Macan 4S EV Detailed First Impressions

[bbmertz]

Volcano Grey 4S Configuration:
https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PS8BQQP9

Driving Experience:

• Off-the-line acceleration very quick (without launch control) — much faster than the 4 which I test drove; comparable to Tesla Y Long Range which I previously owned
• Very little regen/slowing when taking foot off the accelerator — I really liked one-pedal driving on the Tesla but I’m already used to braking and don’t miss it that much now
• 20” S wheels equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS ELEC all-season tires — very smooth and quiet drive with nominal road noise relative to my Tesla. Note that these tires are quite expensive to replace —$460 front and $515 rear, per tire.

Thoughts on Options:

• Partial Leather — satisfied with very high quality interior relative to Tesla, even without the full leather package
• 14-way heated/ventilated comfort seats with massage are fairly comfortable with multiple massage options for driver and passenger. However the lumbar backrest feels almost overinflated, possibly due to the massage equipment in seat, although I have not compared with non-massage seats. I might have opted for 18-way seats without massage if the seat back is less firm and then opted for lighted Porsche logo in headrest
• Bordeaux seat belts & compass dial are very dark burgundy red. In the future, I might prefer the ice blue color for more contrast against the black interior.
• Rear axle steering is not a game changer for me so far, but I like the subtly tighter turning radius on u-turns and when parking so no regrets ordering it
• Very pleased with black window trim (rather than standard silver trim on 4S) and illuminated brushed aluminum door sills (since black aluminum shows dust and footprints). Standard side blades with checkered pattern look great against Volcano Grey as do the standard silver side/tailgate emblems
• I’m okay having no rear wipers since it looks better and doesn’t further obscure the limited visibility through rear windshield. I could see others wanting this option in snowy/rainy environments and it would have been nice in the misty rain today.
• Tow hitch was a key factor in buying a Macan instead of Taycan. Area around the hitch is black and looks finished, unlike some of the early production versions.
• I don’t miss the Electronic Sport Sound and was pleasantly surprised to hear light electric motor sounds when accelerating

Additional Observations:

• Homelink setup is a bit tricky on garages with rolling codes. Must press programming button on garage opener unit in garage during second step after initially programming with garage remote.
• Piano black surface on top of center console near temperature controls is a fingerprint magnet. 12V & USB outlets under console are a bit awkward to reach. I purchased a compact Anker 12V charger with a blue ring to fill the 12V receptacle and also light the storage area.
• As others noted, passenger seatbelt occasionally bangs against door pillar. I purchased this cover which fits perfectly over the seat belt buckle after a little work to stretch it (need to air it out overnight to eliminate the chemical smell). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMZTS36N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• Driver’s side seatbelt is a bit tough to reach since it drops to the floor, so I may consider buying either a seat belt buckle button stop or seat belt clip from Porsche (see attached examples: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU995STOP.html https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU99BELTCLIP.html)
• Very pleased with Porsche OEM all-weather floor and trunk mats offered by my SA
• Storage space in front trunk (frunk) will not fit a carryon suitcase. Bose fills most of the storage under the trunk but there is a small space (about 24x6x4”) to store miscellaneous items (e.g. towel, sweatshirt, umbrella, hitch lock, etc.).
• Can select menu option to automatically open/lock when approaching/departing car without using key and to auto start/stop car without pushing start button, as long as the key is with you.I miss the Tesla geolocation features which auto folded/unfolded the side mirrors when approaching/departing garage at a preset distance and also overrode the auto lock feature when in the garage. The Macan can be programmed to raise/lower air suspension at preset locations for tall speed bumps or driveway curbs.
• Coming from a Tesla, I find myself frequently turning on the windshield wipers when I change gears but I’m sure I’ll get used to the gear shifter on the dashboard after a few weeks
• Need to be careful not to open frunk with first button on key or left button on driver’s door
• Tile buttons on main screen as well as displays on dashboard can be rearranged. I wish the programmable Diamond button on the steering wheel could be set to activate Homelink rather than some of the other less useful options available.

