Lexus RX500H vs Porsche Macan

What's the difference?

The Lexus RX500h F Sport Performance certainly gave a solid driving performance this week. I was comfortable behind the wheel and enjoyed the luxe features up front. I feel that it's missing some luxe items in the back seat and some of the family storage options that other large SUVs can have but otherwise, it suited my family’s needs. The fuel efficiency was quite surprising for a hybrid, so this gets a 7.0/10 from me.

My son really liked the panoramic roof and his high seating position. So, he gives this an 8.0/10.

There is no doubting the substance of the Porsche Macan Electric. Its ride, steering and poise make it a joy to drive on twisting roads, and it ticks the practicality boxes, too.

The only lingering question is whether enough people are ready to make the all-electric switch. Only then will we know if Porsche's Macan gamble has paid off.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The RX is a deceptively large SUV, at first glance the sporty tailoring might make you think it’s the smaller NX sibling but park it and you’ll see how it fills up a space!

It’s 4890mm long and 1920mm wide but the compact 1695mm height is what causes the misdirection.

Let’s get straight into some of the obvious design changes. The iconic ‘spindle’ grille design has been flattened at the top with a new body panel. It’s a design choice that makes the bonnet look more bulbous than sporty but that’s pretty much all I don’t like.  

It was a great choice to lift and level out the sloping of the bonnet because it looks a lot more purposeful now. There’s lots of sporty elements too with the black 21-inch alloy wheels and faux-mesh intake vents at the front and rear. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of the floating roof effect that’s created by the black panelling that shoots from the C-pillar to the rear.

It’s not just the exterior that’s been revamped. The interior now boasts a massive 14-inch touchscreen multimedia system, up from the 12.3-inch screen from the previous generation. The gear shifter is now an e-shifter and the dashboard has been ‘stepped’ to make it feel like you’re being tucked into the cockpit. There’s new ambient lighting inside too, designed to make the interior feel like a luxury lounge.

All round, they’ve nailed the ‘luxury’ aspect.

The Macan Electric looks sharp, all aerodynamic and swept-back like a range-maximising electric SUV should.

There’s functional method behind all this swoopy styling, too. The headlights look as though they’ve been chiselled into the body work, and at the grille, you’ll find active venting to help with cooling when needed.

There is also a sizeable front splitter that looks very much like the Macan is sticking its jaw out. All of which is to assist with aero and range.

It’s also a dual charging port layout with access left and right, though the latter is AC charging only, while the one on the left does both.

Step inside the Macan and you’ll find a familiar and very welcoming space. I especially like the twin-screen set-up that looks great in the way it's kind of embedded into the dash. Each is big, clear and easy to use.

I also really like the control panel that gives you quick-button access to the climate control, and the haptic feedback is next level, with the whole screen clicking in or out whenever you hit a button.

That said, in Turbo-guise you’re dropping almost $200,000, and some of the materials feel too hard and plasticky at that price point.

Sometimes you can forget how many luxury items this car has because they've been sprinkled around too sparsely.

For example, front passengers definitely enjoy the most this car has to offer. The legroom and headroom are both great, while the luxe factors feature heavily with the heated and ventilated seats and heated steering wheel. It’s great that there is dual-climate control up front and ample individual storage on offer.

The driver has a lot of technology within easy reach – the 14-inch touchscreen multimedia system is simple to use and has built-in satellite navigation. You can pull the directions into the head-up display and there’s still a healthy mix of physical dials on display. The wireless Apple CarPlay was easy to connect to and there’s also wired Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and digital radio (which was good in the city, terrible in regional areas).

Front passengers are absolutely spoiled when it comes to charging options, too. You can choose between an USB-A port, three USB-C ports, 12-volt port and a wireless charging pad!

When I reviewed the smaller NX sibling, I struggled with the e-latch door handles but finally got used to them on this model (I even like them!). My six-year-old found them to be frustrating at times and if the groans from my family members are to be believed, they weren’t impressed either but I do think it came down to it being a ‘user’ issue!

The backseat is comfortable and perfect for my 168cm height but taller passengers may feel a little cosier. The seats are set in a stadium setting, which does make you feel like you’re teetering in corners but my son loved the high position.

