Porsche’s best selling model isn’t the 911 or the Cayenne, it’s the cheapest, smallest Porsche, the Macan. Sure, it technically is the brand’s entry-level model, but it’s also arguably the best compact crossover for folks who love the act of driving. By now we all know that the second-generation Macan is exclusively electric, and my colleague Andy already went on the 2025 Macan’s initial first drive that saw the launch of the Macan 4 and the Macan Turbo. This is trim level–loving Porsche we’re talking about, so for this second first drive Porsche let me sample its new rear-wheel-drive base Macan and “the sweet spot” Macan, the 4S. Well, it currently holds the sweet-spot title until Porsche drops the inevitable Macan GTS.
Full Disclosure: Porsche flew me on my first international business class flight to Stuttgart, Germany so I could drive the new Macan and Macan 4S. I forgot that other regions are experiencing something called autumn, so Stuttgart was cold and drizzly but also bucolic and beautiful. Thanks for a fun trip, Porsche!
I won’t keep you waiting on bated breath. The new Macan may have transitioned to all-electric powertrains, but it still maintains the original crossover’s spirit. It feels like a slightly larger, heavier, and electrified version of the outgoing car. That means it still clings to corners that would send other crossovers understeering into the bush, it still throws you back into your seat, and it still feels like a solid, well-screwed-together runabout. You didn’t think an automaker as storied as Porsche would fumble the bag, did you? The electric single-motor Macan and the dual-motor Macan 4S are still fantastic, if expensive, small crossovers.
First let’s cover the basics. Both of these models are built on the same 800-volt Premium Platform Electric architecture shared with the Audi Q6 E-Tron. They have the same battery with 100 kWh of gross capacity and the ability to charge from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 21 minutes. Where they differ is in price and how they get their power to the ground.
The base Macan starts at $77,295 including $1,995 destination, though my test car was specced up to a laughable $107,465. Its single rear-mounted electric motor produces 335 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, and it’s the first rear-wheel-drive Macan, as all previous-generation models were all-wheel drive (and it was based on a FWD platform). The base Macan is the least heavy version of the new crossover, though it still weighs a porky 5,004 pounds, which is almost 1,000 pounds heavier than the ICE Macan. Porsche claims it will go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, which is 0.6 seconds quicker than Porsche’s claimed time for the outgoing base Macan that uses a 261-hp turbocharged four-cylinder. The single-motor Macan has the highest EPA estimated range of the lineup at 315 miles on a charge.
Then there’s the Macan 4S, which starts at $86,895, though my test car’s MSRP was an eye-watering $122,845. It has a slightly different rear motor than the base car while adding a small front motor for a total output of 509 horsepower and 604 lb-ft of torque when launch control is active, and 442 hp and 578 lb-ft of torque at all other times. Porsche claims the new Macan 4S will complete the 0-to-60-mph run in just 3.9 seconds, or almost a full second quicker than the outgoing six-cylinder Macan S. The Macan 4S gains just 265 pounds over the base car for a still-heavy curb weight of 5,269 pounds, or again about 1,000 pounds more than the ICE Macan S. The EPA estimates the Macan 4S will cover 288 miles on a charge.
The electrified rear-drive Macan’s significant jump in curb weight is noticeable when chucking the car around twisty roads, especially in the base Macan. It Macan felt good, but markedly less precise than the 4S. Think of the 4S as a professional ballerina and the Macan as a professional ballerina who’s had a couple glasses of wine. It can still put on a great show, but it’s a bit less sharp and a bit less precise than its 4S sibling. The 4S I drove came equipped with the $2,040 rear-wheel-steering option, which combined with the front motor made it feel like a true piece of meticulous engineering with a turning circle that was much tighter than I expected. The steering in both cars is precise and communicative, and the brakes are strong despite only having two regen modes, neither of which allow one-pedal driving.
