Macan 4 and others: bad range for the Macan when it’s cold

[byebye]

https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norway-2025/

-22% vs WLTP and 19 out of 24

If true (they don’t make the comparison with range in normal temps, so this comparison seems silly), hopefully Porsche will improve thermal management

 

[Awaz]

Interesting that.
The tests were specifically for winter conditions. So, applied to all cars they tested.

Tesla particularly came out in bad light. They are known for exaggerating their range. Even the word “lied” was used in the article

WLTP and EPA don't test many cars themselves, as they don't have enough resources and enough funds. Most tests are done by car manufacturers according to the set parameters and criteria given to them. So, some like Tesla obviously fudge.

Credit to the top two, Polestar and BYD Tang. I wish Porsche Macan had done better, especially when they hyped so much about their PPE battery
Let's hope it does better in summer conditions.

 

[Wivenhoe]

Coincidently, I was looking for real range unbiased reviews and came across this truly winter review. It was filmed in Scandinavia driving at 70 mph in temperatures below freezing. The Macan 4 seemed to me to come out rather well and the guy is independent as he compares the results to the 100+ cars he has done the same test for.

 

[PanameraFrank]

It's pretty expected for those three cars to have more range. They sacrifice comfort/sportiness/style.

The most surprising result is the new Taycan. I'd have to imagine we'll see the eMacan get the 25 Taycan upgrades in 2 or 3 years, pretty shocking how much more range they've gotten from it and the charging results are bonkers. Referring to not just this test but others I've seen.

266 at 70 in winter is, honestly, quite fine. My experience in the 4S has been closer to 215, albeit at a higher average speed (mostly 80 & 74).

 

[Wivenhoe]

It would have helped if I included the link -

 

[dgkhn]

-22% vs WLTP and 19 out of 24

The rank is percentage of WLTP, not absolute range, so really meaningless in itself. Also, I can't figure out which Macan they tested. The Q6 went considerably farther.

 

[PanameraFrank]

Okay, I think I figured out what this is all about. This isn't a test at all. It's complete nonsense.

For example, the Tesla started driving at 8:12am and stopped at.. 8:20pm!!! LOL!!! And yes this is correct per their extended review with timeline.

They stopped a bunch of times. Sat in traffic. There were no rules regarding climate or modes. I just can't roll my eyes hard enough.

 

[Wivenhoe]

I‘ve not been on here very long, but one thing I have learnt is anything you post in an attempt to be useful is severely criticised By some.

I thought that the review was appropriate as the thread is about the range in cold weather and it was certainly that. Probably be proved for me to be wrong to think this, but I thought the whole idea of the WLTP results was so that different cars could be compared meaningfully as the same criteria was used in all cases - everyone knows they are in ‘laboratory’ conditions so the guy was trying to inform you how much the real world affects the car in non-laboratory’ conditions and therefore how different it is to the WLTP results.

 

[Awaz]

@Wivenhoe
Exactly.
As I said above, all cars were put through the same conditions.
A useful test in winter, I say.

Edit: Some even criticised my choice of getting a rear-wheel drive base model.
I'm very happy with that. When I test drove Macan 4 and now have RWD, I find no difference in the driving dynamics that the Porsche is known for. And I'm getting 300 range in winter

 

[Colin the Best]

I've been driving my Macan Turbo for weeks in temperatures between -1 and +4 degrees Celsius, and I can confirm that on mixed routes (my car) with an internal temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, it doesn't go beyond 360 km of range... and the battery doesn't even warm up after several kilometers on the highway at 130 km/h with cruise control.

 

[Yves]

I've been driving my Macan Turbo for weeks in temperatures between -1 and +4 degrees Celsius, and I can confirm that on mixed routes (my car) with an internal temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, it doesn't go beyond 360 km of range... and the battery doesn't even warm up after several kilometers on the highway at 130 km/h with cruise control.

My experience exactly very disappointed … same driving conditions in winter my iX has 80km more range Yes I know it has a bigger battery (but it’s 3 years old so surely has lost that advantage …).

