I love how the Porsche Macan GTS is an electric sports car disguised as an everyday SUV

Introduction

Anyone thinking about buying an electric Porsche Macan is rather spoilt for choice. The arrival of the GTS means there are no less than five variants of the cool SUV, which is a bit more manageable size-wise than the new soon-to-arrive Porsche Cayenne. It is deliciously potent, sitting in-between the 4S and Turbo models, but there is also clever air suspension plus plenty of drive options that combine to make it handle well too.

While pricing kicks off at the £89,000 mark, anyone who plumps for the Macan GTS is very likely to option it up a bit. The model I’ve just been driving came fully loaded and, as a result, the asking price is more in the £100K plus area. So, this is not a cheap car, but it ticks all the right SUV-buyer boxes and isn’t quite as scarily fast as the Porsche Macan Turbo, which can feel a bit lairy in the wrong hands. That said, if lairy is more your thing, then it may be wise to bypass the Macan altogether and head for the aforementioned Porsche Cayenne Electric, with it’s nutty 0-62mph acceleration of just 2.5 seconds.

The Porsche Macan GTS is a little more sensible and is undeniably practical. Porsche has also done a great job on making the package as appealing as possible, especially on the inside. I think it’s very easy to live with. Here’s why.

The styling

Porsche has done enough to make the GTS stand out from the other four Macan variants – but only just, as those differences are subtle and nuanced. Key areas are the black sills and ‘sideblades’ with their GTS logo plus low-key and similarly black flourishes around the body including wheel arch trims. Anyone who is already keen on the latest Macan will doubtless agree, or struggle to see much differentiation, but the GTS SportDesign package is just about memorable enough.

The 22in RS Spyder Design alloys were cool on my test car too, though these were an extra cost option. Elsewhere, those tinted matrix LED headlights are smart, as is the rear end. It still looks a little bulbous to these eyes, but the width-wide taillight bar and pronounced Porsche letters are a success. I thought most of the key details were to be found once I’d moved to the inside, though, which packs in some interesting if understated details.

One of the most distinctive touches to the trim is the addition of colour contrasting stitching. This is a nice way to lift the dark colour seats and minimises the otherwise slightly gloomy feel of the cockpit in the darker-trimmed cars. The seats did feel quite firm too, but 18-way adjustable options meant it was pretty easy to get an optimal driving position. Space levels were as good as ever, mind. Incidentally, there’s an 84-litre frunk under the bonnet, which acts as a nice compliment to the respectable 476-litre capacity of the boot.

The drive

Porsche’s handout at the driving event featured a graphic that highlighted the differences between the Macan GTS and the Macan Turbo. A bit like the cosmetics of the car, the differences, on paper at least, also look to be nuanced. Considering its size though, this is a fast car and plenty fast enough I thought. It was happy enough in standard drive mode but switching the dial on the steering wheel to ‘Sport’ or ‘Sport Plus’ did unleash a lot more. Beefier synthesized engine burbles were more pronounced too, which added to the sense of excitement.

Thanks to self-levelling air suspension and Porsche Active Suspension Management, the Macan GTS handled impeccably in the corners. I thought body roll was minimal, almost non-existent even in some very tight bends. On top of the amusing-for-five-minutes Launch Control feature, for making rapid departures, the Porsche Macan GTS is everything you’d expect from the brand. Equally, the SUV will hum along on the highway quite happily too and feels ideally suited to long treks, whatever the conditions.

There is, as a bonus, a towing capacity of 2500kg for good measure, which might add extra buying appeal for folks with a caravan or boat to get around. Doubtless towing would hammer into the rather optimistic 364-mile WLTP range of this car, but even during my time pushing it enthusiastically, the Macan GTS seemed likely to deliver well into the late 200 mile on a charge area. That puts it nicely into the range anxiety minimisation zone. However, while it did seem quite efficient, the Macan GTS did also feel like a heavy car, Mainly because, at nearly 2,400kg, it is.

The technology

There’s plenty of screen real estate, with a 12.6in display in front of the steering wheel and a very nice 10.9in touchscreen in the mid-dash area. Over on the right in my test car was another, optional, touchscreen for the front passenger to play with, but my love of those things is minimal I have to say.

Porsche personnel were keen to showcase the in-car gaming aspect of the Macan GTS, hooking up a controller to demo a driving game. This is displayed on the screen in the dash on the passenger side of the cockpit and worked to good effect. The AirConsole setup is not unique – I’ve seen it in BMW’s too, and I’m still not sure just how much it’d get used when kids tend to be glued to their own phones or tablets on a journey. It’s a bit of fun for anyone at a loose end, though. Oh, and there’s Voice Pilot too for anyone wanting a chat via AI to kill the time during a charge.

The GTS trim features make the in-car experience feel quite special and there are still enough proper buttons on the steering wheel to ensure the effect isn’t overwhelmingly touchy-feely. It all worked well enough too.

As a compliment to the driving capabilities of the Macan GTS, Porsche gives buyers the option of having a selection of intelligent driver assistance systems. The Remote Park Assist function, for example, allows less confident SUV owners to get the car to do the donkey work when it comes to slipping into perpendicular or diagonal parking spaces, or simply carrying out parallel parking if the car’s size gets too much.

I did rather like the Trained Parking function, which learns the lie of the land when in familiar territory, like my garage for example. This means the Macan GTS can return to base with little effort needed on the part of the driver. It’s a little at odds with the driver’s car appeal of the rest of the package but will be ideally suited to some who buy it. In fact, the wealth of drive assist features adds a lot of appeal but, if you’re a purist, they’ll likely remain unused for the most part.

Porsche Macan GTS verdict

The Macan GTS is a smart addition to Porsche’s electric portfolio that packs in plenty of clever stuff to keep tech fans happy. However, it is still very much a driver’s car and, despite all the weight it has to lug around, offers a brilliant driving experience full of thrills.

Considering its chunky stance, the handling really is excellent, and performance will be more than enough for most. Even the range makes it a very practical option whilst plus it is a slightly more sensible car than the Turbo edition. In short, Macan buyers really are spoilt for choice right now.

Porsche Macan GTS technical specifications