Porsche new Macan proves the hater wrong

People called it a mistake. Heck, even internally Porsche admitted it wasn’t going to plan and major changes were possible. And yet, here we sit in early 2025 and the all-new, all-electric Porsche Macan is thriving.

When this new-generation luxury SUV was launched in late 2024 there were real concerns that the German brand had badly mis-read the market and over-estimated the demand for electric vehicles. Even Porsche’s chief financial officer, Lutz Meschke, admitted that there is a “clear trend” for the internal combustion engine with premium and luxury buyers.

However, that’s simply yet to play out in Australia. In the first two months of 2025 the Macan remained Porsche’s best-selling model, only down 5.4 per cent on the same period in 2024. But last year was a strong start, and the Macan sales are actually up on the first two months of 2023, so there’s clearly been an acceptance by early buyers that the electric Macan is just as appealing as the old model.

And I don’t blame them after experiencing the Macan Turbo again recently – because it’s frankly a brilliant car by any measure and an improvement over the old Macan Turbo in almost every respect.

Brushing past the whole ‘how can it be a Turbo if it doesn’t have a turbo?’ question (it’s because Porsche considers ‘Turbo’ a model designation, not a description of the powertrain), the fact is this new model is faster, more powerful and handles even more sharply than the old petrol-powered (actually turbocharged) Macan Turbo.

Just look at the raw numbers. The previous Macan Turbo had a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine that made a healthy 324kW of power and 550Nm of torque. This new dual-motor electric version pumps out a much more impressive 470kW and mind-bending 1130Nm. How does this translate to the road? Well, the old model used its petrol engine to race 0-100km/h in just 4.3 seconds, which is very rapid for a mid-size SUV capable of taking a family. The electric Turbo is a full second quicker, taking just 3.3 seconds; and based on personal experience, it’s fair to call it sickeningly fast.

The new Macan feels sharper and more engaging to drive too, because it’s built on the all-new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) that Porsche and Audi developed for a range of electric models. It featured a state-of-the-art 800-volt electric vehicle architecture to provide meaningful range and faster recharging.

But a new platform also means fresh steering and suspension, so the new Macan feels just as agile and responsive as the previous model, despite the extra weight of the batteries. As we found on our initial drive at the Norwell Motorplex, the Macan Turbo feels right at home on a track.

This time around, though, we avoided the track and used the Macan Turbo as it will most likely be used – as a daily driver. On that front it thoroughly impressed again, with the electric motor providing serene but substantial performance whenever you needed it and the well-appointed interior leaving you feeling even more relaxed.

However, as alluded to previously, there is one area where the new Macan has a distinct disadvantage over its predecessor – price. Not electric vehicle platforms cost a lot of money to develop and that is passed on to the customer price. Whereas the previous Macan Turbo started at $142,000, this new Macan Turbo will set you back $184,400 – a more than $40k jump.

That was expected to see a major decline in sales, and that may still happen once the initial surge that any new model tends to have wears off, but even getting off to such a strong start is a major positive for Porsche.

Electric or not, the Macan Turbo is a great Porsche in its own right and much, much more than a tactical measure to ward off government regulations. It’s fast, focused and the design is trademark Porsche precise, both inside and out.