Styling
Taking a clear influence from the
Taycan, Porsche's first electric vehicle (EV) that sported a distinct aesthetic all of its own, the second-gen Macan is a shape which takes a little getting used to (there's a vaguely froggish appearance about it from some angles), but once you've acclimatised to it then you realise it's quite a handsome thing. Differentiating the models largely comes down to the design of the alloy wheels - the base single-motor has a different, chunkier variant of five-spoke rim than the S-specific items on the 4S - and the boot badging, both of which can be tinkered about with by buyers at ordering time. So really, all electric Macans look broadly the same on the outside, which is to say 'rather nice'.
Interior
As on the outside, the cabins don't particularly vary greatly from model to model, with every version of the Macan getting a decent level of standard equipment and the same, broad, solid design of the dashboard. As you walk up the model hierarchy then you get fancier upholsteries and trim finishes, as well as more adjustable chairs and so on, but in general an entry-level 360hp Macan's cabin will feel almost as high-quality as that in the 639hp Turbo's. The new additions to the range are also privy to the same lengthy optional extras list as the existing Macan 4 and Turbo cars, so you can spec up the interior to your heart's content.
All cars in the line-up benefit from the 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management (PCM) touchscreen infotainment and the Curved Display digital instrument cluster, as well as a 15-watt wireless smartphone charger, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control and cruise control, among much more, as standard. You can ramp up the tech quotient of any Macan's interior by specifying the augmented-reality head-up display and the 10.9-inch Passenger Display if you want, while there's a near-endless array of personalisation touches to mess around with if you so wish - and if your wallet can take it. Honestly, don't delve into the extensive Porsche options list lightly, because if you're spending £1,101 to have your air vents painted in a different colour then you want your head seeing to.
Practicality
In terms of the visual and tactile delights, then, the Porsche's cabin is a big hit, and it's also a belter for ergonomics - there's a great driving position, the visibility out of the car in all directions is more than adequate, and the controls (most notably those for the onboard climate system) are intelligently laid out and easily accessible. Where it's not quite so hot is for practicality. The boot's a good size, at 540 litres with the second-row seats in use, although an outright and rather modest 1,348 litres speaks volumes (if you'll forgive the unfortunate pun) about what the Macan's rakish rear windscreen does for cargo capacity. Still, there's an 84-litre front load bay under the bonnet to counter this, but rear-seat space is average, at best. Legroom isn't markedly generous and, weirdly for an EV, there's a slight hump to the central footwell area which means getting three adult people in the back looks optimistic to say the least. Probably why Porche markets the interior seating as a '4+1' layout...
Performance
The newcomers, in the form of the Macan and the Macan 4S, slot in below the Macan 4 and the Macan Turbo respectively, laying on a good spread of performance and range requirements for the discerning Porsche buyer. All models have the 95kWh net battery pack, and they all have an official driving range well in excess of 300 miles, although by how much depends on the spec you go for.
The 4S is, like the pre-existing Macan 4 and Turbo, a dual-motor model. All three of these have the same front motor, but the rear motor and ratio of the transmission associated with it changes on each, with the Turbo also gaining torque vectoring. So the 4S really is designed as a peg to slot into a neat hole in the range between the 408hp 4 and the 639hp Turbo. Thus it has 516hp on an overboost function, allowing it a 0-62mph time that's almost exactly midway between its siblings: it clocks in at 4.1 seconds, sitting between the 4's 5.2-second sprint and the Turbo's frankly farcical 3.3-second run. You also gain 12mph for each step up the dual-motor tree you go - the 4 tops out at 137mph, the 4S at 149mph and the Turbo at 161mph. Very neat, Germany.
In truth, the 4S is a lovely, lovely thing all round, but the reasons for buying it seem less clear-cut than they do for other cars in the family, even if Porsche insists it is the 'sweet spot' of the range. Therefore, our eyes inevitably turn to the other newcomer, which has a far more interesting story to it. It's the straightforward Macan, no suffix necessary. And this represents the first time any model wearing that nameplate, which was first seen in 2014, has had two-wheel drive. Yup, and the power is sent to the rear axle, as well.
Now Porsche isn't positioning this as an out-and-out performance variant in any way, even considering every vehicle made by this company needs to be sporty, to a degree. Instead, the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive Macan is touted as the long-distance champion, as it will genuinely go further on a single charge of the battery because it only has one motor sipping away at its electrical reserves, not two. The official numbers are 398 miles for the Macan, 380 for the 4, 378 for the new 4S, and then 367 for the Turbo, but even if you would barely ever achieve these in everyday driving, the likelihood is that the base-spec Macan is going to do 300 real-world miles to every full battery it starts with, even if you don't drive it carefully.
