2024 Porsche Macan EV: What's It Like to Live With?
We're going to put 20,000 miles on Porsche's latest model
| Miles Driven: | Average Electricity Consumption (kWh/100 miles): |
| 7,027 | 38.7 |
Latest Highlights
- We bought a Porsche Macan EV
- It's the latest electric model from the German automaker
- And it's based on Porsche's most popular model
- Will the Macan EV live up to the hype?
What do you want to know about?
What We Got and Why?
• Our test vehicle: 2024 Porsche Macan 4 Electric
• Base MSRP: $80,450
• MSRP as tested: $99,020
• What we paid: $99,020
You can tinker with success, but it's best not to mess with it, especially when the success in question is the Porsche Macan. As the brand's top-selling model, it'd be safe to assume that Porsche would want to take its evolution slowly, much like it has done with every other model. But, nope. For 2024, Porsche released an all-new Macan EV. Yes, Porsche will still continue to sell a gasoline-powered Macan alongside the electric model, and, save for their name, the two are essentially unrelated and share no parts.
While we're on the subject of stuff you're normally not supposed to do, buying the first year of production of an all-new vehicle is usually high on that list, too. But as you might have noticed, here at Edmunds, we usually don't prescribe to that unwritten rule, with, for example, our Tesla Cybertruck, Fisker Ocean, Kia EV9 and the myriad other long-term vehicles we've owned through history. This is all a long-winded way of saying: We bought a 2024 Macan Electric for our long-term test fleet.
What did we buy?
To be precise, we bought a 2024 Porsche Macan 4 EV. At the time of ordering, we had the choice between the top-shelf Turbo model and the dual-motor all-wheel-drive 4. Since the 4 represents the more mainstream choice, we went with that, but we did dress it up a bit.
First, we (well, it wasn't exactly a democratic process) opted for the Papaya Metallic paint job ($1,250) that some staff members are still salty about, 21-inch wheels with all-season tires and rear-axle steering. To that, we added the $3,900 Premium package (Bose audio system, ventilated front seats, rear heated seats, four-zone climate control and LED matrix-design headlights) and the 18-way adjustable adaptive sport seats. Other checked boxes include Porsche's InnoDrive tech, an augmented reality head-up display, heated GT Sport steering wheel in leather, and the Sport Chrono package, among others.
This smattering of options brought the total from $80,450 to $99,020 (both prices include $1,650 in destination fees). For context, the starting price of the Turbo is $106,950 (with destination). For context, our much-loved BMW iX rang in at $102,070 and our Kia EV9 cost $79,585.
Why did we get it?
As mentioned, the Macan 4 will likely be a high-volume trim for Porsche's new EV. Since all Macan Electrics come with the same 100-kWh Performance Battery Plus under the floor, by not picking the Turbo, we really only left some performance on the table in exchange for real-world range.
Speaking of performance, at our test track, our new Macan 4 posted a 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds and silently slipped through the quarter mile in 13.2 seconds at 106.6 mph. That's brisk and, frankly, more than quick enough for day-to-day driving. Our Macan 4 stopped from 60 mph in 116 feet and rounded our skidpad with 0.89 g of lateral grip. Oh, and it tipped the scales at a whopping 5,365 pounds. That's roughly as heavy as 10 full-grown Moo Dengs.
Our Macan 4 is estimated to have a range of 308 miles with a consumption of 34 kWh per 100 miles. As we haven't run our Macan through our real-world Edmunds EV Range Test just yet, it's still anyone's guess as to how the Macan 4 will perform, but if you'd like to make a more educated guess, we drove a prototype earlier this year and had some promising results.
The Macan 4 represents Porsche's first attempt at a mass-market EV with a wide-ranging appeal (the Taycan is more niche and aimed at a slightly different tax bracket), and we just couldn't wait to get our hands on one for at least a year.
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purpose of evaluation.