 

[Colin the Best]

@Yves …..I have to turn off the heating to get a range of 400 km,..::but it's absurd that on a 145 k car, you have to turn off the heating to get a decent range,...I'm quite disappointed!

 

[Cogs79]

Hi,
Range is always an interesting discussion. There's a lot of factors that influence range including: wheel size, tire type (winter, summer, low rolling resistance etc), heating type (resistive vs heat pump), speed, aerodynamics, regenerative braking efficiency, traffic, weather, driving style, vehicle weight and probably another dozen things that I missed. I always liked real-world tests like the video that Wivenhoe posted above. It might not represent the city/highways where I live (we are lucky if speed limits are as high as 100km/h) but it's an example of a road trip during cooler temperatures (-4 to +1 degrees C is not cold for us Canadians/Montrealers hehe).

For example, I have a smoother driving style honed over 11 years of driving a Chevy Volt. It had animations and real time kw usage that got me to accelerate smoother, predict better when to take advantage of its aggressive regen etc. I don't hypermile or anything extreme like that, but I consistently got more than the cars advertised range in the summer (70+km versus it's supposed 60km max range). It had resistive heating though, which pulled almost as much power (6-7kwH) as driving on the highway at 100km/h. So its range dropped to less than 30km in the winter (it's a plug-in hybrid so that low range was not an issue).

From the numbers in my Macan 4 with 21" wheels (295's rear, 255's front), the car predicts 301-310km at 75% charge (what I charge to). That's roughly 400km at 100% charge which for me, is nearly 1 month of driving so range is not a worry. I have Pirelli Scorpion Winter 2's, but would have preferred Michelin X-Ice Snow for better efficiency. These estimations are from driving in colder temperatures, as low as -14 Celsius. I wish there was a way to display the instantaneous power draw like the Volt had. I am curious what the heatpump is drawing, and how much recuperation happens when that is enabled, and when braking. I do notice that regenerative braking does not happen every time that I use the brakes. I could almost swear it is every second time that I press the brakes, or it only happens below a certain speed. Does anyone have more details? The Volt's brakes lasted 8.5 years until I had to change them, and only because the rust-resistance coating wore out. Anyway, long post with not much said, but I did get the Macan knowing that it would not top the charts in range, but it's a small sacrifice for the incredible driving experience. It's incredibly fast charging surely makes up for losing a bit of range.


C

 

[PanameraFrank]

I‘ve not been on here very long, but one thing I have learnt is anything you post in an attempt to be useful is severely criticised By some.

I thought that the review was appropriate as the thread is about the range in cold weather

The problem is they're calling it a "range test". A 12 hour meandering drive is not a range test. That report does not provide any useful information as to how far you can drive from 100-0. Calling it a test opens it for criticism. A 12 hour span? How many occupants in each vehicle? How was the climate set for each vehicle? What mode for each vehicle? Wes anyone preconditioning the car during stops? It sounds like each person got to choose, and over that long of a trip with that many stops it's as much a test of climate control as the battery.

Not only that, but it drastically misrepresents range. Imagine someone goes and buys a car from this test now because the winter range is great, only to find out of the way home they don't actually get that range.

Don't believe me? Search "range" on this forum and check out all the posts from people saying they were misled about the eMacans range. Or on this very thread.

If you want to have a meandering winter drive with some other journalists to check out EVs in winter, cool! I'll read it! But don't present it as an accurate study of range.

Calling out misinformation is important. I want people to actually understand what it's like to live with an EV and getting these range numbers in winter (on a trip, the only time range really matters) isn't realistic. But this article will now pop up for anyone doing research and that's a problem.

 

[Colin the Best]

@Cogs79 I’m absolutely agree! Driving for 4 years my previous Taycan 4s I’ve imagined some better results,..,not for what concern driving experience but in order to “battery temperature control “ , improved software and some incredible bugs ( climate control x example); a great driving experience is not enough ( IMOO ) if you have to match range necessity with inside temperature, climate control with battery temperature, etc etc….my wife ID4 GTX is an extraordinary example of efficiency, no need to pre climate battery , range and performance….and it’s frustrating thinking that cars are “ same manufacturer “ and reaching the opposite results…..

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