Styling
The defining feature of this hot-rodded Macan Electric is, like many a GTS to issue forth from the Porsche stables before it, lots of black exterior detailing. Along with privacy glass (£385) and 21-inch Macan Design wheels finished in Anthracite Grey, the GTS comes with the SportDesign Package in high-gloss black with SportDesign sideskirts, as well as tinted lamp clusters (Matrix LEDs up front, incidentally). It also sits 10mm closer to the deck than other Macans on its Sport self-levelling air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) dampers, so the stance is bob-on. Finally, while Carmine Red (a 'Dreams' hue at £1,245) is not a GTS-exclusive colour, it really ought to be. This Porsche Macan looks resplendent in this finish and in this GTS trim, so no complaints from our side for the exterior appearance of the SUV.
Interior
Again, the GTS has a cabin very similar to other Macan Electrics, which is to say it is fantastic: top-notch material quality, great ergonomics, thoroughly likeable integration of all the necessary tech. As the second-to-highest trim grade of its EV line-up, the standard specification of the GTS includes such desirables as heated and Adaptive Sports seats (18-way electrically adjustable) in the front, a heated GT Sports steering wheel clad in Race-Tex, the Bose Surround Sound premium audio system, the telltale dashtop giveaway (it's the little stopwatch) of the Sport Chrono Package, ambient interior lighting, and a 15-watt smartphone charging compartment.
You won't go far wrong even if you can resist the charms of Porsche's lengthy and costly options list, but the GTS Interior Package Carmine Red (£4,636) lifts the ambience no end and ties in the cabin thematically with the EV's exterior. All of the 12.6-inch Curved Display cluster, the 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment screen, the seatbelts and the contrast stitching inside RX26 WPD were rendered in Carmine Red, and it works wonders. Other details, like the Interior Package Carbon and the carbon-fibre inlays on the steering wheel, are also options, but they're no-cost items on the GTS.
Practicality
Rear-seat space in the Macan Electric is, understandably, not as good as it is in the larger, newer
Cayenne Coupe Electric, nor even is it quite as generous as that found in Porsche's zero-emission pioneer, the
Taycan. But the GTS isn't appallingly cramped in the second row, so it should seat four adults in a reasonable amount of comfort. Boot space in this version, meanwhile, is reduced by 60 litres (seats up or down) over the lower three specifications of Macan Electric, because both the GTS and flagship Turbo model have a larger rear motor which cuts into the SUV's cargo capacity. It does retain an 84-litre 'froot', though, and the Porsche can also tow up to 2.5 tonnes of braked trailer as well.
Performance
With a peak 571hp assisted by the goliath torque figure of 955Nm, the Macan GTS Electric slots in neatly into the product gap Porsche left between the 516hp/820Nm Macan 4S, and the mighty 639hp/1,130Nm
Turbo. That all of these figures are only generated when these Macans are in Launch Control mode is neither here nor there; the fact of the matter is no model of the Porsche is slow, and these top-end derivatives turn out to be bonkers quick.
We therefore have no qualms with the (beautiful) way the Macan GTS Electric stops and goes, but the electrical efficiency might be a larger question mark. We couldn't ever get it near 3 miles/kWh during almost 400 miles of road-testing, while an overall average after our time with the SUV suggested 2.6 miles/kWh. That means a real-world range of roughly 250 miles from its 95kWh battery, rather than the quoted 360.
Ride & Handling
We're not sure what you want us to put here, other than the Macan GTS Electric is, as 2.4-tonne electric SUVs go, sublime. It never, ever, even remotely feels close to that kerb weight, and is blessed with delicious steering, unimpeachable body and wheel control from its PASM-and-air-boosted chassis, and the sort of uncanny cornering agility that is conferred on the Porsche EV by the standard fitment of Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus).
Where some GTS models have fallen down before, though, is with ride comfort and rolling refinement. Brittle low-speed manners and excessive tyre roar are the normal blights of these dark-detailed Porsches, yet the Macan GTS happily doesn't fall all the way into the same trap - despite colossal 295-section rear tyres. There's a wonderful pliancy to the way the SUV covers off poor tarmac, but we would counsel caution and say that for all its brilliance in this department, it is still the grittiest of the five Macan Electric models to travel in, Turbo included.
Value
At £89,000 basic and staying
just the right side of 100-grand with a few options bolted on, the Porsche Macan GTS Electric is clearly not what you would call cheap, but for the standard of vehicle you're getting, and the level of equipment the SUV ships with from the factory, it feels surprisingly good value-for-money. We prefer it to the Turbo above it in the hierarchy, for instance.
Verdict
Sometimes, GTS models of the Porsche bring in too many compromises, compared to their relations in the same product range, to be the first recommendation we'd make in a line-up. And while the Macan GTS Electric is the firmest-riding variant of the five seen so far, it's also the sharpest to drive, the nicest to look at, and - with some choice options boxes ticked - the best to sit in as well (provided you're up front and not in the rear). Aside from a very, very minor reservation about its real-world rate of electrical consumption, there's everything to love about the Macan GTS, and precious little (if nothing) to dislike. Immediately, it's one of the most talented and edifying EVs we've ever driven, of any size and shape.
