Macan.
Porsche’s gas-powered crossover SUV is its best-selling machine in the US, so it’s an extremely important part of the company’s success. It is also Porsche’s second full-on, battery-powered machine to hit the market. The Macan Electric doesn’t replace its internal combustion predecessor, but rather lives alongside it on the dealership floor, creating a brutal sibling rivalry and a potentially tough choice for buyers: gas or electric?
Actually, Porsche made this very easy decision. This is correct.
Porsche/Engadget
Porsche’s electric Macan is the best SUV in the company’s lineup.
- fun to drive
- comfortable and efficient
- Good mix of range and performance
- No one-pedal braking
- tight rear seats
- expensive
$75,300 on Porsche
Hardware Tour
The Macan Electric shares a silhouette and a segment with other Macans, but from a technology perspective, there is little in common between the two. The Macan Electric is built on a new platform called PPE, which was once the basis of a smorgasbord of electrified offerings from both Porsche and Audi, including the A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron.
For now, at least, Americans’ increasingly wavering attitudes toward EVs have disrupted some of those plans, meaning this Macan and the upcoming Cayenne Electric are the only two Porsches built from those bones. The Macan is the smaller of the two, powered by several different configurations, starting from a single-motor, rear-drive configuration with 355 horsepower on the low end, to a 630-hp, dual-motor Macan Turbo Electric on the high end. Buyers can choose from the dual-motor Macan 4 Electric, the faster 4S Electric or the even faster GTS Electric.
I tested the base Macan Electric, its rear-mounted, 355-hp motor is enough to propel this 5,004-pound SUV from zero to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds. The top-shelf Macan Turbo Electric reaches 60 in 3.1 seconds, completely insulting the 4.3-second time of the fastest exhaust-spewing Macan GTS.
At first glance, the electric Macan looks a lot like the Tesla Model Y – especially in the dark blue color. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
Of course, this is a Porsche, not a drag machine, and so cornering is important. Helping with the handling is an adaptive air suspension that not only lets you go from stiff to firm at the turn of a knob but also raises or lowers it dynamically. When you’re looking for range or speed, the SUV drops into an aerodynamic tuck, low to the ground. If you plan to go off-road, this will automatically increase by 1.6 inches.
Although I wouldn’t consider it an off-roader, the dual motor configuration should be capable in low-grip situations. Open differentials at either end will keep your all-roading aspirations limited, but over the course of a week on some snowy, slippery roads, even the rear-drive Macan, despite its summer-oriented Pilot Sport EV tyres, proved decidedly maneuverable and easy to handle.
At the center of it all is a 100-kilowatt-hour battery, giving the Macan Electric an EPA-rated range of up to 315 miles, depending on which trim you go with. In my testing, which included extended periods of driving with my foot flat on the floor, I managed 2.8 miles per kilowatt. If you drive like you stole it that’s a theoretical maximum range of 280 miles. Anyone who runs a school in a quieter manner will have no problem meeting or exceeding that EPA rating.
user interface
The interior of the Macan is equipped with multiple displays. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
Besides performance, the Macan Electric has another advantage over its internal combustion counterpart: it has a more modern interior. The main attraction is the 12.6-inch, curved gauge cluster. Using the buttons on the steering wheel, you can cycle through different views and telemetry elements to suit your desire for data or need to remain undisturbed.
This is paired with a 10.9-inch touchscreen in the middle, and you can also opt for a third display embedded on the right side of the dashboard. It allows you to access streaming services like YouTube. However, I’ve never seen an issue with this, but that’s only because I’ve yet to meet a traveler who doesn’t just use their smartphone.
Porsche’s PCM interface on that central touchscreen is simple and clean, with nothing resembling iOS. Perhaps that’s why the company has been an early adopter of CarPlay Ultra. For Android loyalists, wireless Android Auto is also here, and it works great, looking almost native on widescreen displays.
