PORSCHE MACAN ELECTRIC

New platform, different motive power, more weight: can the electric version really behave like a Macan should?

- RICHARD LANE 

The new Porsche Macan Electric has an unambiguous but also potentially thankless assignment ahead of it. It needs to be The Porsche Macan, just powered by electricity.

If only this was as simple as it sounds. For many, the existing, combustion version of Porsche's junior SUV represents a class-dominating spider chart of performance, space for the family, long-distance road manners and just enough fun to ensure you don't regret passing up that Cayman build slot, not to mention residuals of a strength that makes King Kong look like the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Macan's a rare thing in that it really does have no obvious weaknesses.

But electric cars, we know, do have weaknesses. Excellent as many now are, there are compromises in terms of range, price or weight. It means the electric Macan's biggest challenge may not be in defeating the imminent Polestar 4 or Hyundai's new Ioniq 5 N, but matching for broad appeal the combustion-powered Macan, which will soldier on until retirement in 2026.

So how have they gone about it? Building the most capable zero-emission Macan possible has involved not shoehorning a battery pack into the floorpan of the ICE car but developing an entirely new platform. It's called the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) and it means that while the Macan and Macan Electric appear closely related, in reality they're different cars from an engineering perspective. According to Jörg Kerner, chief of the Macan model line, not a single part - not even the badge on the bonnet - is shared between the two.

The 800V PPE has been developed with Audi and will shortly reappear underneath the Audi Q6 E-tron. It will also underpin the upcoming electric Cayenne, which is now in testing before a likely 2026 launch.