JoshL

Wanted- feedback on config of Macan EV 4s

configuration

I’m looking to pull the trigger on a 4s, would love some feedback. I’m fully aware of the downside of EV (depreciation, etc), want feedback on the config only:

Car will be used for get around town in Boulder Colorado- and to do intense mountain winter driving up to the ski resorts in the winter.

Here is my current configuration. Have focused on performance package, roof rails and tow hitch.

Tires are one big question: I’m not sure larger than 20” is a good idea for deep snow, or mixed road conditions here. Or should I get the 21” and buy separate 20” wheels with winter tires?

Am I missing anything huge in not having internal trim? Or more outside flourish? This is at top of price range so is there something I have worth dropping? Sports chrono seems iconic so I picked that. Heated windshield for those cold days too.

Car is for my wife mostly so dark grey / black was out.

Many thanks!
Josh

daveo4porsche

good build - questions

• no roof rails for ski racks and such? easy at build time, impossible post build
• I like the puddle lights they help me judge distance stepping out in unfamiliar places at night - for me they are not just cosmetic
• RAS improved turning radius and stability
• torque vectoring in the snow and such is a good thing
• was in base model cayenne the other day without the race-tex roof lining - wife and I didn't like it - YMMV
• I haver innodrive on all my Porsche's - but it's off cause it sucks - I run with ACC only - innodrive has too many situations in which it slows down too much for real/imagined speed limit changes
• the new HUD is awesome with new software - but it's pricey
• wife prefers the passenger screen over starting at blank plastic which will be in it's place
• power charge port is one of life's little pleasure -unplug your EV (which you do daily) and walk away the cover closes - I loved it when they added it to my Tesla P85D and on the Taycan it was also great (you interact with the flap more often on an EV than a gas car - so it's a nice touch - but 100% optional)

have you tried pricing a Turbo? with your options it might not be that much more and air suspension and some other things are standard in the base price.

range in cold temps below 40F is about 20-30% hit - but comes back in spring/summer/fall - keep than in mind when planning trips.

first EV?

JoshL

Great insights! Thanks for the thoughts- not our first EV, switching from having model Y and 3.

• no roof rails for ski racks and such? - This was an accident definitely need
• I like the puddle lights - good point on visibility
• RAS ,torque vectoring - which of the two would you pick first?
• race-tex roof lining - will check out
• innodrive sucks - need to look at acc. So what I like when stuck on i70 going 0-15 mph being able to do less work. Otherwise never we auto driving
• the new HUD is awesome with new software - yep but love CarPlay and I found all the arrows and such don’t work on huds so you have to pick manufacturer directions.
• power charge port is one of life's little pleasure - good call out

thanks again!

daveo4porsche

for winter conditions and slippery surfaces torque vectoring then RAS in that order

ACC 100% covers the needs for stop/go traffic and coming from Tesla you'll be disappointed in innodrive and ACC is sufficient and covers cruise control w/traffic speed matching just fine - save a little money on innodrive and shfit toward a different option.

agree on the lack of CarPlay support

sparkhill

Anything short of a dedicated summer/winter tire setup is significant compromise. You can get by on all-season tires around town, but nothing beats dedicated winter tires for serious conditions. It's a bit of a hassle though because you need to store an extra setup, swap over twice per year, and it is more expensive. I personally think downsizing the rim diameter is less import than finding a good winter tire and trying to get a little narrower thread width. I am not in the mountains much anymore during challenging winter conditions, so I am going to give a set of all-season tires a go for city driving. I used to live in Boulder though, and I think you will be happier and safer with winter tires, especially for the deeper snow.

mb1

I completely agree. Tire/wheel size has a marginal impact on winter drivability while dedicated winter tires have an enormous impact. I live in Chicago. I was very disappointed in my current Macan's snow capabilities during its first winter, even though it was equipped with "all-season" tires. I purchased dedicated winter tires, as I have done with my 911's (albeit those came with summers).
Ice Grey is a great color. IG and Chalk are very different EXTERIOR colors. I don't know if chalk INTERIOR color would match with Ice Grey exterior. I would suggest going to the dealer and looking at color samples. I'm not a fan of non-full leather Porsche interiors. I think there's way too much plastic.
Good luck with the ordering process. It can be a lot of fun picking and choosing.

