Tightly wrapped leathers deployed throughout the interior, held in place with precise stitching, welcome occupants to the Porsche Macan 4S electric. From there, multiple screens that make up “The Porsche Driver Experience” offer a variety of ways to interact with the crossover. All combined, the high levels of fit and finish, practically applied new technologies, and beautiful execution secured a Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX award.
“Crisp, clean lines and everything neatly in its place, the Macan feels like a finely tailored suit,” is how Dave Zoia, a Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX judge, summarized the experience.
Porsche combined a black and chalk leather interior with a heated steering wheel finished in leather and carbon fiber to epitomize both traditional luxury and modern sport. That marriage persists throughout the cabin. Luxury comes in the form of a four-zone climate control system, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats and several USB-C ports that keep all devices charged.
You also see it in several visually appealing details: The Porsche crest embedded into both the front and rear headrests. The illuminated, carbon-fiber door sills that read “Macan 4S” in a clean, bright light. The equally crisp “PORSCHE” lettering delivered on the ground, courtesy of puddle lamps. And a large, glass moonroof that floods the cabin with natural light when you open the electrically operated privacy panel.
When that natural light sets, another feature brightens, as ambient light fills the cabin in a soft glow of the color of your choice. Details, again, really shine here. Porsche nestles the light strips in a metal trim with a subtle bronze hue that runs across the dash, just above the displays, which adds depth to the color. That same metal integrates into the door trim and inside door handles. All these materials combine for a cohesive, symbiotic look.
Practical solutions
Beyond the pomp and circumstance, Porsche included several practical solutions to make the Macan 4S Electric easy to experience. To start, you can access the cargo space via a clever hidden-in-plain-sight button, located immediately next to the rearview camera, just beneath the Porsche lettering displayed on the tailgate. Inside, an A/C plug resides on the driver’s side, and a set of buttons to raise and lower the vehicle — to ease loading and unloading — hangs out on the passenger side.
And, if the 18 cubic feet of cargo space proves inadequate, simply fold down the rear seats via levers on either side to increase space to 46.5 cubic feet. Still not enough? Courtesy of the much smaller electric powertrain, you get an additional 2.9 cubic feet of storage up front, in the “frunk.”
But the biggest convenience sits on the exterior. A common pain point for most electric vehicles is needing to park in a particular way — sometimes awkwardly — to reach the charger. Not here, as there’s a port on both sides.
Drew Winter, a Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX judge, summed it best when he said: “Having ports on both sides means it’s easier to plug in the vehicle regardless of how or where you park and avoids fumbling with bulky adapters.”
Advanced user experience
Of course, plenty of cutting-edge technology found a way into the Macan 4S. You sit in an electric crossover abound with a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.9-inch center display and another 10.9-inch screen dedicated to the front passenger. In back, zones three and four of the climate control system get their own screen to adjust settings as desired. It’s mounted on the back of the lower center console.
For good measure, Porsche added a head-up display with augmented reality to aid in navigation. As turns approach, signals for that turn intuitively enlarge right on the windshield and make the task of following a drive route near second nature. Yet, despite all the screens, Porsche employs enough real buttons and knobs in critical places to keep things like volume and temperature-setting adjustments quick and intuitive.
Still distinctly a Porsche
All the above advancements share a sense of convergence. Many vehicles offer much of the same stuff, in the same way, with the same sense of style. But in what may very well be its greatest feat of all, the Macan still feels like a Porsche.
“The interior designers in Stuttgart have cleverly — and appropriately — managed to execute the Macan interior with the elements of mechanical precision characteristic of the brand as well as with the appropriate digital advances,” Gary Vasilash, a Wards 10 Best Interiors & UX judge, opined. “When you buy a Porsche, you want to know and feel you are driving…a Porsche.”
