- The new Porsche Macan Electric introduces unique touch-activated panels.
- The Macan Turbo model delivers astonishing acceleration, rivalling that of a Porsche Carrera Cup race car.
- We explore where the best value lies within the Macan Electric range.
We’ve long suspected that Porsche owners are exactly the kind of people who secretly like to give their cars a little sensual stroke when nobody’s looking. Apparently we weren’t alone, because Porsche hasn’t just acknowledged this unusual (but, with the right 911, at least a little understandable) behaviour, it has only gone and built stroke-me panels into the bodywork of the new Porsche Macan Electric.
Porsche Macan Electric Introduces Touch-Activated Features
OK, so they don’t call them ‘stroke-me panels’ exactly. But there’s really no other way to explain them. Approach the front of the new Macan, rub your hand gently along its aero-friendly snout, and the bonnet will pop open automatically, revealing a surprisingly usable ‘frunk’ storage space.
Approach from the side and give the Macan a light tickle just above the rear wheel arch, and you’ll find the charging port door slides open automatically, a bit like one of those hidden rooms that only reveals itself when you remove the right book from the shelf.
Of course, it’s all typically finicky and seems specifically programmed to fail if you’re trying to show off to your friends and colleagues, or catch it on video — and how it works when said owners are wearing their prerequisite leather driving gloves remains to be seen —but the point Porsche is making is pretty clear; this isn’t your average mid-size electric SUV. It might have ditched the petrol engine entirely for this generation, but this is still something just a little bit special.
That’s especially true in the case of the monstrous Macan Turbo, which pairs twin electric motors producing a total, and totally silly, 470kW (with Launch Control active) and 1130Nm of tyre-torturing torque.
That’s enough to produce a zero to 100km/h sprint time of just 3.3 seconds – in a family-focused SUV that weighs close to 2.5 tonnes. It’s also the same acceleration time a Porsche Carrera Cup race car – which weighs a spritely 1260kg – can manage on a good day.
Macan Turbo’s Blistering Performance
If you think transforming soccer parents into race drivers every time they breathe on the accelerator sounds bonkers, I can assure you it feels even more so. Porsche’s launch control system is among the easiest on the planet to use (you just stamp on the brake, flatten the accelerator, and then lift your left foot) and every single time I tried it I found myself generating these high-pitched squealing sounds I’d never heard before, a bit like air being released from a tightly held balloon, only if that air was also terrified.
Unfortunately, that’s about the only sound you’ll hear. The Turbo does have an artificial sound generator, but it’s pretty droning and dull and best left switched off. And you can’t help but pine for just a little more emotion, aural or otherwise, from the experience, which, like most go-fast EVs, still feels a little cold and clinical.
Porsche is one of the few brands that knows how to make a properly sorted EV, and the Macan is no exception. The ride is bang-on — just forgiving enough to be comfortable in town, but also firm enough to deliver masses of confidence on twisting roads — but it really just completes a massively competent package, with tons of grip, little body roll and steering that is typically Porsche wonderful, too. The fact it can do it all with seating for five and a sizable boot makes it all doubly impressive.
Finding the Best Value in the Range
Still, hair-peeling acceleration aside, I think the Macan might suffer from the Taycan’s curse, in that the fastest versions are altogether too fast, and the best bang-for-buck exists lower in the range. Especially when you consider that they all share the same 100kWh battery, unlocking a driving range of between 616km and 654km – and the cheaper ones will travel the furthest.
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The new Electric range opens with the Macan, which lists at A$128,400. A reminder here that the old entry-level Macan with an ICE engine would have set you back less than six figures, so this one represents quite the jump. It’s rear-drive only, and its single electric motor fires out 265kW and 563Nm with Launch Control engaged.
Next up is the Macan 4 (A$134,400) which, as the name suggests, adds a second electric motor up front for AWD, and ups the grunt considerably, now 300kW and 650Nm, again in Launch mode. It will clip 100km/h in 5.2 seconds, more than a second slower than the next in line, the 4S (A$149,300), which ups the power to 380kW and 820Nm, and drops the sprint to 4.1 seconds.
Now, if you think 4.1 seconds, or even 5.2, isn’t quite fast enough for you, then you’re welcome to drop the A$184,400 required to park a Turbo on your driveway, but if you really do think that, I suspect you might be stroking more than just your bonnet.