You can comfortably fit a couple of child seats back there but it might be a squeeze for three. The wide door apertures do make it easy to fit a child seat and to bend down to buckle them in.

Individual storage is limited to just map pockets, two cupholders and skinny drink bottle holders in the doors. The amenities never quite make it to luxurious either but I did like seeing two USB-C ports and retractable sun blinds.

The boot space is decently sized at 612L but the aperture is sloped, which means you might struggle to fit some bulky items. It has a level load space and it’s easy to access the temporary spare tyre. The powered tailgate with kick-function is super quick and handy too. 

There is a little open-sesame magic at play with the Macan, and that starts at the frunk, where, if you lovingly caress the bonnet, it will automatically pop open for you, revealing an 84-litre storage space.

Rubbing the charging port will see it slide open, too, but just in case you’re not the kind of person who likes to fondle their car in public, you can use the key.

The Macan’s boot is a little more traditional, opening to reveal 540 litres (but just 480 litres in the 4S or Turbo) of storage with the rear seats in place, with a wide, flat and very useable area for your goodies.

The back seat of the Macan feels spacious enough, without being outstanding. There’s more than enough space for my 175cm frame, with enough knee and head room, but the way the middle console juts out will definitely eat into leg room for any middle-row passenger.

Elsewhere you get air-con controls with vents, along with bottle storage in each of the doors. There is also a pull-down divider that’s home to two extra cupholders.

The Macan arrives with four trim levels, the entry-level Macan, the Macan 4, Macan 4S and then the flagship Macan Turbo. The latter is just a name Porsche now applies to its go-fast models — obviously there isn’t an actual turbo in action.

The new electric range opens with the Macan, which lists at $128,400, before on-road costs. A reminder here that the old entry-level Macan with an ICE powertrain would have set you back less than six figures, so this one represents quite the jump.

Now, it should be pointed out that you can still buy the previous-generation ICE Macan, at least until supply runs dry. The brand isn’t getting any more, but suggests there are enough in the country to satisfy demand until around Q2 next year.

Next is the 4, which is $134,400 and adds a second e-motor. Then comes the 4S, yours for $149,300, before the range tops out with the Turbo, which climbs to $184,400. All prices before on-road costs.

Those are big numbers, but at least Australian-delivered cars are some of the best-specified on the planet. 

That starts with the Macan, which gets a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, and a second 10.9-inch central touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It rides on 20-inch alloys, has synthetic-leather seats that are heated up front and Australian cars get things like the clever 'Porsche Active Suspension Management' (PASM) system as standard.

Next up is the Macan 4, which adds a second electric motor, but otherwise largely mirrors the base car’s spec. Next on the list is the 4S, which rides on a different 20-inch alloy, picks up LED matrix headlights, sports a better Bose stereo, a panoramic roof and four-zone climate control.

Finally, the Turbo is the big dog of the electric Macan range, packing serious power, but also arriving with its own 20-inch alloy wheel design (with 21-inch wheels a no-cost option) — an augmented reality head-up display, and things like the 'Porsche Electric Sport Sound', the 'Sport Chrono Package' and a performance-focused 'Sport+' drive mode.

There is only one engine for the top model and that’s a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol hybrid offering. It has a combined max power output of 273kW.

This replaces the old V6 hybrid engine from previous models but I found it to still be punchy. In fact, it’s claimed that you can do 0-100km/h in as little as 6.2 seconds.

It’s an all-wheel-drive and features a cool – eAxle … meaning the car is a bit clever with its power distribution using the electric motor to power the rear axle and the petrol engine to power the front. You can notice the gear changes with the six-speed auto transmission but overall, this combination delivers a solid performance.

The entry-level Macan is equipped with a single rear-mounted electric motor, and it will make a total 250kW (265kW with launch control activated) and 563Nm, which is enough to push the cheapest Macan to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds.

The 4 then adds a second electric motor for AWD, upping the grunt to 285kW (300kW with the launch function) and 650Nm, and drops the sprint to a brisk 5.2 seconds.

