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Battery size: 95kWh
Miles per kWh: 4.3
E-Rating™: A
Max charge rate: 270 kW
Range: 367 - 381 miles 
When we say ‘slightly more modest’, we do only mean slightly… The electric Macan is hardly cheap, and starts at just under £70,000 for the Macan 4 model, which gets all-wheel drive, a 95kWh usable battery capacity and a range of up to 381 miles. That’s despite hearty 402bhp output and 0-62mph sprint time of 5.2sec. Currently, the Macan Turbo is the only other option, which gets the same battery but ups the performance ante to a mighty 630bhp, for a 0-62mph of 3.3sec. Expect more Porsche Macan models to arrive over the coming year or two.
Underneath the Macan Electric is the same Premium Platform Electric as you find lurking beneath the new Audi Q6 e-tron, while other rivals will include the BMW iX3, Tesla Model Y and Mercedes EQE SUV. You will still be able to buy the outgoing petrol Porsche Macan for a while, but if you want a new Macan, it’s electric - and that’s it. No petrol or hybrid options.
It’s certainly an evolutionary look when it comes to styling, and that’s no bad thing in our books. Standard colours are black or white, but there’s some 59 shades to choose from if you’re willing to pay, including a rather fetching shade of pastel lilac called ‘Provence’. Oui, Oui!
Range, battery and charging
The Porsche Macan 4 Electric gets an official WLTP range of 381 miles from its 95kWh (usable capacity) lithium-ion battery, while the Turbo Electric manages 367 miles. Our test drive on the international launch wasn’t terribly representative of the sort of driving that most will be doing on the school run or commute, but suffice to say that we’d estimate that the Macan 4 will manage around 300 miles in cold weather, or around 360 miles in summer, while the Turbo will be a bit less than that.
Recharging is super-rapid, as the Macan gets an 800V system just like the Taycan. That means that it can charge at up to 270kW which, in real terms, means that you can get around 60 miles of range per 4 minutes of charging at one of the 350kW ultra-rapid chargers that are increasingly common on the UK’s motorway network. Put another way, that’s a 10-80% top-up in some 20 minutes. Even the Tesla Model Y can’t beat that…
There’s also vehicle-to-load charging, so that you can charge your electrical gubbins from the car’s battery. Useful for keeping the fridge going on camping trips, and that kind of thing.
Motors, Performance and Handling
Suffice to say that the Macan is just as peachy to drive as you expect it to be. We drove the electric Porsche Macan Turbo around the south of France, and while the lack of a one-pedal drive mode is annoying, everything else lives up to expectations. Power delivery is actually more muted than you might expect in the standard drive modes, but stick it in Sport Plus and you can suddenly feel how comically rapid that 3.3 second 0-62mph time is.
Having said that, it’s not difficult to drive even in Sport Plus, and it’s pretty wieldy and well sorted for about-town driving or a motorway cruise – especially with the standard adaptive air suspension that’s standard on the Turbo, or optional on the Macan 4. You can also add rear-wheel steering, which tightens up the turning circle and improves high-speed cornering, and we’d definitely add it if you’re going to be wheeling around multi-storey car parks on a routine basis as it definitely helps with that sort of manoeuvring.
Otherwise, the balance of responsiveness, comfort and that ‘just so’ ease of progress that Porsche does so well, makes the Macan every bit as lovely to drive as the petrol Porsche SUVs. In fact, the power delivery and the way the car responds – especially in its routine drive modes – make it feel very similar to a petrol Porsche, so this is likely to please anyone who’s considering a Macan for their first electric car.
You’ll have to look to a used Porche Taycan to get any electric car that handles better, at this price.
Practicality and boot space
The Macan is, of course, the practical, family Porsche, so this new electric model must live up to the expectations of the family motorist and their dog, too. Thankfully, the 480-litre boot is big enough for the Labrador, and the seats fold in a 40/20/40 split rear seats. There’s also a huge ‘frunk’ storage area in the nose of the car, which offers 84 litres of space for storying all of your charging cables.
There’s also plenty of space in the rear seats, and the swoopy roof doesn’t cut too much into the headroom, so a couple of taller adults will be happy in the back.
Interior, Design and Technology
Up front, the dash has the pin-sharp looks that Porsche seems to make its own, complete with simple, horizontal lines and a blend of materials that all feel tactile and appropriately plush and expensive. It’s a super-comfy place to be, with great seat adjustment, even if visibility to the rear three-quarters is a bit iffy.
Naturally, there’s an abundance of screen to play with, but we really like the way that it sits in the dash in a fairly unobtrusive way. It’s not like the attention-grabbing Mercedes Hyperscreen, or Tesla’s iPad-stuck-to-the-dash affair; Porsche has integrated the screens so that they aren’t the only focal point in the cabin, and looks like the dash has been designed with them in mind. A curved, 12.6-inch driver display, a head-up display with augmented reality that beams an arrow onto the road in front of you so that you can’t miss your next turn, and a 10-9-inch touchscreen infotainment system for all of your multimedia and settings. There’s even an optional second screen for the passenger, too.
The voice control – which is Android-based – is also one of the best we’ve tried for actually recognising what you’re trying to say. Still a rarity in most vehicle voice-command systems, in our experience.
Running Costs and Pricing
The Porsche Macan 4 Electric is sure to be the biggest selling model in the range, and the sub-£70,000 starting price is reasonable. But don’t expect that to be what you actually pay, as there is a huge array of options to choose from, and it’s quite easy to add thousands and thousands to the price in optional extras. That’s nothing new for Porsche, which is infamous for its options lists, so expect to pay more like £75 - £80,000 depending on how mad you want to go with the customisation and tech features.
The Turbo does get more as standard, but at £95,000 you’d expect it to. We’d stick with the Macan 4 and use the money saved to get the spec you really want.
Verdict
It drives like a Porsche, feels like a Porsche, smells like a Porsche and, well, it’s a Porsche. And everything that you expect of that – and probably more thanks to the electric power, rather than less. Plus, it’s usefully comfy and roomy.
We will have to wait until we get the Porsche Macan Electric in the UK before we draw a final, final conclusion; these were pre-production cars, and a sunny jaunt in the south of France isn’t quite the same as a cold, drizzly commute around the M25 – which is likely to be the less glamorous reality for most people buying the new Macan. But, on this evidence, the Macan is just as good as you'd expect. And that's high praise, indeed.
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