Software Issues:

• Unfortunately, I only had my car two days before I had to bring it back to the dealer today due to software issues, with no ETA on how long the repair will take. Most significant issue was a series of warnings related to “Assistance Systems Limited” including additional warnings related to turn assist, rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist and egress warner not being available, in addition to a headlight control error. Warnings disappeared a while later after exiting the car, however the dealer asked me to bring it in since they said it is likely to reoccur based on similar issues with other Macan EVs they recently delivered. Mentioned that others required replacement of a controller which may be in short supply.
• When trying to add a secondary account on the car for my wife, the main display went black aside from a rolling circle above a “Loading Account…” message. Unable to reboot car using scroll buttons but message eventually cleared after about two hours. Still unable to load second account however SA recommended that my wife simply use the Guest user account and store her preferred settings by saving them using one of the memory set buttons on the driver’s door with only her key in the car.
• Unable to activate Plug & Charge from the My Porsche app despite multiple attempts. Will ask dealer to activate when I pickup the car.
• I realized that I may experience issues as one of the early 4S owners but hoped Porsche had addressed most of them based on their experience with the Taycan and Macan 4.

Timeline:
8/25/24 ordered
9/24 freeze date
10/24 production complete
11/5 ship departed Emden
11/22 arrived at port in Jacksonville, Florida
12/10 truck departed port (after two-week “quality action” delay)
12/17 arrived at dealership
12/20 ready for pickup
12/26 delivered
12/28 returned to dealer for service repairs

 

[krissrock]

i just got my Plug n charge to work...and it was more so not being guided well in the app than anything else...
as soon as I clicked on the right button in the app everything worked immediately... However, it's note clear as to how to get the certificate on your phone!

Basically in the app, I was getting a error in red text saying that it couldn't do plug n charge, it didn't have the cert. If i tried to do it, it would say it took too long to get the cert, and it failed.
Above that Red text, was that little circle with the "i" in it...i click on that one time, low n behold, the option to download the cert was there... downloaded the cert... next time i went to the car, and went the charge settings, plug n charge was activated already! i didn't have to do anything in the car once it was done on the phone...

hope that helps

 

[OHWHATDA]

How is 4S performance when accelerating at highway speeds? I test drove the 4 and wasn’t very impressed when I was stuck in the slow lane and tried accelerating to match the much faster speed of the lane on my left. For those situations I was hoping to feel more of an immediate kick of acceleration, and instead with the 4 it kind of felt very linear but didn’t really push me back in my seat. I’m hoping the 4S has the acceleration I’m looking for.

 

[cottony]

Volcano Grey 4S Configuration:
https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PS8BQQP9

Driving Experience:

• Off-the-line acceleration very quick (without launch control) — much faster than the 4 which I test drove; comparable to Tesla Y Long Range which I previously owned
• Very little regen/slowing when taking foot off the accelerator — I really liked one-pedal driving on the Tesla but I’m already used to braking and don’t miss it that much now
• 20” S wheels equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS ELEC all-season tires — very smooth and quiet drive with nominal road noise relative to my Tesla. Note that these tires are quite expensive to replace —$460 front and $515 rear, per tire.

Thoughts on Options:

• Partial Leather — satisfied with very high quality interior relative to Tesla, even without the full leather package
• 14-way heated/ventilated comfort seats with massage are fairly comfortable with multiple massage options for driver and passenger. However the lumbar backrest feels almost overinflated, possibly due to the massage equipment in seat, although I have not compared with non-massage seats. I might have opted for 18-way seats without massage if the seat back is less firm and then opted for lighted Porsche logo in headrest
• Bordeaux seat belts & compass dial are very dark burgundy red. In the future, I might prefer the ice blue color for more contrast against the black interior.
• Rear axle steering is not a game changer for me so far, but I like the subtly tighter turning radius on u-turns and when parking so no regrets ordering it
• Very pleased with black window trim (rather than standard silver trim on 4S) and illuminated brushed aluminum door sills (since black aluminum shows dust and footprints). Standard side blades with checkered pattern look great against Volcano Grey as do the standard silver side/tailgate emblems
• I’m okay having no rear wipers since it looks better and doesn’t further obscure the limited visibility through rear windshield. I could see others wanting this option in snowy/rainy environments and it would have been nice in the misty rain today.
• Tow hitch was a key factor in buying a Macan instead of Taycan. Area around the hitch is black and looks finished, unlike some of the early production versions.
• I don’t miss the Electronic Sport Sound and was pleasantly surprised to hear light electric motor sounds when accelerating