Average lifetime consumption (kWh/100 miles): 38.7
EPA rating (kWh/100 miles): 34 combined
Best consumption (kWh/100 miles): 29.2
Best range (miles): 352.0
Current odometer: 7,027
Preconditioning the battery is kind of a chore
"The Macan uses the latest and greatest 800-volt charging architecture that allows very quick charging times. That means the Macan can actually utilize the full power of a 350-kW charger. Whether or not it actually does depends on a variety of factors including the weather, the individual charger and your vehicle temperature — but it's certainly a leg up over EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
"That said, it's still not as convenient as driving a Tesla that can route you directly to an open charger all while preconditioning your vehicle. The Macan can route you to a charger and is said to have some insight into whether or not it's operating, but in the week I had the vehicle this data wasn't always reliable. It's an improvement, to be sure, but nothing is touching the ease of the Supercharger network." — Jake Sundstrom, editor
"While heading to a fast charger, I discovered that there was no function to precondition the battery. Turns out in order to precondition the battery, you have to set a fast charger as your destination in the vehicle's native nav. If you have the head-up display on, you'll get direction prompts from the nav system, which are a bit distracting if, say, you're using a nav app like Waze in Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I really wish Porsche would just provide a button that allows me to precondition the battery on command. It's an annoyance that could easily be solved with an over-the-air update." — Jonathan Elfalan, director, vehicle testing
One of our charging ports is stuck closed
"The flap to our Porsche Macan EV's charging port is broken. Well, not completely broken. But it's not working properly. And by that, I mean it's stuck and won't open. As with most vehicles with gas tank flaps, you're supposed to be able to open the flap by pressing on it slightly so that it depresses slightly and then pops up, allowing you to then open it. With the vehicle unlocked, that is. On our Macan, however, the flap acts as if it's locked all the time, even when the vehicle is unlocked. It doesn't depress when you push on it, so there's no way to get it to pop open.
"(Well, I could open the flap with a screwdriver or pry tool, I suppose. But then it'd be permanently open.)
"This, as you can imagine, is a problem. If you can't open the flap, you can't access the charge port to plug in the vehicle. Interestingly, though, our Macan EV has two charge ports. The one on the passenger side is a standard charge port that you can use with a 240-volt charging station. The one on the driver side is also like that plus it has the additional CCS connector so that you can use a fast-charging station. The driver-side one is the one that's broken.
"I spent a good amount of time trying to get the flap to open with no luck. Eventually, I called my local Porsche dealership. The service adviser said he was booked up for another four weeks but was kind enough to offer to take a look at it if I brought it by. I did as such. He was able to get it working again by keeping constant pressure on the flap with his hand while cycling the Macan's lock/unlock about five times with the key fob. He said it was a stuck actuator, which he said he had seen 'on some Audi A6s and A7s.' He further said that it shouldn't be a problem again.
"I was grateful for him showing me that trick because he was wrong about it not being a problem again. The next time I tried opening the driver-side flap, it was stuck again. I tried replicating his trick and sure enough it worked. But it seems like we'll need an actual service visit to get this stuck flap fixed." — Brent Romans, senior manager, written content
The Macan EV is quite pleasant to drive
"I really like the way the Macan drives, in part because the default setup doesn't muck around with one-pedal driving. It's just a well-tuned throttle and well-tuned brakes. I will say that it didn't feel as quick as I was expecting, but I only ever had it in Normal mode." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
Trying to find a comfy position in the Macan
"I had some trouble getting comfortable in the Macan until I gave up on trying to sit in it like an SUV and tried to sit in it like a Porsche. In some ways I like feeling snugged down into the car, with the high beltline and wheel that extends right into your chest. All the controls are close too." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
We like the Macan's ride quality
"I like the way our Macan EV rides over bumps. It's pretty smooth when you have the suspension set to the default Comfort mode. Changing it to the Sport mode makes the ride more firm (for more controlled handling) but still generally agreeable. I can drive around town in Sport mode and still be comfortable." — Brent Romans, senior manager, written content
High marks given to the Macan's adaptive cruise control
"Porsche does driving dynamics so so well that the Macan essentially feels and handles like you'd expect a Porsche would. The driving experience is easily the strongest selling point of the Macan EV. Though the Macan's advance driving aid suite needs a bit of attention (no forward-facing camera here), I found the adaptive cruise control to be very well tuned when using it in stop-and-go highway traffic. Keeps a good gap, doesn't freak out easily, but it does do a good job of slowing appropriately so it doesn't leave you guessing if you'll pack it into the trailer hitch of the F-150 that dive-bombed your lane. But for $100K I really wish there were more driver aids, like cameras, included." — Jonathan Elfalan, director, vehicle testing
But it's lacking lots of driver aids
"Some of the tech in here is kind of embarrassing. We don't have a surround-view camera, and the rearview camera display is tiny and not particularly clear. The camera lens had gotten smudged somehow, which is really something I very rarely come across in any car these days. Not sure if it's a quirk of the placement or what.
