THE 2024 PORSCHE MACAN ELECTRIC IS JUST TOO EXPENSIVE
Porsche has built a fantastic EV crossover. But you will have to spend a lot more money than the last Macan to get the one you want.
Porsche is infuriating. It is one of the few companies that makes products that are both perfectly engineered and emotionally engaging. It avoids the cost-saving pitfalls other companies make—like slow charging speeds, cheapened interiors and janky brake pedals—but as a result, creates a product far too expensive for the average carbuyer. The new Porsche Macan Electric is a similar story.
A solid option, if you don’t mind the price.
(Full Disclosure: Porsche flew me business class to Nice, France, and then put me up in a swanky hotel in Antibes and fed me good food. The company provided, insured and charged the cars.)
A Groundbreaking EV For Porsche
Let’s get that out of the way first. The 2025 Porsche Macan 4 Electric starts at $78,800. Not a crazy number for a compact electric SUV. Sure, it’s only an inch longer than a $51,490 (at the time of writing) Tesla Model Y Performance, but the Porsche is better to drive, with a nicer interior and faster charging.
It packs a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery rated at 95 kWh usable. It can go from 10% to 80% in just 21 minutes on a 350kW charger, Porsche says, though what you gain in charging speed you lose in charger access. Porsche has not shipped CCS to NACS adapters (yet), and the Macan comes with a CCS port from the factory. You won’t be able to use Tesla Superchargers with it yet.
And it's an important car, period; after countless delays, the Macan debuts an all-new electric platform that Porsche, corporate cousin Audi and other Volkswagen Group brands have big plans for. The hope is that this new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) will bring faster charging via an 800V electrical architecture, better software integration and more features to give all involved an edge over competitors that keep getting better and better.
But those upgrades come with a serious price jump. The old gas-powered Macan (which will stick around for a while in the U.S. and some other markets, but not Europe) started in the low-$60,000 range. That's quite a base price jump.
A premium for a Porsche is not unheard of, especially given that the Model Y enjoys the economies of scale that come with being the best-selling car in the world, and that its interior is far too spartan for it to really be a luxury competitor. If it was $78,800 flat for the Macan you want, Porsche could make a dollar-and-cents case.
But this is a Porsche. The company famously allows for near-infinite customization but also offers little in the way of standard equipment. The headliner, windshield glass, accelerator and brake pedal pads, air filtration system, rear sun blinds, heated steering wheel and lane-keeping system were all added-cost extras. $4,700 for the Burmester sound system. $1,570 for the passenger-facing display. $490 for “Porsche Electric Sport Sound.” $580 for a power charge door.
The result: Of the three Macan 4 Electrics Porsche had on hand at the first drive in Antibes, France, the cheapest had a $99,280 sticker price. The other two cost about $112,000 each, and the Turbos went for between $124,000 and $130,000. This is not a car you buy based on a spreadsheet. You have to love it.
Porsche makes it relatively easy to love. The company has not released its estimated EPA range, but the Macan 4 Electric has a WLTP range of 381 miles. WLTP is more generous than the EPA cycle, but that should still give it a more-than-adequate highway range. Charging is best-in-class, and while RWD versions of other SUVs may go further, the Macan comes standard with all-wheel drive, which is how most people spec their SUVs anyway.
Both the 4 and Turbo have Permanent Synchronous Motors front and rear, with 382 combined horsepower for the 4 and 576 hp for the Turbo. Both can overboost to 402 hp and 630 hp, respectively, for launch control, enabling a 0-60 sprint of 4.9 seconds in the 4 and 3.1 seconds in the Turbo.
Porsche tends to understate its acceleration figures, but the Macan appears neither significantly more powerful nor quicker than a Model Y Performance or a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Yet few if any buyers will be cross-shopping. Anyone who would accept the Tesla’s spare interior and ho-hum driving experience or the Hyundai’s cheap plastics and silly aesthetics would never pay the Porsche premium. Porsche doesn’t try to dominate in any one spec. The company built its name by providing the best overall experience.
In the Macan, that means combining a luxurious highway cruising experience with handling so good that you’ll twist your stomach before reaching the edge of grip. Both the 4 and Turbo I sampled had rear-wheel steering, an optional but welcome extra that makes the Macan even more nimble than its gas-powered sibling. (That’s good, as the old gas-powered Macan will still be offered alongside the new all-EV generation in U.S. dealerships. In Europe the EV will be the sole option.)
Still, Macan Electrics weigh between 5,200 and 5,400 pounds, and you can feel that mass moving around beneath you. Like many performance EVs, it feels more like you’re riding on it, not in it.
On The Road
The experience is impressive. I just can’t say I was having too much fun. Each control was precise and communicative, but the Macan is so fast and heavy that trying to manage it at pace is more daunting than exhilarating. The rear end is playful, and you can feel the rear-wheel steering working it as you exit corners, with gentle on-throttle oversteer that never gets out of hand. Everything is dialed in.
The only downside is that you have to push so hard to get to where the Macan shines that many drivers will never see its most playful, engaging moments. You can still enjoy it if you cruise down canyons at 50% of its maximum pace, but you’re paying for that at-the-limit brilliance. If you aren’t going to use it, you can find cheaper EVs that hit many of the same notes.
The good news is there’s no trade-off in day-to-day driving. The Macan’s brake pedal is so predictable that you’d never know it’s blending regenerative and friction braking. Its cabin is comfortable and well-designed, though not flashy nor particularly memorable. The cabin is quiet, though some road noise gets through, and the seats are great. The ride in Comfort mode is fantastic thanks to the standard air suspension.
Low points include a cramped rear seat—even at 5’ 6” I wasn’t too happy to sit behind my own driver’s seat—and a sloping roofline that gives you just 18 cubic feet of storage with the rear seats up. Or, bizarrely, just 15.8 cubes in the Turbo. Even among EV SUVs, that’s a poor showing. The Model Y offers 30 cubic feet of storage and the puny cargo area in the Ioniq 5 still swallows 26 cubic feet with all seats in place.
The new infotainment also boasts improvements in route planning and general usability, but it needs a back button. Our test car also popped up a warning that its active safety systems were unavailable, a concerning flaw. I am no schooled audiophile, but I didn't find the pricey Burmester audio system to be nearly as good as systems I've used in much cheaper cars. Perhaps it's a taste thing, but I recommend you listen to it yourself before shelling out the extra $4,700.
Early Verdict
All of this makes it tough to argue that anyone should stretch to afford a Macan. If your mind is on the practical side, and you like to stretch a dollar, then Porsche isn’t even really aiming for your business. Most Porsche buyers make enough that an extra $30,000 for the best possible car isn’t even a question. To them, it’s like adding guac at Chipotle. So if that money isn’t an object, they’ll be plenty happy with an EV that drives great, feels great, charges well and goes far.
If you want to run the numbers though, you’ll find that the Macan isn’t $30,000 more than other compact EV SUVs. It’s 35, 40, or 50 thousand more. That’s in part because there is no equivalent BMW or Mercedes EV on sale in America. The Audi Q4 e-Tron exists, but it’s targeted at a completely different buyer set. Same as the Cadillac Lyriq. And the BMW iX, as good as it is, is not only larger but somehow less expensive—although no slouch in the charging, performance or range departments.
But whether you look at a Genesis GV70 Electrified or a BMW X3 M, the Model Y Performance or the gas-powered Porsche Macan itself, there is no compact SUV that commands a higher price. If price isn’t a concern, it is a wonderful car.
If you’re a value shopper, well, Porsche’s never really tried to get your business.
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2024-04-23T12:21:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd