2024 Porsche Macan Electric First Drive Review: The revolution begins

NICE, France — We expect evolutionary changes when a new Porsche comes out; the new Panamera is more of an update of its predecessor than a fresh start, for example. Unveiled earlier this year, the second-generation, 2024 Porsche Macan defies this trend. It all starts under the hood: There’s a frunk there instead of an engine.

Porsche made the new Macan all electric, all the time. It’s based on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that Porsche designed jointly with sister company Audi specifically to underpin EVs, so don’t expect V6 or even plug-in hybrids. Instead, the gas-powered, first-generation Macan will live on indefinitely alongside the new Macan Electric (its official name to differentiate it), but that’s a short-term hedge. Even though the existing Macan represented about 35% of Porsche’s sales in the United States with 26,947 units sold, it’s a 10-year-old car pegged in one of the market’s most competitive segments. So, while the gas-powered Macan hasn't been discontinued yet, there’s a clock ticking. For Porsche, there’s no going back and it’s certainly a risky bet.

At launch, buyers will have a choice of two versions called Macan 4 and Macan Turbo, respectively. Both are built on a 100-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack located under the cabin, and both offer through-the-road all-wheel-drive from a pair of electric motors (one per axle). The 4 develops 382 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque while the Turbo gets 576 horsepower and a massive 811 pound-feet of torque. There’s a Launch Control function that bumps horsepower to 402 and 630, respectively. Impressive? Hell, yes! Hitting 60 mph from a stop takes 4.9 seconds in the 4 and 3.1 seconds in the Turbo. That’s in spite of a curb weight of 5,247 pounds (Macan 4) and 5,393 pounds (Macan Turbo). For context, the V8-powered Ford F-150 Tremor weighs about 4,900 pounds.

Driving range figures won’t be announced until the EPA puts the new Macan through its paces. We do know that the 800-volt electrical system unlocks fast-charging at up to 270 kilowatts, which is incredibly fast considering most luxury EVs charge in the 150-200-kW range.

Back to the platform: “Developed jointly” isn’t synonymous with “borrowed from.” Porsche and Audi worked together on the PPE architecture, and there are several Macan-specific parts.

“The two-valve dampers, the available rear-wheel steering system, and the way the Turbo’s motor is mounted on the rear axle are some of the Porsche-specific bits,” said Dr. Robert Meier, the Macan line’s manager.

The view from the driver’s seat is familiar if you’ve spent time in other recent additions to the range, like the new Cayenne. There’s a start button on the left side of the steering wheel, a little razor-like shifter on the right side of the steering wheel, and a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster right behind it. The screen doesn’t have a binnacle, so you’ll have to find another surface to use as a snare if you want to drum along to the music in traffic, but it’s easy to read regardless of lighting conditions. You’d think that glare would make this setup a serious pain in the trunk lid; that’s not the case, thankfully.

If you wanted to add more screens to the dashboard, you wouldn’t know where to put them. There’s a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system in the middle, and you can pay extra to get a second 10.9-inch touchscreen in the part of the dashboard that faces the front passenger. You can’t see what’s shown on the passenger-side touchscreen while driving; you can’t even tell that it’s there.

Power on the Macan, flick the shifter out of park, and you’re off in complete silence. You can enable a UFO-like acceleration noise via the main touchscreen, but without it, the cabin is remarkably quiet. That’s easier said than done in an EV, because the engine’s symphony isn’t there to cover up the various squeaks and rattles. Acceleration is smooth and linear, and the 4 has plenty of power.

Every member of the Macan Electric range comes with an air suspension system on both axles, and my test car was equipped with the optional rear-wheel steering system. The old Macan (outgoing isn’t the right term here, since it’s still going) isn’t available with either. The air suspension system does a good job of evening out bumps in the road and keeping body roll in check during cornering, but it’s the four-wheel steering that really works wonders. It helps the Macan take a bend like a smaller car by turning the rear wheels up to 5 degrees in the opposite direction of the front wheels at lower speeds. You can feel it and you can see it. It’s not tech for the sake of tech; it makes a big difference.

This handling capability is ultimately what sets the Macan apart, because in terms of acceleration it drives like any of the other EVs that boast the kind of horsepower you’d have expected from a supercar 15 years ago. Perhaps this is a question of habit or preference, but when driven spiritedly (which it really should be from time to time; it’s a Porsche, after all) it’s not quite as exciting as the original model.