2,000 miles - The Good, The Bad

[USMA81]

Just a couple of my pros and cons:

PROS:
Bizarrely and as others have noted, the Bose sure seems like it has become much better after a dismal first month after delivery (Porsche: I gave it poor rating in your recent survey with me; I retract that poor rating).

So too the doors are better. It now seems like I don’t need to close them four times.

I’m happy with the rear wheel steering and driving dynamics in general (no surprise there, based on other comments in this forum). Still haven’t tried the RWS on twisty mountain roads yet; happy with the tight turning radius at low speeds.

I use and enjoy both the Innodrive and the HUD.

Plug and charge is working as designed and is great.

I’m happier with the MMI now that I know better where things are (but see below). Not knowing results in frustration for most drivers, and that’s gone way down for me.

CONS:
Still some gremlins in the software. Today, weirdly the screens went blank while I was driving, and they rebooted. Surprised me; first instance of this occurring in 2 months, 2,000 miles. Everything came back and seemed like it was working, except that touch control of the menus on the center screen didn’t work. I got to my destination, shut the vehicle off, and restarted with no effect, same “no touch.“ Again, shut it off, then on, and still no capability to touch a tile and move throughout the MMI. Everything else worked fine; car was drivable - just couldn’t move around the MMI (voice control of MMI worked, but it will only go so far). Nav to a destination was active when this happened and it stayed active. I continued to get audible turn prompts, but I could not change views on the center screen without touch. I got home, let the vehicle sit for 10-30 minutes. Upon starting it, touch worked again. As others have noted with other gremlins and error messages, moving the key away for a period of time seems to help fix issues. Perhaps for me here too.

What is your short list of best and worst aspects?

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[bbmertz]

Okay, I’ll start… Overall, I’m very happy with Macan 4S after driving Tesla models S & Y for the past twelve years and BMWs before that. Many of the “annoyances” list below are minor but thought I’d share my full list (not exactly a “short list” ).

Likes

• High quality interior
• 4S acceleration and road handling (including rear axle steering)
• Quiet ride on 20” Pirelli Scorpion MS ELECT tires
• Volcano Grey with standard 4S wheels looks great

Annoyances
Software:

• Multiple Assistance Systems failure messages occasionally appear due to software glitches
• Setting up Plug & Charge often requires multiple factory resets
• Goodbye screen — add option to avoid having this screen appear when exiting car; would be useful only if reminded driver to take phone out of charging port
• No Homelink option on programmable Diamond button (Homelink buttons are difficult to reach on rear view mirror)

Mechanics:

• Overall range should exceed 325 miles to be more competitive in the future
• One pedal driving — strong braking regen when moving foot off accelerator — should be an option controlled by an on/off switch (although I’m already used to it and appreciate the available Hold feature)
• Mobile phone based keyless entry/drive should be added (so no key is required to drive car)
• Battery does not precondition when using nav on CarPlay (only on PCM nav)
• NACS native port and Tesla supercharger access should be rolled out asap

Interior Design:

• No driver’s seat belt clip making it tougher to reach buckle
• Steering wheel partially blocks dashboard view
• Piano black center console is a fingerprint magnet
• Difficult to reach storage area beneath center console
• Center armrest too far back and does not pull forward like ICE Macan
• Sun visor does not extend to fully block sun when moved to side window
• Red seatbelts would be better in Guards red rather than Bordeaux
• Seat back on front seats is a bit too firm if optioned with massage function

Exterior Design:

• Black window trim should be standard (rather than silver) on 4S as it is on the 4
• Frunk too small for 21” carry-on suitcase

 

[ColdCase]

Just a couple of my pros and cons:

PROS:
Bizarrely and as others have noted, the Bose sure seems like it has become much better after a dismal first month after delivery (Porsche: I gave it poor rating in your recent survey with me; I retract that poor rating).

Some well known brands of speakers need hours of break-in before they begin to sound right. Perhaps the cone material Bose uses needs the same. It is not all that unusual, often they sound too bright before settling in. .

 

[ColdCase]

Okay, I’ll start…

• EV should be designed with a heat pump to improve range in cold conditions

I've read that the Macan has a heat pump.

"The heat pump uses the residual heat of the drivetrain or the ambient heat to efficiently warm up the vehicle's interior. With outside temperatures below 68° and activated air conditioning, the heat pump helps to save energy and has a positive effect on the range."

"Climate System
Two climate system options are available:

• 2-zone climate system: Supports different temperatures for the driver and passenger.
• 4-zone climate system: Supports different temperatures for the driver, passenger, and two separate passengers in the back seat

A standard heat pump is included, which can save significant energy that the EV would otherwise use for heating in cold weather."

 

[daveo4EV]

Okay, I’ll start… Overall, I’m very happy with Macan 4S after driving Tesla models S & Y for the past twelve years and BMWs before that. Many of the “annoyances” list below are minor but thought I’d share my full list (not exactly a “short list” ).

