I’m considering replacing our Cayenne SE Hybrid with a Macan EV. For context, I’ve owned over 20 Porsches and love the brand. I’ve also had three Teslas, and currently, my wife drives a Lucid while my daily driver is a Rivian R1S, which I absolutely love.

We bought the Lucid about a year ago and seriously considered the Taycan, but I got frustrated with how Porsche handles its EV lineup. Their “good-better-best” approach—base, 4, 4S, Turbo creates unnecessary compromises at each level. Compared to competitors, it just doesn’t make sense. Why is Porsche handicapping their own cars. I'm fine with 2WD vs. 4WD pricing. I'm fine with bigger battery / more range pricing.

When I compared the Taycan to the Lucid Air, the Lucid came out ahead in acceleration, range, and price. The Taycan is obviously more agile and handles better, but to match the Lucid’s acceleration, you need the Turbo model. Now I’m looking at the Macan EV, but I can’t help thinking the Rivian R2S might outperform it again. I really want to root for the Macan EV, but I’m struggling to justify it. Thoughts/opinions welcome...

 

You raise very good points. Lucid are great EVs. Yet to me all vehicles tmust not just be great at what they do, but visually exciting.. Sorry Lucid but not one of your vehicles meet that criteria in my eyes.

 

I’m not sure I understand your point. Every manufacturer segments their lineup by performance one way or another. For an EV, I appreciate that Porsche segments by acceleration and not range, because I think ultrafast EVs are pointless but I want as much range as possible.

As for Porsche being more expensive than other makes at equivalent acceleration - what else is new?

 

Once in the sub 3 seconds 0-60, raw acceleration is overrated. The balance and driver feel become more important, Lucid and Rivian is no where near the Porche if you like the Porsche feel. Like a fluffy couch feel, maybe another choice is better, Genesis perhaps. As far as tech, Rivian can't even do Apple car play.

Diving feel is subjective, buy what you like. If you are narrowly focussed on acceleration, there are others that will put your driver's license in peril sooner than a Macan.

 

Chasing sub-3-second 0–60 times feels pointless, most of that power just spins the wheels or heats up tires. Even sub-4 seems gimmicky. Porsche’s baseline Macan EV (5.5s) and Macan 4 (4.9s) are sub par. The 4S at ~3.9s and Turbo at ~3.1s reach the edge of meaningful use.

Rivian, however, blows the doors off with its Dual-Motor R1S delivers ~4.5s for a lot less money, while its Tri-Motor (~2.9s) and Quad-Motor (~2.5s) trims turn performance into absurdity. Performance-wise, Rivian is unmatched for the price.

I say this as someone with a deep Porsche pedigree as I love Porsche, but watching them segment their product line this way is overly disappointing. My old boss used to say, 'Never underestimate stupidity.' Looking at the industry penetration and Porsche's downhill sales slide tells you someone should be rethinking their strategy.

 

I've read several stories about the hardware reliability of rivian tri and quad motors. They are fast but seems not for long in an alarming rate. Sounds like they pushed the envelope for marketing purposes, similar to Samsung a few years ago.... they are getting into big trouble. Hope they don't crash and burn.

 

Porsche pricing is the big turnoff to me compared to the others. I have long been a Porsche fan too and still own 2 of them, but their pricing is beyond absurd.

 

agree 100% - they've lost the plot…

 

As a Rivian owner myself, I wrestle with the same thoughts as we'd like to trade our model 3 for a mid sized SUV. One question for you, if you daily the R1S what purpose does the Cayenne (or it's replacement) serve?

R2 will be a great mid tier option, but I wouldn't say it outmatches the Macan EV, which charges faster, has available air ride, and has longer range than expected from R2. Value wise, I'm sure the Rivian will be a home run option below $60k.

 

For me, I have a 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback but they aren't making it for 2026, and the Q6 e-tron is too small. So the Macan EV is a perfect size as I want a sporty SUV unlike the Cayenne EV is too big. So I think the sweet spot for me with acceleration, red calipers and handling is the Macan 4s EV. The new Lucid Gravity is great with a range of over 400 miles but too big for my taste too. The BMW evs are nice value by the front is ugly. Mercedes EVs look like dad cars.

 

A Macan (EV or not) is not comparable in comfort and ride to a Cayenne. I just spend a couple of days in one while my Cayenne was being serviced. While I thought the Macan EV was cool, it wasn't that interesting to drive. If felt kind of like an appliance. And, it had weird low frequency resonance coming from the suspension. My suggestion, if you want an EV, why not wait until the Cayenne EV is released this summer?

 

Whjat variant of the Macan EV did you have as a loaner?

 

we have a 2025 SE Hybrid as our road trip car with 22,000 miles on it this year.

we had a Macan 4, and traded it for a turbo on order. Love the Macan for our around town excursions, small and fast. The Cayenne is the ultimate road trip car, great range and 50 mile trips are gas free.

different cars, different purposes.

 

Yeah, I'm struggling with this as well. In the ICE cars, the Macan (in my opinion) was easy to justify due to it's better performance/driving dynamics over the competition. That gap is significantly narrowed with electric cars, and the competition is much closer. Not to mention Porsche options pricing: I hate feeling like a sucker.