All-electric new Porsche Macan officially unveiled
Porsche's great white hope is finally here with up to 639hp and 380 miles of range - will it be enough?
Here it is, then. A decade after the first Macan and with more than 800,000 of them sold, this is the all-important (and sometimes tricky) second album. Set to be with customers in the second half of 2024, Porsche’s second pure electric car will cost from £69,800 as a 408hp Macan 4, rising to £95,000 for the 639hp Macan Turbo. Expect plenty more models to join the range in due course.
With so much already known about this Macan - the 95kWh usable battery, 0.25Cd, the Premium Platform Electric architecture - ahead of the reveal, we can probably get straight into how it looks. If not instantly recognisable as a Macan yet, there are certainly some familiar cues, including the rear light bar (with a chunky shoulder line drawing attention to it), Taycan-style front lights (DRLs at the top, LED headlights below) and a silhouette not a million miles from a Cayenne Coupe. Porsche reckons that the ‘sharper proportions’ mean this car is ‘dynamic and dominant’. Although, from these images, the new Macan perhaps looks a bit…erm, chubby,. But let’s wait until real life for a more definitive judgement. It's hardly like slightly odd looks ever got in the way of the Macan’s success anyway.
More positively, the new architecture means a more accommodating Macan than before. Now 4,784mm long, 1,938mm wide and 1,622mm high, the electric Macan is 58mm longer, 11mm wider and just a solitary millimetre taller than before, though the wheelbase gains a substantial 86mm at 2,893mm - which is where the real gains for interior space will come. All passengers will sit lower than before, there’s 540 litres of boot space in the back (extendable to 1,348 litres with the seats down) plus an 84-litre frunk. The towing capacity is 2,000kg.
Forget all you know about the look of Macan interiors, moreover, because this cabin is completely different - and likely to lure buyers in as much as anything else. Up to three screens will be possible, with a 12.6-inch curved instrument cluster, 10.9-inch central display and then an optional passenger display of the same width. A head-up display with augmented reality appears at a distance of 10 metres ‘and corresponds to the size of an 87-inch display’. At least that screen will kind of keep eyes on the road.
Interestingly, the Macan’s infotainment is underpinned by the Android Automotive Operating System (like a Polestar 2), which ‘takes computing performance to the next level’, and means commands are possible using the ‘Hey Porsche’ voice assistant (sorry if that also reminded you of the Nelly song). Third-party apps can also be installed in the car, so keep a lookout for the boss’s new Zoom background before the year is out.
Elsewhere there are more Porsche-typical features to be excited about for this Macan, don’t worry. A Turbo will hit 62mph in 3.3 seconds, for example, as well as 162mph; the 4’s numbers are 5.1 and 137mph. Peak torque for the Turbo is rated at 833lb ft, massively outscoring the 479lb ft of the 4, which will likely make the biggest difference. Porsche says that electronic Porsche Traction Management can work five times faster than conventional all-wheel drive, with Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus further enhancing the driving experience of the Turbo.
Macans with air suspension (optional on the 4; standard on the Turbo) get Porsche Active Suspension Management with the two-valve technology seen in the Cayenne. A steering rear axle is optionally available for the first time. Unsurprisingly, Porsche is promising ‘a real sports car feeling’ from its new EV. Given what was achieved with its first electric car (and first Macan, for that matter), there’s little reason at the moment to doubt that claim. Even if it doesn’t look all that sporty, despite the best efforts of the 22-inch wheels.
Finally, the official details of range and charging. All Macans, based as they are on 800-volt architecture, can juice up really quickly: up to 270kW DC, which could see a 10-80 per cent replenishment complete in 21 minutes. Probably not in the UK, sure, but it’s possible. The Macan also has a high-voltage switch in the battery, which Porsche says can effectively split it into two 400-volt batteries that can change efficiently at up to 135kW. Up to 11kW is possible at home, up to 240kW can be recouped on the move, and up to 613km (or 380 miles) is possible from a full tank in a Macan according to the WLTP test. That’s for the Turbo, with the 4 rated at 591km (or 367 miles) by the same criteria.
“We are taking the Macan to a completely new level – with exceptional E-Performance, the new Driver Experience, and a very impressive design,” said Porsche Chairman Oliver Blume. The world premiere occurred in Singapore, and with UK prices already announced ordering will presumably open very soon. Just the thing to replace an old Taycan, perhaps.
I do wonder seeing how much Taycan values have tanked surely you'd have to had deep pockets to stomach the depreciation or for those that say well no one will pay cash, surely the PCP rate is hugely affected by residuals and hence you'll get burnt either way.
I like Macan's but I was hoping for some amazing new exterior look to really headline the shift in power source, it looks OK externally, internally it looks like a leap forward though.
I guess if you can have a company car and benefit from the BIK this would certainly be on the radar, but I'm still unsure whether Joe Public are happy to take the hit on residuals which may be Porsches biggest challenge here.
I do like the fact the infotainment screen is integrated, rather than looking like someone's glued an ipad to the dash, other manufacturers take note!
On the other hand the chrono pack dial? on the top of the dashboard looks incongruous now.
Driving-wise, Porsche should be making some of the best EVs thanks to Rimac.
I like Macan's but I was hoping for some amazing new exterior look to really headline the shift in power source, it looks OK externally, internally it looks like a leap forward though.
I guess if you can have a company car and benefit from the BIK this would certainly be on the radar, but I'm still unsure whether Joe Public are happy to take the hit on residuals which may be Porsches biggest challenge here.
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