Likes

• High quality interior
• 4S acceleration and road handling (including rear axle steering)
• Quiet ride on 20” Pirelli Scorpion MS ELECT tires
• Volcano Grey with standard 4S wheels looks great

Annoyances
Software:

• Multiple Assistance Systems failure messages occasionally appear due to software glitches
• Setting up Plug & Charge often requires multiple factory resets
• Goodbye screen — add option to avoid having this screen appear when exiting car; would be useful only if reminded driver to take phone out of charging port
• No Homelink option on programmable Diamond button (Homelink buttons are difficult to reach on rear view mirror)

Mechanics:

• EV should be designed with a heat pump to improve range in cold conditions
• Overall range should exceed 325 miles to be more competitive in the future
• One pedal driving — strong braking regen when moving foot off accelerator — should be an option controlled by an on/off switch (although I’m already used to it and appreciate the available Hold feature)
• Mobile phone based keyless entry/drive should be added (so no key is required to drive car)
• Battery does not precondition when using nav on CarPlay (only on PCM nav)
• NACS native port and Tesla supercharger access should be rolled out asap

Interior Design:

• No driver’s seat belt clip making it tougher to reach buckle
• Steering wheel partially blocks dashboard view
• Piano black center console is a fingerprint magnet
• Difficult to reach storage area beneath center console
• Center armrest too far back and does not pull forward like ICE Macan
• Sun visor does not extend to fully block sun when moved to side window
• Red seatbelts would be better in Guards red rather than Bordeaux
• Seat back on front seats is a bit too firm if optioned with massage function

Exterior Design:

• Black window trim should be standard (rather than silver) on 4S as it is on the 4
• Frunk too small for 21” carry-on suitcase

supercharger access hopefully in June - I'm in no hurry personally for native NACS - J-1772/CCS1 vs. NACS is just a matter of which two adapters you need to travel the highways with - in both cases you'll need adapters to access chargers of one type or another…

 

[Mavshyn]

Hope that Macan gets the remote parking assist feature similar to the Taycan. could it be just a software thing?

 

[bbmertz]

I've read that the Macan has a heat pump.

You might be right but strange that some objective winter tests have shown that the Macan has a more significant deterioration in range relative to Tesla and other EVs. (I deleted my original comment related to the heat pump to avoid misinformation.)

supercharger access hopefully in June - I'm in no hurry personally for native NACS - J-1772/CCS1 vs. NACS is just a matter of which two adapters you need to travel the highways with - in both cases you'll need adapters to access chargers of one type or another…

Agreed. Plug & Charge worked well for me at the newer Electrify America chargers. However, there are far more Tesla superchargers available and they are much more reliable, at least in the U.S., so if I had to choose I’d rather have the native NACS port to use adapters less often.

 

[ColdCase]

You might be right but strange that some objective winter tests have shown that the Macan has a more significant deterioration in range relative to Tesla and other EVs.

Was this your experience? Or are you reffering to other reviewers?

 

[bbmertz]

Was this your experience? Or are you reffering to other reviewers?

Other reviewers such as this one but I’ll defer to others on this forum who live in the Nordic region who would be the true experts!
https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norway-2025/

 

[ColdCase]

Okay, I’ll start…

Annoyances

• One pedal driving — strong braking regen when moving foot off accelerator — should be an option controlled by an on/off switch (although I’m already used to it and appreciate the available Hold feature)

Personal preference, perhaps, but to me the smoothness of Porche's regen/recuperation approach is far superior by far to Telsa's rudimentary jerky results and extends drive range significantly. What do you want, drive range or a toy?

 

[ColdCase]

Other reviewers such as this one but I’ll defer to others on this forum who live in the Nordic region who would be the true experts!
https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norway-2025/

So is this thread is supposed to be your experience and observations, or a rehash of the opinions of others.... that we've read dozens of times? Not to be nit picking but I'd rather be reading about member's here experience than a rehash of others.

 

[bbmertz]

So is this thread is supposed to be your experience and observations, or a rehash of the opinions of others.... that we've read dozens of times? Not to be nit picking

You do seem to be nitpicking.. You got me on the one item (which I have now deleted) I read elsewhere; the others are my personal experience. Btw, I started my post indicating that I love the Macan overall.

The OP asked us to share our thoughts and thought I’d share mine. Let’s not discourage others from sharing their experiences without fear of retribution.

 

[xrtdr]

Lanekeep and ACC innodrive are garbage in my opinion. There are too many situations where the safe thing to do is ride the lane stripe and fighting it is frustrating and dangerous.

Regen too strong braking

Seat is so much less comfortable than my 2016 Cayenne hybrid.

 

[bbmertz]

Lanekeep and ACC innodrive are garbage in my opinion. There are too many situations where the safe thing to do is ride the lane stripe and fighting it is frustrating and dangerous.

I haven’t experienced any major issues yet with Lane Keep Assist but have temporarily turned off the function in light of a few other posts on this issue.

Perhaps I’ll give it another try in a few months after others have more experience with it or Porsche provides a software update.

 

[masmole]

Glad the Bose sound quality has improved for you. I've experienced the same thing with the Bose in my 3yo Taycan GTS - I felt the Bose was hot garbage when I took delivery and did a number of tweaks on PCM settings to make it sound better but still bad to my ears. Bass was muddy and lacked detail, treble was thin sounding and mid range/vocals sounded distant. After about 6 months, it seemed to transform and sound noticeably better. Clearer treble and more detailed and impactful bass, and even the vocals sounded more forward. Tweaked the settings some more and now it sounds great to my ears. WTF?! I thought maybe my ears + brain just got accustomed to the crap sound and self-adjusted so that it now sounds good to me lol. But perhaps this is really is a Bose thing... gets better with time. Who knows..

I'm still going to option Burmester this time around though - I don't want to take any chances because the Burmester on the Macan Turbo I test drove already sounded great out of the box, at least compared to the Bose.

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