"Not having surround-view or forward-facing cameras means that when you trigger the front proximity sensors, the touchscreen display still goes to what ought to be some sort of camera view ... but it's just mostly a black screen with the proximity sensor display tucked away to the side? It's very strange to see such a clear example of an expensive car shouting at you that you're missing a feature." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
How's the HUD on the Porsche Macan EV?
"I'm not really a fan of the HUD [head-up display] on the Macan. It's a really interesting effort, but it feels like tech that's not quite where it needs to be. As you drive, it moves around a bit: As you go faster, it moves lower, becomes smaller, and the focal depth moves further ahead of the car. It's at its best then, when it's more out of the way and requires less change in focal depth to glance at. At a stop, it moves up closer to the center of the windscreen, becomes larger, and the focal depth moves to apparently right over the front bumper. I hate it then because it's so in your face and it makes you refocus your eyes so much more to look at. I know there are a ton of customization settings I still haven't played with, so I'm not sure if you can lock it into that smaller, more distant setting — I'll have to check." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
"I've seen steering-adaptive headlights before, but never a steering-adaptive head-up display. I like it in theory, but in practice, it's borderline nauseating. I'd like my gauges to stay in one place." — Duncan Brady, script writer
What do we think of the Macan's driver aids?
"I haven't had a ton of wheel time in our long-term Macan EV, but there are a few things that stand out about the driver assist systems. I like the way the blind-spot and exit warning systems are integrated into the ambient lighting on the doors. For example, if you are driving along and have someone in your blind spot, you don't just get the amber warning on the mirror. The ambient lighting on the door lights up in yellow, making it hard to miss the warning. Similarly, if you're exiting the vehicle, the warning shows up in red but also indicates the relative location of the vehicle, with the light 'passing' you as the vehicle drives by. It's a neat trick.
"On the other hand, when I was driving it I got a warning that the driver assist systems weren't functioning. It happened several times during the morning, at one point with all systems shutting off entirely. However, it seemed to reboot itself each time, and eventually stopped giving me problems. What's going on? Beats me, but it's not exactly confidence-inspiring." — I'll have to check." — Keith Buglewicz, managing editor
The wireless phone connection has been spotty
"I've had trouble keeping my iPhone wirelessly connected to our Macan EV. Sometimes the connection is fine, and other times it suddenly disconnects for no apparent reason. This is especially annoying when I'm listening to music through Apple CarPlay and all of the sudden the connection stops. The system won't let me pair up my phone again while I'm moving, so I have to wait until I'm stopped to get it working again. Is it an issue with my phone (I have an older iPhone XR) or is it something with the Macan? No idea. Fortunately, I've found that plugging in my iPhone with a USB cable and using that wired connection for CarPlay works as expected." — Brent Romans, senior manager, written content
A bit on the small side
"This is my first time seeing Macan in the flesh, and I'm honestly a bit disappointed by the interior space packaging. It's not as tight as the gas version, but it fails to make use of its footprint the way so many other compact EV SUVs do, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, etc. Why so small, Porsche?" — Jonathan Elfalan, director, vehicle testing
Inconvenient interior storage
"I noticed the Macan has a lot of storage areas, but access to them is not as easy as it should be, nor do those spots allow for concealment from outside eyes. Take the storage area below the center of the dash. Anything you put there is within sight, but it's also not the easiest spot to access (not to mention the USB ports are down there, which impedes access to them). Come on, guys — is anyone looking at this stuff?" — Jonathan Elfalan, director, vehicle testing
Not a fan of the center stack buttons