While the standard Macan doesn’t feel underpowered, transitioning directly out of it and into the much more powerful 4S made me forget about the base car entirely. The rear-motor Macan never struggles for grip; it doesn’t have a mechanical limited-slip differential, but Porsche’s traction control computer wizardry makes it feel very stable, and almost tame. Even in Sport Plus mode, you won’t swing the tail out unless you encounter a low-traction surface, and even then it slips for a brief glorious moment and immediately reigns you back in. Still, the base Macan will be more than enough car for most buyers, and it offers an elevated Porsche driving experience compared to the first-gen Macan.
The Macan 4S truly felt like the sweet spot for the new crossover. Sure, it’s almost $10,000 pricier than its single-motor sibling, but you get 154 additional horsepower and 107 more pound-feet of torque. That equates to a significantly better power-to-weight ratio, with the base Macan making do with 14.1 pounds-per-horsepower and the 4S dropping that down to 10.4 pounds-per-horsepower. The significantly increased power combined with AWD traction, a true mechanical limited-slip rear differential and optional rear-wheel steering made the 4S carve through Stuttgart’s rainy mountain roads with truly shocking composure, even through hairpins and decreasing-radius turns. And yes, when you stomp on the accelerator in the 4S you’re thrown back into your seat.
That extra 1,000 pounds on the new Macan isn’t always a detractor to the driving experience. All U.S.-spec Macans will come standard with adaptive air suspension that absorbed the admittedly minor German road imperfections with aplomb, even feeling solidly planted and incredibly settled when breezing across train tracks. As long as you turn off the simulated engine sounds, it contributes to a bank-vault level of silence, solidity and security that makes it feel worth the typically egregious Porsche prices.
The new Macan’s interior is a nice place to be. The wheelbase has grown about 3.5 inches over the outgoing model, and the interior feels significantly more airy and spacious than the ICE car’s borderline claustrophobic cabin. I had plenty of room up front despite the standard panoramic sunroof and I’m 6-foot-8, so if you’re taller than 99.9 percent of humans on this planet, keep the Macan on your shopping list. Rear-seat room, while not what I would call spacious, is a big improvement over the outgoing Macan too. There’s plenty of foot space, and you don’t feel like you’re sitting in the fetal position like in some other EVs.
I have to note, though, that the roomy floating center console that provides lots of stowage space for your knick-knacks and doo-dads is made of a very un-Porsche-like hard plastic. The inside of the door pockets are also exposed hard plastic, which sounds like such a nitpick, but most of these cars are going to sell for more than six figures, so I’ll call out the minutiae.
Porsche expertly integrated the technology, running Porsche’s new Android Automotive–based operating system. It’s a seamless, impressive experience; satellite map images load with no buffering and you can switch between menus and functions without ever waiting for anything to load. My testers both came equipped with the $1,570 passenger screen that was actually fun to use. It has features like karaoke, where you can search nearly any song and it will pull up the lyrics and play the music sans vocals. You can also play games or stream movies on long trips.
Facing the driver is a standard 12.6-inch curved digital instrument cluster that has a lot of useful configurations, though navigating its menus using the steering wheel buttons reveals a lot of hidden, illogical controls. For example, I’m a 28-year-old who is pretty tech-savvy and I had to ask a Porsche rep how to adjust the height of the borderline-overwhelming $2,520 augmented-reality head-up display. That’s not something you’ll have to adjust often, but it’s still completely hidden. Aside from adjusting the driver’s display, most other functions are straightforward, especially using Porsche’s lovely knurled climate control toggles.
The best way to summarize the new Porsche Macan and Macan 4S is to say that they don’t feel incredibly different from the first-generation car. Will you miss the symphony of exploding dinosaur juice under the hood? Well, I did. The electric Macan drives very well, but I still missed the driver involvement and aural excitement of an ICE engine running through the gears. I yearned for paddle shifters, which is something I never thought I’d say.
Internal combustion attributes aside, you’d be hard pressed to find a compact crossover that marries driver enjoyment with luxury, quality and refinement in the way these cars do. Odds are, if you’re shopping for a Porsche Macan, you’re not likely cross-shopping it with anything that offers an experience comparable to the Porsche experience. It’s still the Porsche of compact crossovers, it just happens to be electrified this time around.
