2024 Porsche Macan Electric Review: sporty SUV driven

What’s good?

• Lovely interior
• Great fun to drive
• Decent range

What’s not so good?

• Upgraded stereo impacts boot capacity a lot
• A bit tight in the back for tall passengers
• Side airbags are not standard

Wowscore: 8/10

Watch: Porsche Macan Electric review

Is the Porsche Macan Electric a good car?

This is the Porsche Macan Electric, an all-electric SUV that’s usefully practical for everyday life, suitably posh inside, and great fun to drive on a twisty road.

It’s the first time the Macan is offered with purely electric power. It’s a bit like Lewis Hamilton – sporty, but environmentally conscious.

It’s not the only posh electric SUV you could consider – it’s a similar price to the Mercedes EQC and BMW iX, while the Tesla Model Y almost looks like a bargain by comparison. The Porsche shares mechanical bits with the forthcoming Audi Q6 e-tron, too.

With tempting alternatives aplenty, the Macan EV gets off to a good start by being a handsome thing to look at. The sporty, sloping roofline plunges into slim rear lights and new raised badging, while at the front you get narrow running lights similar to the look of the Taycan.

The cabin is lovely, with posh materials all over the place and perfectly straight stitching – it all just oozes quality. The twin-screen setup is familiar from the Taycan, with super-sharp graphics and quick responses to your touch on the central infotainment display. You can get a third screen that goes ahead of the passenger where they can watch videos, though this is obscured from the driver’s seat while on the move.

Storage is really good, with a deep, felt-lined cubby hole beneath the armrest and large door bins. The cupholders are recessed so your bottles don’t get in the way of controlling the climate settings, which is really well thought out.

Space in the back is decent, with headroom and legroom good for most, though those over six-feet-tall might find it’s a bit tight. There’s another climate panel between the seats, which is neat, but the vent controls feel a bit cheap.

Boot space is respectable – at 540 litres there’s more room than you get in the BMW iX, though if maximum capacity is required the Tesla Model Y has a massive 854 litres on offer. Annoyingly though, any models with the upgraded sound system lose 60 litres of underfloor storage, dropping capacity below the BMW, but all models do at least get 84 litres in the front boot.

Out on the road, the Porsche Macan Electric is a quiet and refined thing to cruise about in. The Turbo model’s air suspension smooths out all road imperfections, and there’s loads of sound deadening so it’s peaceful and refined in town, and there’s just a hint of tyre noise at motorway speeds.

It’s twisty roads where the Macan really impresses, though. With the suspension in its sporty setting there’s little body roll, so it doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall over in corners. The brakes are brilliant and the powerful motors catapult you forward out of bends. A Tesla Model Y is quick in a straight line, but the Macan Electric is much more fun and capable in corners.

It’s no surprise you feel like you’re entering warp speed out of corners, because the Macan Electric has an incredible 639hp available from its electric motors in Turbo guise, which is over 100hp more than the Model Y Performance. The result is a 3.3-second 0-60mph time.

It does mean you’ll be charging more often than in the regular model, though – official figures put the official range of the Turbo at up to 367 miles, compared with 381 miles in the regular Macan Electric, and certainly less if you regularly enjoy all the performance on tap.

Regardless, the Porsche Macan Electric is a brilliant all-rounder – it’s not cheap, but for the cash you get a fast, refined electric SUV with a decent range and a lovely interior to spend your time in.

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