Case in point: us. On our test drive, we weren't exactly hypermiling the Macan, which makes 340hp normally or 360hp on its overboost phase, backing this up with a robust 563Nm and resulting in a 5.7-second 0-62mph time. In fact, we were very much enjoying the natural-feeling delivery of its power, in that sweet spot (sorry, Porsche, we're hijacking your phrase) of EV potency where it feels quick enough and muscular enough to differentiate it from an ICE-powered machine, yet there's none of that discombobulating feel of something with 12,000Nm of torque that attempts to rearrange time and space every time you go near the throttle pedal.
And yet, we saw 4.2 miles/kWh from it. Which, if you multiply it by the usable battery capacity, would work out at 399 miles - one better than this German company, long renowned for understating the true performance of its vehicles in official documentation, actually claims for it. So with its smooth acceleration, courtesy of a lovely throttle pedal, and the beautifully calibrated blend between regenerative and friction braking, driving the single-motor Macan is a delight. It's not face-rippingly quick, but it doesn't need to be and the way it goes about its business will scarcely ever leave owners wishing they'd gone for more horses from their electric motor(s).
Charging times, by the way, are identical across the board in the Macan family. The maximum rate is 270kW DC, which'll see the battery's condition go from 10-80 per cent in just 21 minutes at the right public hook-up, and at the other end of the scale a 7.4kWh domestic AC wallbox will need getting on for 13 hours to perform a full top-up of the power cells. The Macan's peak AC speed is 11kW, which will cut that 0-100 per cent charge down to nearer ten hours if you have triple-phase electrics at your place of residence/work.
Ride & Handling
Another benefit of the Macan-no-suffix is that it is relatively light. But the word 'relatively' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that phrase, again pardoning the dreadful punnery, because it tips the scales at five kilos shy of 2.3 tonnes; that's not sports-car fighting weight, whichever way you cut it. However, in mitigation, it's still 110kg trimmer than the next-lightest Macan, the 2,405kg 4, and the new 4S is even heavier thanks to its bulkier rear motor, at 2,420kg all-in.
Sending power at its rear axle alone, you might imagine the Macan has a wealth of chassis adjustability that stands it apart from the rest of the range, but ultimately it still has too much mass and too much sheer mechanical grip for that idea to even start to take flight. However, any electric Macan is, by the standards of current EVs, a joy to drive, and the RWD base model is no exception.
The crisp and feelsome steering, allied to impressive body control, the eagerness of the front end and the epic traction it can summon up means that the Macan goes through corners in a far livelier manner than you might expect of something with a modest 157hp/tonne to its name. You can, if you really want to, get it to oversteer out of corners, but in truth it's happier dancing about around a neutral stance in the bends, where it feels limber and fun. OK, you don't get much in terms of audio from the motors unless you option up the booming Porsche Electric Sport Sound (PESS, fitted to our test car), but as something to hustle along one of your favourite roads, the Macan is certainly not without merit.
Interestingly, the standard suspension set-up is steel springs with passive dampers, although - again - our tester had been fitted with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) adjustable dampers. Full air suspension is an option or standard-fit further up the range, but we found the steel-sprung SUV to be really capable. This counts as much for ride comfort and rolling refinement, where it felt generally suitably composed and elegant at both town and motorway speeds, with good suppression of external noise factors. All in all, whether you're driving it like a Porsche or coaxing it gently like an EV where you're trying to maximise every last ounce of range, the single-motor Macan feels like it can excel in all duties.
Value
The Porsche Macan retails from £67,200 and therefore represents the German firm's most affordable new EV in this country right now, while the 4S starts at £75,400. Those numbers compare well to the £95,000 Macan Turbo, although the Macan 4 presents a headache for both: it's £69,800, which is a healthy £5,600 cheaper than the 4S and only £2,600 more than the RWD Macan. However, we can see why people would stick with the entry-level car (its one-shot range, mostly) and the Porsche doesn't seem overpriced at 67 grand either. Let's call it 'semi-affordable', rather than trying to pretend it's a bargain. Or cheap.
Verdict
Once again, Porsche shows its chassis prowess off to the full in the electric Macan family. Underneath it all, this is ostensibly the same machine as an
Audi A6 e-tron, which is a fine enough EV. But the Macan shows it a clean pair of heels, dynamically speaking, and there's no doubting which of these two Teutonic badges has more heft and cachet. The latest additions to the Macan range understandably bolster the appeal of the entire line-up, and although they're by no means perfect (they're not inexpensive, the looks might not be to all tastes and the rear-seat space is merely OK, not great), any version of Porsche's compact electric SUV is well worth checking out. For our money, though, go for the single-motor variant. Unless you need the unfettered lunacy of the Turbo flagship, we reckon it's the best model in the new Macan's range.
