2025 Porsche Macan EV first drive: electrifying a bestseller

Porsche is giving EVs a major vote of confidence. While the brand will continue to sell non-EVs for many years, including the emblematic 911, it developed the second generation of the Macan exclusively with electric power in mind. You won’t find a twin-turbocharged V6 or a plug-in hybrid system on the specifications sheet; it’s all electric, all the time. That’s a bold move — we’re talking about one of Porsche’s bestselling models, not a niche car that has a greater effect on image than on sales. Was it the right move? Join us as we find out.

Subtly electric

There’s no mistaking the new Macan for its predecessor when you walk past it. It’s characterized by styling cues that align it with the Taycan sedan, which was the first series-produced electric Porsche. Up front, rectangular lights are accented by four individual LEDs; in back, there’s a light bar that makes the SUV appear wider than it actually is. Nothing about the design screams “I’m electric!” but there are relatively subtle hints if you know where to look. Here’s a cheat sheet: the front overhang is shorter than the original Macan’s and the wheelbase is nearly 4 inches longer. That’s because engineers had to package a massive battery pack rather than an engine.

If you could peel back the new Macan’s body off like you’d open a sardine can, you’d see the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that Porsche developed jointly with sister company Audi. This is the same basic architecture found under the Q6 E-Tron, though we’re talking about two different cars fine-tuned by two different teams. Some of the key features that aren’t brand-specific include an 800-volt electrical system for faster charging as well as the ability to offer rear- or all-wheel-drive. But, an optional rear-wheel steering system is one of the many ingredients that Porsche added in-house to differentiate the Macan from its corporate cousin.

The second-generation Macan is the newest member of the Porsche portfolio, yet the range already includes four models: the base trim, the 4, the 4S, and the Turbo. They’re all built on a 100-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that weighs 1,329 pounds but the numerical similarities end there.

Positioned as the only rear-wheel-drive variant in the lineup, the base Macan uses a rear-mounted electric motor rated at 335 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. The 4 brings dual-motor all-wheel-drive and a power hike to 382 horses and 479 pound-feet of twist. The 4S ups these figures to 442 and 578, respectively, while the Turbo posts horsepower and torque figures of 576 and 811. It gets better: Every trim comes gets a launch control function that temporarily unlocks more power.

You’re not wide of the mark if you’re thinking “576 horsepower in a Macan is a lot!” — that’s much more than you can get in the outgoing Macan, which tops out at 434 horsepower from a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6. Don’t forget that the new model is lugging around considerably more weight, however. The lightest version weighs precisely 5,004 pounds; the heaviest tips the scale at 5,393 pounds, a figure that makes it nearly 1,000 pounds heavier than the heaviest gasoline-powered trim.

Quick and quiet

Stunningly, the new Macan offers far more nimble handling than these figures suggest. This is partly because of the basic packaging: placing the battery pack below the passenger compartment, roughly at wheel level, lowers the center of gravity. But Porsche also knows what it’s doing — it dialed in quick steering with a good amount of feedback to help the Macan deliver the engaging driving experience that its customers expect. The optional rear-wheel steering system turns the rear wheels by up to 5 degrees in the opposite direction of the front wheels at lower speeds to make the Macan feel even quicker on its feet, but even without it the model holds its own in the handling department, especially considering that we’re talking about a compact SUV rather than a low-slung coupe.

The air suspension system that’s standard across the range is pegged on the firm side of comfortable; it’s not harsh, it filters out road imperfections before they get to your spine, but it’s certainly not soft. This performance-oriented suspension tuning suits the new Macan well; this is a seriously quick car.

Our time behind the wheel was limited to the rear-wheel-drive base model and the 4S, which are the most recent additions to the range, but we drove the 4 and the Turbo earlier in 2024. They all share one basic trait: sports car-like acceleration. Even the base model, with a manufacturer-claimed zero-to-60-mph time of 5.4 seconds, is quick enough to have fun in. It also delivers slightly more rear-biased handling than the other trims because it doesn’t have a front-mounted motor, though the difference isn’t as massive as it might sound. The 4 takes half a second of that time and feels the part, while the 4S approaches supercar territory with a 3.9-second sprint to 60 mph. Finally, the Turbo crosses into the realm of supercars with a brisk 3.1-second time that punches you in the gut.

Going electric replaces gears and turbo lag with a direct drive and instant torque, so the new Macan delivers the kind of linear acceleration you can only get in an EV. It’s almost completely silent, too. If you’d rather hear it, you can flick on an artificial, engine-like acceleration noise via the dashboard’s touchscreen. We found it rather tacky and left it off most of the time, but your mileage may vary.

Porsche deserves credit for developing an electric SUV with a brake pedal that feels, well… like a brake pedal. In many EVs, regardless of how much power you’ve got under your right foot, the brake pedal has roughly the same feedback as the turn signal stalk. It’s on or it’s off but never in between. That’s because the pedal summons the drivetrain’s regenerative braking function instead of the brake pads. This happens in the Macan, too; there’s up to 240 kilowatts of regen lurking behind the brake pedal, but you don’t feel it and the driving experience is better for it. You can’t one-pedal drive the new Macan, however — Porsche believes the accelerator should only be used for accelerating.

Our time behind the wheel was too short to accurately measure driving range. Porsche quotes EPA-estimated figures of up to 315 miles for the base Macan, 308 miles for the 4, and 288 miles for both the 4S and the Turbo. Charging from 10% to 80% in 21 minutes is possible when using a 270-kilowatt charger. The trunk is big enough to store the charging hardware, which is a nice feature to have in an EV.

While performance remains every Porsche’s main selling point, luxury isn’t far behind, and the Macan ticks that box as well. Every surface the driver interacts with is nice to look at and to touch, and the cabin is built with top-notch materials regardless of how it’s configured. There’s a ton of tech in here, too: the driver faces a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, there’s a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system on the center stack, and you can add a second 10.9-inch touchscreen to the part of the dashboard facing the front passenger at an extra cost. The passenger-side screen might sound like a massive distraction, but you can’t tell it’s on (let alone what it’s showing) from the driver’s seat. We found the augmented-reality heads-up display to be a distraction, however. It might be a matter of habit, but it’s too bright and it takes up too much space in the driver’s field of view.

Luckily, the infotainment system is fairly straightforward to use, especially considering the vast amount of information packed in it. The layout immediately makes sense, the graphics are sharp, and none of the key features the driver regularly needs to access are buried several menus deep.

It’s still a Porsche

Our early impressions suggest that the new Macan makes a strong case for itself, both as an electric car and as an electric Porsche. It’s quick, fun to drive, and luxurious inside with just the right amount of tech. That’s hugely important, because the German company’s pipeline includes numerous other EVs. One is the next Cayenne; crucially, another is the next generation of the Boxster and the Cayman.

If you’re not interested in an electric Macan, there’s still time to put a new, non-electrified model in your garage. The current-generation Macan, which has been updated several times since making its debut in 2015, will stay in production through 2026, a company spokesperson confirmed to Digital Trends. It looks and feels a little old-school compared to its successor but it remains competitive; it’s still one of the best-driving SUVs in its segment. And, hey: at least Porsche is giving buyers a choice.

Pricing for the 2025 Porsche Macan starts at $75,300 excluding destination and available incentives. The Macan 4, Macan 4S, and Macan Turbo cost $78,800, $84,900, and $105,300, respectively.