UK Drive: Porsche’s Macan Turbo brings performance and practicality

Why?

The new electric Macan is one of the latest Porsche models to receive the Turbo badge. So can this battery-powered model provide a worthy continuation of this famous nameplate? This is our first time driving in England.

What’s up?

The Turbo also has many tweaks above and beyond the standard Macan. Air suspension comes as standard, as does Porsche’s Active Suspension Management system, which allows you to change and adjust the car’s ride on the move, for example.

What’s under the hood?

When it comes to range, the Macan is claimed to have 367 miles from full to empty, but that will of course be less if you use this car’s performance frequently. As mentioned, fast charging means you won’t have to wait long while charging again.

What’s it like to drive?

The steering has great balance, as we expect from Porsche models, and this allows you to negotiate corners with confidence. In sportier driving modes you also get a futuristic sound that accompanies acceleration, and this actually adds some drama to the proceedings; but you can turn it off if you want.

What does it look like?

The Macan has also been designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, with slick design touches. An active rear spoiler and active front cooling wings work to increase or decrease drag as needed; but the former significantly restricts your rear visibility while operating.

How’s it inside?

There is also a good level of space. Legroom in the rear seat is okay, and the 540-litre boot is well-shaped and easy to access. Easily, there’s also a ‘french’ in the Macan. Positioned where you’d usually expect to find a motor, it provides an extra 84 liters of space and provides an ideal place to store charging cables when not in use.

How is the specification?

Compare that to the Macan Electric’s starting price of £67,200 (this entry-level model still has a 0-60mph acceleration time of 5.5 seconds and an improved range of up to 398 miles) and the Turbo means you’re paying quite a premium for that additional performance. , although you do get a fair amount more standard equipment.

Decision

The Macan Electric does a good job of maintaining the Turbo name. Although it lacks the mechanical component that underpinned previous combustion-engined Turbos, it certainly maintains its ethos as the fastest and most powerful version of the Macan Electric.

However, as with other Turbos, you pay a premium for this privilege. Unless you need this car to accelerate like crazy, the ‘regular’ Macan is probably the smarter choice, and thanks to its longer range, you’ll have more time to enjoy it between plug-ins, too.