Additional Observations:

• Homelink setup is a bit tricky on garages with rolling codes. Must press programming button on garage opener unit in garage during second step after initially programming with garage remote.
• Piano black surface on top of center console near temperature controls is a fingerprint magnet. 12V & USB outlets under console are a bit awkward to reach. I purchased a compact Anker 12V charger with a blue ring to fill the 12V receptacle and also light the storage area.
• As others noted, passenger seatbelt occasionally bangs against door pillar. I purchased this cover which fits perfectly over the seat belt buckle after a little work to stretch it (need to air it out overnight to eliminate the chemical smell). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMZTS36N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• Driver’s side seatbelt is a bit tough to reach since it drops to the floor, so I may consider buying either a seat belt buckle button stop or seat belt clip from Porsche (see attached examples: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU995STOP.html https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU99BELTCLIP.html)
• Very pleased with Porsche OEM all-weather floor and trunk mats offered by my SA
• Storage space in front trunk (frunk) will not fit a carryon suitcase. Bose fills most of the storage under the trunk but there is a small space (about 24x6x4”) to store miscellaneous items (e.g. towel, sweatshirt, umbrella, hitch lock, etc.).
• Can select menu option to automatically open/lock when approaching/departing car without using key and to auto start/stop car without pushing start button, as long as the key is with you.I miss the Tesla geolocation features which auto folded/unfolded the side mirrors when approaching/departing garage at a preset distance and also overrode the auto lock feature when in the garage. The Macan can be programmed to raise/lower air suspension at preset locations for tall speed bumps or driveway curbs.
• Coming from a Tesla, I find myself frequently turning on the windshield wipers when I change gears but I’m sure I’ll get used to the gear shifter on the dashboard after a few weeks
• Need to be careful not to open frunk with first button on key or left button on driver’s door
• Tile buttons on main screen as well as displays on dashboard can be rearranged. I wish the programmable Diamond button on the steering wheel could be set to activate Homelink rather than some of the other less useful options available.

Software Issues:

• Unfortunately, I only had my car two days before I had to bring it back to the dealer today due to software issues, with no ETA on how long the repair will take. Most significant issue was a series of warnings related to “Assistance Systems Limited” including additional warnings related to turn assist, rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist and egress warner not being available, in addition to a headlight control error. Warnings disappeared a while later after exiting the car, however the dealer asked me to bring it in since they said it is likely to reoccur based on similar issues with other Macan EVs they recently delivered. Mentioned that others required replacement of a controller which may be in short supply.
• When trying to add a secondary account on the car for my wife, the main display went black aside from a rolling circle above a “Loading Account…” message. Unable to reboot car using scroll buttons but message eventually cleared after about two hours. Still unable to load second account however SA recommended that my wife simply use the Guest user account and store her preferred settings by saving them using one of the memory set buttons on the driver’s door with only her key in the car.
• Unable to activate Plug & Charge from the My Porsche app despite multiple attempts. Will ask dealer to activate when I pickup the car.
• I realized that I may experience issues as one of the early 4S owners but hoped Porsche had addressed most of them based on their experience with the Taycan and Macan 4.

Timeline:
8/25/24 ordered
9/24 freeze date
10/24 production complete
11/5 ship departed Emden
11/22 arrived at port in Jacksonville, Florida
12/10 truck departed port (after two-week “quality action” delay)
12/17 arrived at dealership
12/20 ready for pickup
12/26 delivered
12/28 returned to dealer for service repairs

Nice write up, sorry to hear about your troubles, hope it gets fixed soon!

one thing I don’t think you covered was ALK vs autopilot. I also came from a Tesla and I thought ALK was pretty good for normal everyday highway driving. I think ALK handles lane merging/splitting better (like when 2 lanes merge into one or vice versa).

It seems to nag about the same as Tesla but it requires a much smaller amount of turning force to dismiss the nag. And seems to be more patient. Also noticed Porsche allows you to configure alk to > 90mph whereas Tesla caps it at that.

 

[taycanstuff]

Thanks nice write up, hope you get sorted soon - as you say you would hope teething problems should have been ironed out by now with the 2nd gen taycan and the 4 already been out.
Hope you get your car back soon.

 

[bbmertz]

@OHWHATDA & @cottony , unfortunately I didn’t have the 4S long enough to test it on the highway before I had to bring it back to the dealer. I’ll test out Innodrive and acceleration at speed when I get it back.

That being said, the 4S was very sporty and I’m sure accelerating at highway speeds would be much more aggressive than your experience with the 4.

 

[bbmertz]

i just got my Plug n charge to work...and it was more so not being guided well in the app than anything else...
as soon as I clicked on the right button in the app everything worked immediately... However, it's note clear as to how to get the certificate on your phone!

Basically in the app, I was getting a error in red text saying that it couldn't do plug n charge, it didn't have the cert. If i tried to do it, it would say it took too long to get the cert, and it failed.
Above that Red text, was that little circle with the "i" in it...i click on that one time, low n behold, the option to download the cert was there... downloaded the cert... next time i went to the car, and went the charge settings, plug n charge was activated already! i didn't have to do anything in the car once it was done on the phone...

hope that helps

@krissrock thanks for this info. I believe you’re right that the problem is I haven’t installed a certificate. I don’t see how to do so since I can’t find the “Manage Certificates” screen and don’t see the circled “i” you described, aside from the one on the second screen below which only provides instructions.

 

[TurboSpain]

Storage space in front trunk (frunk) will not fit a carryon suitcase.

It seems that it does fit a cabin suitcase.

Full video

 

[bbmertz]

That must have been an extremely small suitcase. I have a carry-on that is approved for international travel and it’s not even close to fitting.

Unfortunately the 4S frunk space is sloped in back and not a flat rectangular area like the Tesla model Y in which I easily fit my suitcase.

 

[krissrock]

@krissrock thanks for this info. I believe you’re right that the problem is I haven’t installed a certificate. I don’t see how to do so since I can’t find the “Manage Certificates” screen and don’t see the circled “i” you described, aside from the one on the second screen below which only provides instructions.

Yea try that "!" And "i" . One of them was it for me. Now that I have it, the text is gone so i can't replicate it again

 

[marcuscanby]

Volcano Grey 4S Configuration:
https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PS8BQQP9

Driving Experience:

• Off-the-line acceleration very quick (without launch control) — much faster than the 4 which I test drove; comparable to Tesla Y Long Range which I previously owned
• Very little regen/slowing when taking foot off the accelerator — I really liked one-pedal driving on the Tesla but I’m already used to braking and don’t miss it that much now
• 20” S wheels equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS ELEC all-season tires — very smooth and quiet drive with nominal road noise relative to my Tesla. Note that these tires are quite expensive to replace —$460 front and $515 rear, per tire.

Thoughts on Options:

• Partial Leather — satisfied with very high quality interior relative to Tesla, even without the full leather package
• 14-way heated/ventilated comfort seats with massage are fairly comfortable with multiple massage options for driver and passenger. However the lumbar backrest feels almost overinflated, possibly due to the massage equipment in seat, although I have not compared with non-massage seats. I might have opted for 18-way seats without massage if the seat back is less firm and then opted for lighted Porsche logo in headrest
• Bordeaux seat belts & compass dial are very dark burgundy red. In the future, I might prefer the ice blue color for more contrast against the black interior.
• Rear axle steering is not a game changer for me so far, but I like the subtly tighter turning radius on u-turns and when parking so no regrets ordering it
• Very pleased with black window trim (rather than standard silver trim on 4S) and illuminated brushed aluminum door sills (since black aluminum shows dust and footprints). Standard side blades with checkered pattern look great against Volcano Grey as do the standard silver side/tailgate emblems
• I’m okay having no rear wipers since it looks better and doesn’t further obscure the limited visibility through rear windshield. I could see others wanting this option in snowy/rainy environments and it would have been nice in the misty rain today.
• Tow hitch was a key factor in buying a Macan instead of Taycan. Area around the hitch is black and looks finished, unlike some of the early production versions.
• I don’t miss the Electronic Sport Sound and was pleasantly surprised to hear light electric motor sounds when accelerating

Additional Observations:

• Homelink setup is a bit tricky on garages with rolling codes. Must press programming button on garage opener unit in garage during second step after initially programming with garage remote.
• Piano black surface on top of center console near temperature controls is a fingerprint magnet. 12V & USB outlets under console are a bit awkward to reach. I purchased a compact Anker 12V charger with a blue ring to fill the 12V receptacle and also light the storage area.
• As others noted, passenger seatbelt occasionally bangs against door pillar. I purchased this cover which fits perfectly over the seat belt buckle after a little work to stretch it (need to air it out overnight to eliminate the chemical smell). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMZTS36N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• Driver’s side seatbelt is a bit tough to reach since it drops to the floor, so I may consider buying either a seat belt buckle button stop or seat belt clip from Porsche (see attached examples: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU995STOP.html https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU99BELTCLIP.html)
• Very pleased with Porsche OEM all-weather floor and trunk mats offered by my SA
• Storage space in front trunk (frunk) will not fit a carryon suitcase. Bose fills most of the storage under the trunk but there is a small space (about 24x6x4”) to store miscellaneous items (e.g. towel, sweatshirt, umbrella, hitch lock, etc.).
• Can select menu option to automatically open/lock when approaching/departing car without using key and to auto start/stop car without pushing start button, as long as the key is with you.I miss the Tesla geolocation features which auto folded/unfolded the side mirrors when approaching/departing garage at a preset distance and also overrode the auto lock feature when in the garage. The Macan can be programmed to raise/lower air suspension at preset locations for tall speed bumps or driveway curbs.
• Coming from a Tesla, I find myself frequently turning on the windshield wipers when I change gears but I’m sure I’ll get used to the gear shifter on the dashboard after a few weeks
• Need to be careful not to open frunk with first button on key or left button on driver’s door
• Tile buttons on main screen as well as displays on dashboard can be rearranged. I wish the programmable Diamond button on the steering wheel could be set to activate Homelink rather than some of the other less useful options available.

Software Issues:

• Unfortunately, I only had my car two days before I had to bring it back to the dealer today due to software issues, with no ETA on how long the repair will take. Most significant issue was a series of warnings related to “Assistance Systems Limited” including additional warnings related to turn assist, rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist and egress warner not being available, in addition to a headlight control error. Warnings disappeared a while later after exiting the car, however the dealer asked me to bring it in since they said it is likely to reoccur based on similar issues with other Macan EVs they recently delivered. Mentioned that others required replacement of a controller which may be in short supply.
• When trying to add a secondary account on the car for my wife, the main display went black aside from a rolling circle above a “Loading Account…” message. Unable to reboot car using scroll buttons but message eventually cleared after about two hours. Still unable to load second account however SA recommended that my wife simply use the Guest user account and store her preferred settings by saving them using one of the memory set buttons on the driver’s door with only her key in the car.
• Unable to activate Plug & Charge from the My Porsche app despite multiple attempts. Will ask dealer to activate when I pickup the car.
• I realized that I may experience issues as one of the early 4S owners but hoped Porsche had addressed most of them based on their experience with the Taycan and Macan 4.

Timeline:
8/25/24 ordered
9/24 freeze date
10/24 production complete
11/5 ship departed Emden
11/22 arrived at port in Jacksonville, Florida
12/10 truck departed port (after two-week “quality action” delay)
12/17 arrived at dealership
12/20 ready for pickup
12/26 delivered
12/28 returned to dealer for service repairs

Great detailed review real good advise for a prospective buyer. Thanks for the review

 

[Kal-El]

Software Issues:

• Unfortunately, I only had my car two days before I had to bring it back to the dealer today due to software issues, with no ETA on how long the repair will take. Most significant issue was a series of warnings related to “Assistance Systems Limited” including additional warnings related to turn assist, rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist and egress warner not being available, in addition to a headlight control error. Warnings disappeared a while later after exiting the car, however the dealer asked me to bring it in since they said it is likely to reoccur based on similar issues with other Macan EVs they recently delivered. Mentioned that others required replacement of a controller which may be in short supply.
  
  
• Unable to activate Plug & Charge from the My Porsche app despite multiple attempts. Will ask dealer to activate when I pickup the car.

I've had my 4S for 3 weeks now and have been dealing with these 2 software issues as well

Plug & Charge - I had the same ! message on my phone app and the option to turn on Plug & Charge in the PCM wasn't selectable. I did a factory reset and when the system came back on the option in the PCM to turn on Plug & Charge was available. I turn on this option in the PCM and within a few minutes it was active in both the PCM and my phone app. Took the car to an EA charge and it worked!

The factory reset did cause a minor issue....during the factory reset the date was set to 1/1/2000 and the time to 12:00am. The car won't let me set the date/time to automatic, it says this function is not available. I've manually set the date and time so the car displays this information correctly. The app, however, shows the time 7 hours earlier that it really is. If I plug the car in to charge the app will say it will be finished charging at 11am. This means it will finish charging at 6pm.



I'm getting the "Assistance Systems Error" and "Headlight Control Error" intermittently.

Upon start up I will either:
Have no messages and no messages come on for the entire trip. All assistance features work perfectly for the trip. The car behaves exactly as it should.

Or....about every 4-5 times I start the car...get these messages within a few seconds of starting the car. They will stay on for the entire trip. I lose all the assistance functions for the trip: blind spot, cruise control, traffic sign recognition, lang change assist, warn and brake, auto high beams. Turning the car off, getting out of it, locking it and then getting back in doesn't clear the messages. It seems the car needs to sit for a length of time, then the next start the messages are gone.

This error messages appeared before and after the factory reset so that hasn't solved the problem. I now cross my fingers each time I start the car to see if these message appear. I made an appointment at my dealer.

 

[PhyzX]

I'm getting the "Assistance Systems Error" and "Headlight Control Error" intermittently.

I get the same errors on my Macan 4 also. The trick, as talked about on another thread, is to lock the car for 5 mins, then the errors will reset.

 

[Greybeard72]

Haven’t had some of these issues on my 4S yet although I have had issues with plug and charge. Had to reset and reboot the car and eliminate the dealer/port id. Then I had to wait almost 2 days for the certificate to be delivered after setting plug and charge to on in both car and app. Looks like this may be their back end not working well. Their software needs a lot of work. I also had to look up how to switch my garage charger to 9.6/7 charging from the 50% they had it set to. Have some of these same interior quibbles with seat belts. The app needs work also. It’s slow to communicate with the car and slow to show actual charge levels. As my post says though, this is my 3rd Porsche and it’s a BLAST to drive. I don’t know about the 4 but I can run away from everything on the highway easily in Normal mode. Much like my old 911 CS4.

 

[DuckMan]

How is 4S performance when accelerating at highway speeds? I test drove the 4 and wasn’t very impressed when I was stuck in the slow lane and tried accelerating to match the much faster speed of the lane on my left. For those situations I was hoping to feel more of an immediate kick of acceleration, and instead with the 4 it kind of felt very linear but didn’t really push me back in my seat. I’m hoping the 4S has the acceleration I’m looking for.

Flip it to sports + for pass. Plenty quick enough for most cases I've encountered. I'm coming from M3 and M5 cars so I have a bit of perspective on giddy up factor.

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