Eagerly awaited: What the new Porsche Macan can do
It needed a bit of a run-up: Ten years after the market launch of the first Macan, which was only available with a combustion engine, Porsche is presenting the second, now fully electric generation. It should have been on the market long ago, but the new software platform developed jointly with VW was not ready. The market launch had to be postponed several times. Model series manager Jörg Kerner and his team have not wasted any time: "Our aim is to offer the sportiest model in its segment with the all-electric Macan," says Kerner. "Driving performance values at sports car level," promises Porsche.
The eagerly awaited new SUV accelerates from zero to 100 in 5.2 seconds in the case of the Macan 4 with 300 kW (408 hp), while the 470 kW Macan Turbo (639 hp) even manages this in 3.3 seconds. The top speed is 220 km/h or 260 km/h. The chassis with a longer wheelbase of 2.89 meters is equipped with either electronic shock absorbers or air suspension. Rear-axle steering is also available for the first time in this class. All-wheel drive is mandatory. An engine developed jointly with Audi pulls the front axle, while a Bosch engine drives the rear. The reward for the effort: the Macan Turbo completes the Nürburgring even faster than the Porsche Taycan.
As with the Taycan, a voltage of 800 volts is applied to the Macan's drivetrain. This allows the 100 kWh battery to be charged from ten to 80 percent in just 21 minutes with up to 270 kW. This is also a record. A range of 100 kilometers can be charged in just four minutes. Fully charged, the Macan can travel up to 613 kilometers, so consumption is around 21 kW/h per 100 kilometers according to WLTP. From 60 kilometers remaining, the car warns you that it is time to find a charging station. If this only supplies 400 volts, the battery is split into two banks that charge at 135 kW. With alternating current, eleven kW flow into the battery. This is controlled by the Internal Porsche Power Box, an in-house development.
The battery cells come from the CATL plant in Magdeburg. The automotive supplier Dräxlmeier assembles the cells into the battery pack, which weighs just under 600 kilograms, and delivers it to the Porsche plant in Leipzig, where the Macan is built. As word has got around that electric cars are not automatically environmentally friendly - production has a greater impact on the environment than combustion engines - Porsche has also taken this into account for the Macan: Production in Leipzig is "carbon-neutral on balance", promises Porsche. In addition, the electric motors on the front and rear axles are "permanently excited". This has also made it possible to reduce the use of the controversial element cobalt by 60 percent. Porsche has also thought about repairing the batteries: the 28 battery modules can be removed and replaced individually. This means that a battery repair is not a total loss, as is the case with other electric cars.
When it comes to the infotainment operating system, Porsche relies more on Silicon Valley than Wolfsburg: Android Automotive OS boots up quickly and can be supplemented with additional apps from the Porsche App Center. The voice assistant responds to "Hey Porsche" and plans longer routes with sensible charging stops. For the first time in the Macan, there is an optional third screen in front of the front passenger seat, for example for streaming videos - not visible to the driver, of course. The driver is compensated by a head-up display that features augmented reality. Navigation arrows appear to be projected onto the road.
One annoyance of many electric cars is the rapid brake wear - especially on the rarely used rear axle brake. This is because electric cars can recover braking energy - the Macan even recovers up to 240 kW. To prevent the rarely used rear brake from starting to rust, it is regularly polished by light braking.
The old Macan, which was only available as a combustion engine, sold 800,000 units in ten years. In some markets, where e-mobility still leads a shadowy existence, it will initially remain on the market in parallel. Anyone who needs space for hobbies and family will not miss the old Macan anyway: The trunk of the new one has a capacity of 540 liters. There is also a frunk under the hood with 84 liters. Compared to the predecessor model, this is a total of 127 liters more. With the rear seat bench folded down, the load compartment volume increases to up to 1,348 liters. Anyone who has previously used the Macan as a towing vehicle will not miss anything: The maximum towing capacity is two tons. The seating position has been lowered by 28 millimetres despite the battery in the floor. The flat battery makes this possible.
However, this thrilling fun does not come cheap: prices in Germany start at 84,100 euros for the Macan 4 and 114,500 euros for the Macan Turbo. Here too, Porsche remains true to itself. (aum)
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Porsche Macan 4 (l.) and Macan Turbo.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Porsche
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Porsche Macan 4 (l.) and Macan Turbo.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Porsche
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Head-up display with augmented reality technology in the Porsche Macan.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Porsche
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Editor Guido Reinking in the Porsche Macan.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Porsche
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