Electric SUVs are all pretty much the same, right? They’re the same shape, they have space for the whole family (like the Volvo Ex30 Cross Country), they’re bamboozlingly high-tech, and accelerate as fast as a sports car. They also have as much soul as a cardboard cut-out of a politician. Except this one. The new Porsche Macan GTS, which is only available in fully electric form, not only looks better than most, it drives like a full-throated Porsche. No other EV SUV excites or feels as cohesive and cool as this Macan. And the GTS is the sweet spot.
The GTS is the most outwardly sporty car in the Macan range, even though it’s not as powerful as the Turbo (let’s not argue about how an electric car can be called a turbo). In standard mode, it sits 10mm lower than other Macans and sinks another 10mm in Sport Plus mode (which the Turbo does, too). It has lots of racy details and Race-Tex material. And, crucially, it’s lighter than its other family members. That means that while a Turbo will catch it in a straight line, the GTS will pull away in the corners. It’s by far the most fun.
Priced from £89,000, the Macan GTS has twin electric motors, one on each axle, and they’re the same units as on the Turbo except the wick at the rear has been turned down. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I drove the car on very icy switchbacks on the Cote d’Azur’s mountain roads in February and the rear was nothing less than planted every time we booted the throttle out of a hairpin bend.
The traction was sensational. Somehow, all of its 704 lb ft of torque (which, by the way, is more than the McLaren P1 hypercar!) connected to the frozen tarmac and fired me straight into the horizon. It has a combined power output of 510bhp under normal conditions, although this increases to 563bhp when you engage launch control – should you wish to embarrass a 911 away from the lights. Zero to 62mph takes as little as 3.8 seconds, which is quicker than the base Carrera.
You can drive it silently or with a sort of Star Trekky V6-synthed whoosh in Sport Plus, which does actually make it quite aurally engaging. And that’s absolutely the case with the handling, too. There’s not a whiff of understeer. If you shell out for the optional rear-wheel-steering, it changes direction like a blue bottle fly.
You can chuck this car around as if it’s a ‘90s hot hatch; it rarely reminds the driver that it weighs 1,900kg dry thanks to its 48:52 weight distribution, air suspension, race-spec double-wishbones at the front, electronic limited slip differential at the rear, and Porsche’s excellent active stability management system, which’ll make it seem like you have the car control of Lando Norris.
Inside, it’s everything you’d expect from a Porsche: stylishly minimalist, exceptionally well crafted, telepathically ergonomic, and there’s comfortable space in the rear for three people who are under 6’ 2”. It has an 800v electrical system, which means it’s got twice the charging power of your average EV. It allows rapid DC charging at up to 270kW, meaning you can top it up from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 21 minutes if you find the right charging station.
There’s lots of other tech too, including self-parking and a device that lets it automatically reverse the last 50 meters you just drove, which can be very useful in tight garages and curving country lanes. Your children (or gamer mates) will love the front passenger display screen on which they can stream videos via apps like Disney+ and play games such as Asphalt 9. It even has a karaoke function.
It can be a PlayStation on wheels if you want it to be, but most importantly this is a proper Porsche. Who needs the video game when you have the real thing?
