The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric is an automotive existential crisis

Maybe it was the gray paint, the slightly bubbly roofline, or the vaguely SUV proportions of an electric Porsche Macan, but I never noticed the wistful looks from other drivers as I shuttled kids and groceries through city and suburban streets. Unlike other cars I've tested, no enthusiasts stopped to ask me questions. […]

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Maybe it was the gray paint, the slightly bubbly roofline, or the vaguely SUV proportions of an electric Porsche Macan, but as I shuttled kids and groceries through city and suburban streets, I never once caught a wistful look from other drivers. Unlike other cars I've tested, no enthusiasts stopped to ask me questions.

The 2026 Porsche Macan Turbo simply came together, leaving a host of existential questions in its wake. What is a sports car? Does it have to be extremely extroverted? Should it match the leaner, lighter look of its gas-powered sibling?

Drive one and questions stop. Maybe it's because the rush makes it hard to breathe? Or maybe it's because, by the numbers, the Macan is a sports car, despite its rather busy crossover body style.

My passengers agreed. The kids I drove to soccer practice, both my own and others, gave high marks to the impact acceleration. G-forces reported on the head-up display ($2,660) can easily mimic gravity. Stomp the gas pedal at 70 mph and it sinks like it's standing still. (Don't worry, fellow parents. I haven't tried this with kids on board.)

On twisty roads, the car comes alive, thanks in part to four-wheel steering ($2,150). Drop it into Sport Plus mode and the car literally falls on its air suspension. Are we sure this is another unknown crossover? Perhaps anonymity is a useful feature in a car this responsive and powerful.

Unlike most two-row crossovers, you feel like you're sitting in the car, not on it. The wheel extends far enough to allow for a sporty driving position, and the Porsche Classic Stopwatch ($1,040) atop the circle ticks off the seconds it takes to drag the kid to soccer practice.

The 2027 Porsche Macan Turbo EV is a two-row crossover with 630 horsepower and a 100 kWh battery. The EV that the automaker gave me for a week starts at $112,700. However, the price I drove was $149,610 including destination charges. Yes, options alone can buy a well-equipped Chevy Bolt. With Porsche and options, if you have to ask, it's better not to ask.

The Porsche Macan Turbo EV I drove came in Slate Gray Neo ($2,620 upgrade), which performed really well and was among the best grays I've seen. If you crave luxury anonymity, then this is the gray for you.

There were tons of other options, and in my opinion, not all of them were worth it. I forego the passenger display ($1,710); My kids loved that it could play YouTube videos, but they couldn't ride forward, and my wife was upset. "Our washing machine can play YouTube videos," he said.

I'm also skipping the illuminated Porsche badge on the backs of the front seats ($690), the pit lamps that project "PORSCHE" onto the pavement ($420), the Porsche crests on the headrests ($640), and the illuminated turbo badge on the door sills ($1,230).

The turbo badge became a point of contention for some of my friends, who were quick to point out that electric cars technically can't have turbos. This is true, although car names have long been divorced from reality. Almost every Porsche has a turbo these days, even the ones that aren't labeled as such.

It's not just Porsche: for example, BMW model numbers stopped reflecting engine displacement decades ago, and the Ford Galaxy never used its hyperdrive to move between star systems. Sorry guys, I'm not taking the bait.

At least the quality of the EV Macan Turbo does not raise many questions. It charges fast—from 19% to 80% in exactly 20 minutes on a 350kW charger—and gets about 285 miles of highway range. Those big wheels ($4,110) and sticky tires ($660) cut some of the range, but it was still enough to get you from New York to Boston at extra cost.

The advanced driver assistance system ($1,140) works well enough, even if it hunts a bit in the lane. The AI-powered voice assistant did a good job interpreting my queries and commands. For a while I thought this was the only way to turn on the heated steering wheel ($720) which was actually good because it worked so well. (Surprise! There's a little button hidden on the inner edge of the steering wheel between the spokes. IYKYK, I guess.)

When it's time to leave the Macan, you can open the door and the Burmester audio system ($4,960) will continue to play until you lock the door, a useful reminder. If you are a Porsche fan, you can also press the remaining power button on the left side of the driver's display. It's good to have a choice, I guess? At least Porsche won't charge you for it.

The navigation system, and specifically how it integrates with the EV, was very poor.

When the car was at 22% charge, I asked it to find the nearest fast charger. It led me to two. Not two different options, but two chargers that I was going to use consecutively. The first was a 50kW charger in a mall parking lot ten minutes away. There, I was supposed to add a few percent before cutting the power and driving down the street to another mall parking lot, where I'd finish up with the 350kW charger.

wait what I ignored the device and went straight to the 350kW charger and got to 19%. As I walked back into the booth, the car kept telling me to go to the slower charger. I guess it didn't want the battery to drop below 20%? too late There's probably a setting to change that somewhere, but it wasn't obvious. The minimum charge reached 245 kW, which was close to the maximum of 270 kW.

Makan Electric is like the answer to an esoteric danger! Question: How is the identity crisis in the automobile industry? I'll take a Porsche Macan Turbo for $150,000, Alex.

For anyone who digs deep enough, electric cars have blurred the line between sports cars and anything else. True gearheads will have another car to race, but if you want to spend a few hours ripping the bolts, the Macan will do just fine. As a bonus, you can also use it in real life and you won't pay through the nose to keep it topped up.

Actually, this raises another question, this one for my editor: Can I get a fatter salary?

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Tim de Chant is a senior weather reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, for which he is editor.

De Chant also teaches at MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, and was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA in environmental studies, English and biology from St. Olaf College.

You can contact or confirm with Tim by emailing him at [email protected].

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