The Macan’s gauge cluster is a curved 12.6-inch display. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
Through simple menus, you can do everything from track lap times to enable or disable the enhanced digital engine tone, which Porsche calls Electronic Sport Sound. I’ll admit that the futuristic whispers and whispers make aggressively driving a little more fun, but most of the time I prefer to leave it on.
Thankfully, not everything is controlled via the touchscreen. There’s a separate, capacitive-touch panel just below it for climate-related functions, including toggling the excessively heated heated seats (which I’m enjoying as I write this). You’ll also find a physical volume knob there.
The Macan seats five comfortably, although I’d stick to four for much longer than a quick run to a team lunch. The front and rear seats are comfortable, and there’s a generous amount of legroom in the rear. However, there is limited headroom. If you have tall coworkers, they’ll be hitting on each other to summon the shotgun.
dynamics
Despite its size, the Macan is surprisingly agile, which is partly due to its unique suspension. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
In the vast spectrum of SUVs on the roads today, the 188.3-inch-long Macan Electric is small. But, as an EV, it’s heavy for a crossover. With a curb weight of just over 5,000 pounds, it’s 850 pounds heavier than the regular base Macan.
Porsche’s engineers solved that as best they could with the aforementioned fancy suspension, as well as big, 20-inch wheels at each corner. The result is an SUV that’s remarkably fun to drive in Sport or Sport Plus mode. The steering is very quick for an SUV, which makes the thing feel light in comparison.
All the grip provided by those tires and suspension really gives you confidence going out of corners too. And, when you apply too much force, it breaks quickly and predictably. I enjoyed rolling out the throttle hard mid-corner to get the tail out, the Macan gave me enough time to smile and make a little steering correction before everything was right and the tires were stuck again.
It’s not a sports car, no doubt, and it creeps a bit on rough roads due to its weight, but it’s far more engaging and fun than any other car in this class. Even this base model is quick off the line, but its perky initial throttle response is tempered by somewhat flat acceleration at higher speeds. It doesn’t have the kind of Autobahn-dominating top-end that Porsche is usually known for.
The biggest drawback of the electric Macan is the complete lack of lift-off regenerative braking. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
I guess I’d have to spend the extra $10,000 for the GTS, or the extra $20,000 for the $109,000 Turbo if I really wanted that. Yes, these things get expensive quickly. The base Macan Electric I drove started at $73,500, but it had enough options to bring its out-the-door price to $86,865.
You are, at the very least, getting a machine that easily does double-duty. Despite its responsiveness and eager handling, the Macan Electric does a brilliant job of settling when you turn the drive mode knob on the steering wheel to the left, opening up the suspension and making the experience comfortable. The SUV manages excellent compliance on broken roads, flies over rail tracks without complaint, and is generally a quiet and capable cruiser.
But there is one, undeniable flaw that drives me absolutely crazy with the Macan Electric: the complete lack of lift-off regenerative braking. Porsche continues to refuse to offer anything even close to a one-pedal driving experience. This is a disappointing thing to me – maybe not as disappointing as GM phasing out Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but close enough.
wrap up
The electric Macan commands a (at least) $10,000 premium over its gas-powered counterpart. (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
After driving a few different prototypes of the Macan Electric during the development phase, I very much enjoyed my time with the final, production version on some familiar roads near my home. It performed excellently on dry and slippery roads in early winter, made me smile when I was feeling rowdy, and then disappeared into the background when I just wanted to go home.
This is not a perfect machine. I expected a little more space inside, I lament the lack of one-pedal driving, and honestly, I wish Porsche’s exterior designers had gone a little crazy. At a quick glance, it looks a lot like the first-generation Tesla Model Y, especially in Gentian Blue Metallic, which is a dead ringer for Tesla’s Deep Blue Metallic.
And there’s also a significant premium you’ll have to pay to get in: $10,000 on a base, gas-powered Macan. For that, you’re getting a ton of extra performance, a dose of extra technology, and all the joys and ingenuities that come with living the EV lifestyle. That makes it worth it in my book.