LOS ANGELES – The next step in Porsche's plans for an all-electric future is the electric Macan, which should shake up the luxury crossover BEV category and give a boost to Volkswagen Group’s mission of leading the entire industry in the transition to electrification.
Developed alongside the upcoming Audi Q6 e-tron, the five-seat CUV is set to become the second Porsche model after the Taycan to offer full electric drive capability when it goes on sale in 2024.
Wards was invited to drive a pre-production prototype on the roads here.
The new Macan, a rival to the Mercedes-Benz EQE BEV, is based on the Volkswagen Group's new 800-volt Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture instead of the aging Modularen Langsbaukasten (MLB) platform used by existing internal-combustion-engine Macan models.
Porsche has taken extra development time on the ’24 Macan to focus on the vehicle’s power electronics – the network of systems used to control its newly developed drivetrain and various ancillaries, as well as a new E3 electronic architecture used for infotainment, assisted driving and other functions.
“The complexity and networking of the software is a key issue in every electric vehicle. We wanted to ensure that everything was to the latest development standard before placing cars in the hands of customers,” says Robert Maier, head of development for the electric Macan.
Porsche will market both the BEV and gasoline-powered Macan together in Porsche's existing markets despite differences in the designs of the two versions.
Beneath the camouflage worn by the prototypes we drove, the new BEV model receives a distinct front end with a split headlamp treatment and styling similar to that seen on the Taycan. It also receives larger wheelhouses and new frameless doors along the sides.
The rear half of the Macan adopts a more heavily sloping liftback style tailgate for a sleeker silhouette than the gasoline Macan as well as a sizable spoiler element that deploys in four different stages. The wheels, meanwhile, range from a standard 19-ins. up to 22-ins. in diameter.
The final interior features and design differ from the existing Macan, but were not finalized in our prototype. The dashboard design, though, is not far removed from that recently brought to the facelifted Cayenne CUV, with separate digital instrument and infotainment displays and a dashboard-mounted gear selector.
The interior use of space differs from the gasoline-powered Mcana, with the driver sitting lower in the BEV version. A more heavily curved roof also means there is slightly less rear headroom and trunk space as well. Maier confirms the electric Macan will receive an expansive glass roof in selected markets.
As with the Taycan, Porsche is planning a full range of single-motor, rear-wheel drive and dual-motor, all-wheel-drive electric Macan models. Each receives a battery with a capacity of “around 100 kWh,” says Porsche, and a maximum range of “over 311 miles (501 km).”
The lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery can be charged at up to 270 kW on a DC charger – sufficient to provide it with a claimed 62-mile (100-km) extension in range within four minutes under optimal fast-charging conditions, according to Maier.
The prototype we drove reflects the top-of-the-line electric Macan – the Turbo, as it’s expected to be called when sales begin next year. Its two synchronous electric motors develop a combined 603 hp and over 738-lb.-ft. (1,001 Nm) of torque, giving it great pace and urgency from a stop despite a curb weight that, while yet to be made official, is set to be substantially above that of gasoline-powered Macan models.
Unlike the Taycan, which uses a twin-speed gearbox, Porsche's newest BEV receives single-speed units at each end. Porsche claims a 0-62 mph (97 km/h) time of under 4.4 seconds and a top speed over 155 mph (249 km/h).
By comparison, the turbocharged 2.9L V6-powered Macan GTS boasts 435 hp and 406 lb.- ft. (551 Nm), and it's claimed to hit 62 mph in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 169 mph (272. Km/h) The most powerful of Audi's new Q6 e-tron models, the all-wheel-drive SQ6, gets a similar dual-motor drivetrain, but a good deal less power and torque at 510 hp and 605 lb.-ft. (820 Nm).
The accelerative ability is quite impressive – and it's reproducible without any noticeable reduction in reserves after three or four full-throttle acceleration runs. There are terrifically smooth and refined qualities to the electric motors, too.
It’s the handling precision and overall breadth of the dynamics that really got our attention the first time out in the electric Macan, though.
Maier says much effort has been put into ensuring the on-road characteristics of the electric Macan have a genuine Porsche feel. It is terrifically fluent by electric-vehicle standards, with a defined rear-biased apportioning of power and an ability to make quick changes of direction with loads of confidence-inspiring grip at both ends, even on the all-season tires worn by the prototypes we drove.
The steering is very precise and more weighty than that of the SQ6 e-tron, which we recently drove in prototype form. Aiding overall agility in the top-of-the-line electric Macan model is a rear-wheel steer system.
Lesser electric Macan models will receive a steel suspension. However, the Porsche Active Suspension Management system that is set to come as standard on the electric Macan Turbo gets air springs and new twin-valve dampers, providing outstanding body control and self-leveling properties. There's a firmness to the ride and some excessive tire roar at times. Underpinnings take care of pockmarked roads we traversed, and broken sections of asphalt with deft control, rarely ever requiring more than a single cycle of compression and rebound to dissipate road shock.
Further praise can be heaped on the brakes. They deliver lots of feel with a well-defined bite point by electric car standards, blending in the recuperation functions well without resorting to a decoupling of drive to the front axle as some competitors do. “We don't talk about one-pedal driving at Porsche, we talk about one-pedal braking instead,” says Maier.
What's really noticeable is the different driving experience of the Macan compared with its Audi counterpart. It's more sporting in character, if perhaps a little less cosseting, too.
We'll need more time behind the wheel of production-based versions of the electric Macan, as well as final pricing details, before we can provide any definitive judgment on the model Porsche expects to account for most of its BEV sales during the second half of the decade. But we very much like what we see and feel so far.
