Less than positive review

[seabird]

The facts are pretty straightforward, but the conclusions are wobbly. It's a little bit silly to spec a 640hp car with summer tires in winter, rear axle steering, and 22" wheels and complain about a "busy" ride. That's not the car's fault. That's just an error in owner judgment or the selection of which press car to drive.

The notion of low SOC performance is also just basic reality, and the inconsistency of both claims of low winter range (compared to what?) and buttons (pro - good mix, con - not enough??? again, compared to what?) just exposes that there's no actual objectivity here. Just someone paid to write a bunch of words and generate discussion.

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[tmrqs]

On the plus side, he didn't give negative scores on a 0-5 scale... makes the review a bit more credible.

On the negative side, well... seems EV getting reviewed by this fella tend to score poorly, and the performance expectations with low Soc (4% turtle mode) and inappropriate tires are a little surprising.

Wow, look at me being nice about this review!

 

[ncgator77]

interesting - this is the exact opposite experience I have had coming from several Tesla performance models. I think the build quality and drive performance of my Turbo is stellar.

Same situation here. Coming from a Tesla Model X to a Macan 4 feels like a huge step up on build and ride quality. Maybe not quite as quick off the line, but plenty fast for me as my daily driver. That being said, I’ve never owned a performance sports car, so no direct comparison there.

 

[skeesh]

interesting - this is the exact opposite experience I have had coming from several Tesla performance models. I think the build quality and drive performance of my Turbo is stellar.

Agreed, the build quality of the Macan EV is far superior than Tesla but the price of the Macan Turbo is nearly twice that of a Model Y Performance so comes with different expectations.

I agree interior is excellent. Though small touches are disappointing - seatbelts that rattle and full leather interior has some disappointing finishing - you need the extended leather option to avoid a plastic finish on top of the doors.

I’ll try to be more specific on my reservations to help others who might be considering the car.

My main complaint is that steering feel and feedback is poor. It is difficult to understand how much traction the car has. Specifically the steering is overly light and the intentional steering feel that is signature to every Porsche I’ve driven before (I have owned a Cayennne, 991.1 4S, GT3 Touring and a Taycan) is absent.
My old Cayenne (2013) with 21” wheels was more poised and had less roll in the bends and felt like it was on rails in Sport Mode. By contrast you really feel the weight of the Macan EV around corners over the front tyres, even in SportPlus. We also own a Model Y and whilst the ride comfort and interior is unrefined compared to the Macan the steering feel and feedback is better - even if a little one dimensional. It also holds its poise around bends with 21” wheels
The RWS in the Macan makes the car overly sensitive to steering input - the smallest adjustment of the wheel and the car twitches.
The acceleration is incredibly impressive at lower speeds but since it only has a single speed gearbox the power feels limited beyond 120kmh compared to a Taycan 4S where the acceleration continues to impress even at motorway speeds.

The air suspension is disappointing vs the Cayenne and Taycan. It bottoms out too easily in anything but normal mode over speed bumps and the off-road mode is like driving the car on a pogo stick rather than smoothing things out.

Other small details that disappointed - Taycan has more advanced matrix headlights and has more proactive auto braking/ regen engagement when cars are in front or approaching a junction that makes the car feel ‘smart’. Our VW T7 has these. Why were these not included in the Macan Turbo?

Yes to compare to the Taycan is not apples with apples - the Taycan has a lower seat position which is less convenient and is not a true SUV but the Cross Turismo has enough clearance with air suspension for most leisure off-road needs and the rear seats + boot/trunk have more room than the Macan.

There’s no doubt the Macan is a good car and well built but the price point of the Turbo sets expectations - as well the rest of the Porsche fleet (including the previous Macan ICE). IMHO it is a nice car that drives more like a BMW or an Audi than Porsche. I couldn’t help wondering if Porsche were trying to squeeze out more margin and cut one too many corners.

 

[DTaxman]

Stop watching/reading reviews if you already own this car.... just enjoy it or return it at the end of your lease if you hate it. Trying to get validation at this point through a reviewer that has likely driven the vehicle a fraction as much as you have will just drive you crazy.

