The fourth model in the new Porsche Macan electric SUV line is the 4S, which the company describes as the ‘sweet spot’ in the lineup. This is because it has more performance than the existing Macan 4 without sacrificing too much range, yet it is more affordable and less rabid than the Turbo flagship. We’ve driven the car in and around Stuttgart on a variety of roads to see if it really is the car of choice in the second-generation Macan family.

How much is the 2024 Porsche Macan 4S in Ireland?

The 4S is positioned between the other dual-motor Macans, sitting (in terms of performance, at least) almost exactly midway between the 408hp Macan 4 and the 639hp Macan Turbo. Happily, it’s closer in price to the former than it is the latter, although it’s still a six-figure car before you’ve even got going with the configurator - the base price of the Macan 4S is €100,249, some €7,640 more than the Macan 4 but helpfully almost €28,500 cheaper than the Turbo.

Gone are the days where Porsches came with next-to-no kit for their money, and the higher up the power ziggurat you go then the more toys you get as standard on different specs in a given model range. The 4S is no exception to this rule, but there’s still a very lengthy and very tempting options list that could soon have a loaded-up example of this latest Macan pushing past the price of a basic Turbo.

What’s the styling like on the Porsche Macan 4S?

The 4S has the same smoothed-off SUV body as any other electric Macan, complete with the sloping rear roofline that’s more coupe-like than the preceding model of Porsche’s compact soft-roader, while it also has the aerodynamic form and features of the Taycan, including the more rectangular headlight clusters with their four-point daytime running light signatures.

Ordinarily, this model would give the game away with nothing more than a set of S-specific 20-inch alloys and the boot badging, but our test car - on optional air suspension - also had the off-road package, which puts silver detailing on the front and rear bumpers, and along the side skirts too, while some smoked-grey 21-inch alloys were also bolted into the arches. It was also finished in a fetching dark-green body, light-green interior combo, but of course there are a lot of other colours available (for both the exterior and the cabin) so that you can make the Macan look just how you like it.

A look inside the Porsche Macan 4S

The same high-quality cabin as found in any other electric Macan is resplendent in the 4S, with lovely materials used throughout, plenty of top-end tech to play with, an ergonomic correctness to everything the Porsche does - it has a physical panel for the climate controls, for example, instead of cramming all the features into the infotainment screen - and a decent amount of space onboard.

Passenger room is somewhat limited in the back, but the pay-off is that the Macan 4S has a 540-litre boot so is reasonably practical in that regard. There’s also 84 litres of under-bonnet storage.

The Porsche Macan 4S’s on-board technology

Every Macan 4S comes with the ‘Curved Display’ digital instrument cluster, 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment screen and a 15-watt smartphone wireless charging pad. But flashier items such as the augmented-reality head-up display and the 10.9-inch passenger touchscreen are four-figure cost options.

Nevertheless, a good level of standard equipment and a lengthy list of advanced driver assist safety gear means driving a 4S out of the showroom without opting for any of the cost-extras shouldn’t see you ending up in the motorised equivalent of a gulag; there are plenty of comfort toys fitted to the Porsche from the off.

Driving the Porsche Macan 4S

Drilling into the technical detail a little (but we promise not to get too jargon-heavy and nerdy), in basic terms all of the Macan 4, the Macan 4S and the Macan Turbo have the same front electric motor and 95kWh (net) battery pack. The differences between them are that the Turbo has the most sizeable rear motor and torque vectoring, plus a 9:1 single-speed transmission ratio, while the Macan 4 uses the same propulsion unit and 9.8:1 transmission on its back axle as the base, single-motor Macan.

The 4S, though, has a rear motor between the spec of that fitted to the 4 and the one on the Turbo, with a 10:1 transmission ratio to go with it. It makes 448hp and a colossal 820Nm in normal operation, but it can swell the former figure to 516hp on a time-limited overboost phase.
Weighing 15kg more than the Macan 4 due to that enlarged rear motor and the various equipment fitted to it, the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive performance is strong: 0-100km/h takes 4.1 seconds (Macan 4: 5.2 seconds, Macan Turbo: 3.3 seconds) and the top speed of 240km/h is precisely halfway between the Macan 4’s 220km/h V-max (a figure it shares with the single-motor Macan) and the Turbo’s 260km/h ceiling.

As standard, it would also come with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with steel springs, but our test car was optioned up with air suspension. And, all told, the 4S put on a deeply impressive all-round display. It’s more of a foursquare cornering attitude it has than the rear-driven Macan, but the immense traction it can summon up at the exit of a bend means it can absolutely fire out onto straights at bonkers speed. It’s just about on the comfortable side of things under full acceleration, but the 4S is verging on that sort of immediate muscularity that can make passengers with a more nervous disposition feel a little queasy.

Yet there’s no complaining about the incisiveness and feel of the Macan 4S’s steering, nor the resolute control of its body either. And then, on the flipside of the coin, its supremely well-judged accelerator pedal and smooth regenerative braking means controlling this 516hp Porsche in the heaviest of traffic is a doddle.

It has a nice, comfortable ride, too, with a tiny bit of background patter to the air springs to report, but nothing extraordinary and indeed actually admirably well subdued considering the 21-inch wheels. It’s also remarkably quiet onboard, both around town and at speed, so the Macan 4S is a joy to drive in all circumstances.

What’s the electric range of the Porsche Macan 4S?

Despite its potent dual motors, the official maximum range of the Macan 4S is still the right side of 600km, with the quoted number coming in at 606km. That represents a mere 7km sacrifice from the Macan 4’s theoretical capability, for a considerable upswing in performance. With the same peak 270kW DC-charging rate and 11kW on AC as any other electric Macan, a 10-80 per cent charge can take as little as 21 minutes at the 4S’s maximum charging speed and around 13 hours for 0-100 per cent on a 7.4kW wallbox.

The reasons you’d buy a Porsche Macan 4S

It’s almost easier to make a case for any of the other three Macans in the line-up - the base model has the longest range and smallest price tag, the Macan 4 is only a little bit more money than that car, and the Turbo is the outright speed merchant - but, as we said at the top of the piece, Porsche is adamant the 4S is the sweet spot of the range. And it’s not hard to see why: it blends super-rapid pace with easy-going manners and a healthy amount of one-charge driving potential, along with all of the usual Porsche desirability and handling prowess. It’s not cheap, but the Macan 4S is nonetheless a superb addition to the electric SUV’s canon.

Ask us anything about the Porsche Macan 4S

If there’s anything about the Porsche Macan 4S we’ve not covered, or you’d like advice in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.