An obvious choice when the budget allows

You have to give Porksche CREDIT for logging in at the beginning of EVS. The taycan is a stellar sedan / wagon that’s only better. But even for a niche maker like Porsche, it’s not a mass market activity. To really go along with the needle on EVS, you need something a little more friendly, and for the brand from Stuttgart, that’s the Macan.

Porsche’s electric Crossever SUV is its best-selling vehicle in the US, so it’s a very important part of the company’s success. It is PORSCHE’s second mission, a battery-powered machine to hit the market. The Macan Electric did not gather in the position before the internal assembly, rather he sat next to it on the ground, creating a brutal rivalry, a difficult choice for the child and a difficult choice for consumers: gas or electric?

Actually, Porsche made it a really good decision. This is the right one for you.

Hardware tour

The Macan Electric shares a silhouette and parts with the other Macan, but from a technical point of view, there is little in common. The Macan Electric is built on a new platform called PPE, one of which was destined to underpin the smorgasbord of electric offerings from Porsche and Audi, including the A6 e-Tron and Q6 Tron.

For now, at least, the Americans’ growing EVS have decided some of those plans, which means that the upcoming Mapan and Cayenne electric are two years built on those bones. The Macan is the smaller of the two, powered by a variety of different machines, starting with a single configuration, reworked with 355 horsepower at the low end, up to 630-HP, macan-motor, macan turbo electric at the top end. Buyers can also choose the electric-motor macan 4, the Speedier electric 4s or the faster electric GTs.

I tested the base Macan’s electric, its rear-mounted, rear-mounted, 355-HP motor is enough to skrolot this 5,004 pound SUV from zero to 60 mph in 60 seconds. The Tour-Shalf Macan turbo Electric reaches 60 in 3.1 seconds, completely putting to shame the fastest time of the Macan GTS’s 4.3-Second Second.

Of course, this is a Porsche, not a dragster, and so fit is important. Helping with handling is the dynamic air suspension that doesn’t just let you go off the stuff to be tough on the twisties but also wind up or down hard. When hunting for range or speed, the SUV is down to the world’s lowest aerodynamic tuck. If you want to repair off-road, it will sew itself at 1.6 cm.

While I wouldn’t look at this off-road, the two-car configuration should be capable in low conditions. The wide variety at either end will keep your all-road desires limited, but for some rough, slippery roads during the week I spent living with one, even the Macan’s Relear drive proved confident and easy to handle, despite the Pilot Sport’s tendency towards Vires.

At the heart of it all is a 100-kilowatt battery pack, which gives the Macan electric a range of up to 315 miles, depending on where you take it. In my testing, which included additional periods of driving with my foot flat on the ground, I managed 2 miles per kWh. That’s a whole 280 kilometer range of views when you drive like a thief. Anyone who does this school run with extra downloads will have no problem meeting or beating that EPA rating.

The user interface

Besides performance, the Macan Electric has another advantage over its internal combustion counterpart: It has a modern interior. The highlight is the 12.6-inch, gauge cluster. Using the buttons on the steering wheel, you can cycle through the various views and telemetry items to suit your data needs or need to remain undisturbed.

That’s paired with a 10.9-inch screen in the middle, and you can even choose a third display embedded on the right side of the dashboard. This one allows you to access streaming services like YouTube. I never saw the point in that, but that’s only because it only made me meet a passenger who just won’t use their smartphone.

PCM’s PCM user interface in that middle touch era is simple and clean, with more similarities to iOS. Maybe that’s why the company has been getting CARPLAY Ultra. For reliable Android Android, Android Auto is also here, and it works well, it looks almost traditional on the wide display.

With simple menus, you can do everything from track lap times to enabling or disabling the unappealing digital engine tone, which Porsche calls an electronic sports sound. I admit whingring futuristic and putting in whoing makes driving clean more fun, but most of the time I’d rather have it.

Thankfully, not everything is controlled via the touch screen. There’s a separate, touchy feely panel just below it for weather-related functions, including moving the super-warm heated seats (which I’m enjoying as I write this). You’ll find a visible volume knob there, too.

The Macan seats five in comfort, although I stick with it on days for nothing more than a quick run to a group lunch. The front and rear seats are comfortable, and there is a reasonable amount of legroom in the back. Heastroom back there, however, is limited. If you have tall allies, they will start crowding each other to drive Shotgun.

Power

In the Grand Spectrum of SUVs on the road today, the 188.3-Inch Long Electric is on the sidelines. But, like an EV, it’s difficult for a crossover. As long as you pay more than 5,000 pounds, it’s a whopping 850 pounds more than the standard Macan.

Porsche engineers spread that as much as possible with the aforementioned suspension, as well as high, 20-inch wheels at each corner. The result is an SUV that is, in sporty or sporty ways and very pleasant ways to drive. Its steering is very quick for an SUV, which makes this thing feel rather light.

All the grip provided by those tires and suspension gives you the confidence to press into the corners, too. And, the more you press, the faster it breaks and you guess. I enjoyed remembering the throttle strial-in a mid-corner, the Macan gives me enough time to grin and give a steering correction before everything is right.

It’s not a sports car, there’s no doubt about that, and it tends to be a bit sloppy on bumpy roads because of all that weight, but it’s more engaging than anything else in this area. Even this base model is quick off the line, but its initial throwneck response is achieved with high flat acceleration at high speed. It doesn’t even have the kind of autobahn – super high-end dominance that Porsches are usually known for.

I guess I’d have to cough up another $10,000 for the GTS, or another $20,000 for the $109,000 turbo if I really wanted that. Yes, these things are very fast. The base Macan Electric I got started at $73,500, but it picked up enough options to drive its starting price to $86,865.

You are, at least, getting a machine that works easily. Despite its responsive and eager handling, the Macan’s electric does a stellar job of settling down when you twist that car’s drive knob on the steering wheel to the left, refusing to be stopped. The SUV manages a good deal on broken roads, flies over railroad tracks without complaint, and is generally a calm and capable cruiser.

But there’s one, undeniable flaw that drives me absolutely nuts about the Macan’s gas: the complete lack of revved-up lift. Porsche continues its refusal to offer anything even close to a single-pedal driving experience. That’s a frustrating thing for me – maybe not as frustrating as GM putting auto with apple, but pretty close.

Finish it

After driving several different prototypes of the Macan electric during its development, I really enjoyed my time with the final, production version on some familiar roads in my home. It’s very good dry and slippery, on the first winter roads, it made me smile when I felt a line, then disappeared in the background when I wanted to get home.

It is not a perfect machine. I was hoping for less discrimination inside, lamenting the lack of a single drive, and honestly, I wish Porwche’s exterior designers had gone a little crazier. At a quick glance, it looks similar to the first gen tesla y model, especially in Gentian Blue Metallic, which is a dead ringer of a deep metallic blue.

And there’s also a significant premium you have to pay to get into the One: $10,000 more than the base, high-powered Macan. For that, you get a lot more performance, increased technological capacity and all the joys and conveniences that come with living the EV life. That makes it worth it in my book.