"These center stack buttons feel so cheap. The whole panel moves when you press down, and although I’m glad there’s some auditory and tactile feedback, I’d much prefer physical controls. Also, is there something I’m missing with the auto climate control? I can’t find any indication of whether Auto is activated or not." — Duncan Brady, script writer
The sun visors don't extend
"One of my co-workers noted down in our Miscellaneous section that our Macan EV does not have a rear wiper. Expecting that a $99,020 SUV should come standard with one seems reasonable enough to me, though a rebuttal could be that nobody would be complaining if we had just ordered one. (It's a $370 option.) I mention this because our Macan EV is missing another rather basic feature: extendable sun visors. You can't slide them backward to cover all of the side windows. For me, this is annoying because my commute to the Edmunds office often involves early morning or late afternoon drives where I want to slide the sun visor back to cover the sun. Is there a $370 option to add sliding sun visors? I'd gladly sign up, but alas I've gone through the Macan online configurator and cannot find any mention of one." — Brent Romans, senior manager, written content
An all-around quality SUV
"The Macan doesn't offer much to complain about. The ride on the highway is comfortable, it's fun to drive on curvy roads, and (perhaps obviously) there's plenty of power. It's a very well-rounded electric SUV." — Jake Sundstrom, editor
Is the Porsche Macan worth $100,000?
"I guess it depends on whether or not you have $100,000 electric SUV money. I do not and so can only speculate on what that richer version of myself would be like. In addition to more radiant skin, I don't think I'd be willing to fork over that kind of money for the Macan as we have it equipped. There's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't feel special or luxurious enough to separate this hypothetical version of myself from my hypothetical money." — Jake Sundstrom, editor
"I like the Macan EV a whole lot. I like how it drives, I like how it looks, I like the balance of comfort and performance. But it's one freakin' hundred thousand freakin' dollars. And there are spots where it just shouts at you that it's still not fully loaded. At that price, this car is really just a novelty." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
"Every time I get in the Macan it feels less and less like a vehicle worthy of a nearly $100,000 price tag. There are so many great Porsche qualities — the steering, the ride and handling — but the interior? No way. The tech? It's fine, but there are so many things missing. If you told me this exact Macan 4 test car was $70,000, I'd believe you. But almost six figures? That's a price tag that should earn you a special, truly rewarding experience, and nothing about the Macan feels special or rewarding." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
Our $100,000 SUV doesn't have a rear wiper
"No rear wiper? For real? I hate this trend among automakers — some companies think rear wipers aren't necessary because the car's aero will clear rain off the back window. And while that's true when you're in motion, it does nothing for when you're standing still. I woke up this morning to find the Macan EV covered in morning dew — a perfectly normal thing that people all over the world experience. But I couldn't clear the rear window with a wiper. What about snow or road salt residue that gets kicked up from the ground on a crummy winter day? Even worse: Porsche *does* realize that Macan EV owners might want a rear wiper, but instead decides to charge extra for it. A wiper is a $370 add-on. That's nickel-and-diming at its worst." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
Uh, the rear door hatch button is very sensitive
"The power rear hatch button is sensitive enough that if you're, oh, I don't know, at a pay-and-spray car wash and you hose down the back of the Macan, the hatch will start opening. Ask me how I know." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
What do we think of its styling?
"This design has not grown on me in person, even in a good color. There's too much visual weight down low, rear end still looks dumpy — it just lacks that elegance of other Porsche designs. If I loved the way this car looked, it would be much easier to tolerate its other foibles." — Duncan Brady, script writer