I trust the honest feedback of folks on this forum way more than a "professional" reviewer.

 

[cottony]

Stop watching/reading reviews if you already own this car.... just enjoy it or return it at the end of your lease if you hate it. Trying to get validation at this point through a reviewer that has likely driven the vehicle a fraction as much as you have will just drive you crazy.

I trust the honest feedback of folks on this forum way more than a "professional" reviewer.

Do you really want to read a review about the driving experience during my weekly trip to Whole Foods??

 

[W1NGE]

personally, i still think comparing the Taycan to the Macan is false equivalency.
I think the Macan does things very well for a small SUV. It's not a sports car...
So i think you need to ask yourself, what type of vehicle do you really want?
cuz comparing the Macan to the Taycan is like comparing apples to tomatoes...Both are fruits, both are red.. .But in no way if you need one, can you replace it with the other

I think you missed my point of contrasting with the Taycan.

Clearly two different vehicles but Porsche make great handling SUVs but currently the Macan EV (performance models) currently aren't where they should be.

In time they will address these issues which many of us have experienced first hand.

 

[W1NGE]

You cannot take this review seriously when someone uses summer tires on 22-inch wheels to make handling claims in 0C-5C weather. No system can overcome frozen summer compound tires in these conditions.

Pretty sure the reviewers called this out.

Pretty sure they had no choice on tyres either.

These were Porsche supplied vehicles driven at the Porsche Experience Centre and so Porsche had the environment within their control.

 

[Frankie]

personally, i still think comparing the Taycan to the Macan is false equivalency.
I think the Macan does things very well for a small SUV. It's not a sports car...
So i think you need to ask yourself, what type of vehicle do you really want?
cuz comparing the Macan to the Taycan is like comparing apples to tomatoes...

100% agree

 

[srmacan]

Don’t think there are serious contenders yet for Macan in the small SUV segment blending both luxury and sporty elements so well. It is the only electric SUV in the Porsche lineup to date so difficult to really compare to any other Porsche and whether you are new to the brand is largely irrelevant. Whilst being within the brand provides some comparative parameters this again seems redundant. There will be compromises with a EV only platform and this is still a 1st generation product. All things considered it is a good offering. Having said all that the experience is very spec dependent.

 

[Throb]

but currently the Macan EV (performance models) currently aren't where they should be.

You have your opinion and you've found videos to confirm what you think. I loved the Turbo on my two test drives, including the RAS, so I too have found videos to confirm my own thoughts.

The video below by Tom Ford says you should "just buy the Turbo", and it's now the "benchmark". There are also plenty of other videos which rave about the handling of the Turbo.

Who should I believe? It doesn't really matter as the topic is highly subjective. But to conclude Macan EV performance models "currently aren't where they should be" as if it's fact is clearly nonsense.

 

[Gasbaron]

Just got our beautiful Ice Gray Metallic 2025 Macan Electric 4 last week - how lovely is this car! It’s quick, tight, leathery, long-range, really a Porsche - followed 13 years in Teslas. First class versus economy. Verpraet’s Autoweek review is effectively saying this is a Macan, people, it’s not a 911 or an Aston Martin. You have to resist the urge to tart it up with costly options that actually detract from range, handling and ride, even looks - our has no turbo, no rear-wheel steering, no 22” wheels, no “heads-up” display….but yes all-leather, Innodrive, pretty color and wheels, plus just a few others, and voila, £71.8 ($91.3k) sticker less incentives! Sure hope we see more of these amazing cars around.

 

[wmras]

Unfortunately you are right. I drove a Taycan before and miss its agility and stickiness on the road. The seat height of the Macan, I had one before, was the most important reason for my choice.
But sometimes I really miss my Taycan. I’m mostly satisfied but still haven’t had the kick I got from the Taycan.

And therein is why I am so glad we have our Taycan Turbo S and our Macan Electric Turbo - love both but want the Taycan when I feel like driving a sports car.

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