TC Cruising

Since your usage is primary driving around including the mountains and Boulder is high elevation, I would delete Sprots Chrono and go with the compass and altimeter always visible on the top of the dash. Safer to always visibly know altitude, compass direction and temperature in terms of road conditions.

PSPJames

I had the Sports Chrono in my base Taycan and our Cayenne has the compass/altimeter. I agree...to me the compass setup is much more useful.

#13

Personally, I'd stick with the 20" Macan S wheels, they look good, tires are cheaper than 21's and maybe help a little with range. The color combo is exactly what I chose. The points made about having a set of winter tires makes sense for your area and use case, not mine though. The heated windshield would probably be nice, but I read/saw that it interferes with cell signal...trade off. I'm going with sport chrono package, had it before and dig it. Massage seats...meh, I'd need to try them first but definitely 14 way ventilated.

TC Cruising

Most consider the Porsche message seats the best of any brand. Yet I will try them first myself before selecting them.

daveo4porsche

I don't consider them the best - but it's a nice enough implementation that I'll option the massage w/14 ways seats vs. 18 way seats with no massage - calling anything the "best" w/Porsche is a dicy affair unless you're taking pure mechanical engineering or brakes…

my wife's 911 would've had 14 ways w/massage if it was an option, but it's not a option in the 2022 911 - so we went with 18 way seats and have no regrets

but the new Macan has 14 ways w/massage and it was a "requirement" as the wife worked with me on the build…friends also option the massage seats in their Audi eTron SUV after trying them out in my Taycan and they have no regrets.

jsclarke

We've got a 4S on order too- I put our build below and would also welcome feedback.

We ordered a 2020 Macan S also and paid for options we won't buy again.

pesonally, I don't see value in Sport Chrono or a compass. We did the compass in our S, and never looked at it. It did have an altimeter which you might like though, but there was a nav screen right below it!

We also added porsche puddle lights on our own- they just snap in- and saved money buy only buying them for the 2 front doors.

everyone says get the $140 pre-wiring for a dash cam, so we did

the HUD is nice- but- doesn't work (well) with polarized sunglasses, and, it's 2.5x as much as other car manufacturers charge for it.

On our build, is real wheel steering really worth $2k? still on the fence on this one. It adds 5 degrees of steering angle to the back wheels.

https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PSYP3210

jsclarke

Also- the $960 leather package in black gives you "Covered in Black smooth-finish Leather:

Seat centers (front and rear)
Inner seat bolsters (front and rear)
Steering wheel rim
Steering wheel airbag module
Center console surround
Center console armrest
Door panel armrests and grab handles

If you don't like the silver strip in the dash, or on the doors (which we don't), you need this to get it black "Interior accents in Black", $540

if you don't want silver around the windows outside, you need "window trim in high gloss black", $240, to get rid of it

We'll probably add "Door-Sill Guards in Black Brushed Aluminum, Illuminated (VT9)"
$520 otherwise they are silver

And we wanted the logos on the side to be black, and "Model Designation on Rear and "electric" Logo on Side in High Gloss Black", $270, makes that happen.

Just not a fan of seemingly random strips of silver in a sporty SUV. FWIW

JoshL

Hey JS, nice build!

I hear you on all the high gloss black add-ons. I went with the black roof rack rails, which auto-switches the window trim to match in high glass black as well. Did you consider going with the Side Blades and Door Handles in High Gloss Black to match?

It was for snow driving, but daveo4porsche recommended PTV over RAS; I'm likely to skip RAS at that price point.

Thanks for mentioning the dash cam; I'll add that. Likewise, at 'only' $160 the 115-volt Power Socket in Rear Luggage Compartment seems like it would come in handy when camping, tail gaiting, or another time when you are sitting around the car and want to charge things.

-Josh

TC Cruising

Using SplitPic and another visual comparison app, we configured our car identically except for gloss black side rails versus body color ones versus carbon fiber side rails. Both my wife and I concluded that in our opinion the body colored ones made the Macan appear longer and more flowing. YOMV.