The 4S is probably the performance sweet spot, with its dual-motor set-up generating 330kW (380kW in launch) and 820Nm, and a blistering sprint of just 4.1 seconds.

But the Macan Turbo is a true monster. We’re talking 430kW (470kW with launch control), 1130Nm and a sprint to 100km/h that’s as fast as a Carrera Cup race car – just 3.3 seconds.

It’s twin-motor, all-wheel drive and offers the kind of brutal acceleration that gives you a little facelift every time you step on the accelerator.

The official combined fuel figure is 6.5L/100km and that’s up by half a litre on the previous model. Real-world testing saw my figure at 8.3L, and I was disappointed with the efficiency. There are more efficient options out there that I would consider if the ‘hybrid’ part of the model’s name was what interested you.

With the 65L fuel tank and based off the official combined figure, you should be able to get a 1000km driving range … but based off my experience, I would expect a little less than that.

Every Macan is fitted with a big 100kWh lithium-ion battery, which helps deliver a solid driving range no matter which one you choose.

The entry-level Macan will cover the most distance, at a claimed 654km, while the 4, 4S and Turbo will travel 624km, 619km and 616km, respectively.

The Macan rides on an 800V architecture, and is set up for 270kW DC high-speed charging, which will take 21min to go from 10 to 80 per cent. It will also accept 11kW AC charging, which should take 10 hours to go from empty to full.

Worth noting, though, that most home wall boxes are around 7.0kW, which means a full charge would take more like 13 hours plus.

My first thought when I drove this was that it doesn’t drive like a big car. It has nice sporty handling – it feels firmly positioned on the road and the steering is responsive.

There’s a definite sense of power but it’s lazy. You have to get firm with the accelerator but it performs well when you push it.

There’s an interesting duality at play here because, despite this, it’s not sluggish - I’m just as confident on the open-road as I am zipping across traffic in this.

The suspension is adaptive and feels springy. It handles cornering quite well but I’m not as firmly seated as I would like. My husband said the same from the passenger side.

The cabin is extremely quiet and peaceful until my kid gets into the car. Then it’s 20-questions in 20-seconds. But otherwise, the new active noise cancelling this model has, works.

I really love the 11m turning circle – parking this in a rat-warren car park was simple. The 360-degree view camera is easily in my top three for camera tech that I’ve used and I like how the car ‘disappears’ when you’re manoeuvring. It makes it easier to navigate a tight spot and not get distracted. Large SUVs can sometimes feel daunting to park but not this one.

Porsche seemed at pains to prove that, though the all-electric Macan has lost its ICE heart, it's still worthy of the badge, and still very much a Porsche.

First stop, then, was the Norwell race circuit in Queensland, to put the Macan through its paces with 0-100km/h sprints, drifting (well drift attempts... ) on a watered-down skid pan and finally some high-speed running on the circuit.

And two things immediately became very clear. The first, and most obvious, was that, like the first men on the moon, we were likely among only a handful of people that might ever take their all-electric Porsche mid-size SUV to a race track. And second, this is one seriously sorted electric car.

Happily, for the many (read: every) owners who won't be pulling out of a pit garage at their next local track day, the Macan is actually more enjoyable on the road than it is on the track.

On the latter, there's a freedom to push too hard – what with the lack of trees, guard rails or oncoming traffic – and cracks do appear, mostly from the screaming tyres struggling with the two-tonne-plus weight.

But on public roads, where a thick fog of consequence prevents you pushing too hard, the Macan is a gem.

Porsche tends to have a knack for these things, I know, but the Macan is a seriously smooth and satisfying drive.

The ride is bang-on (comfortable enough on rougher surfaces, firm and grippy enough on twisting roads) and the steering is direct and confidence-inspiring.

Body-roll has been largely banished, too, with the Macan staying flat, stable and satisfying, even on the tighter stuff.

In much the same way the ICE Macan defined what it meant to be a driver's SUV, I think this one does the same in the EV space. And the fact that it does it with five seats and a decent boot is a sizeable bonus.

But there's no denying it lacks in the emotion department. That sense of excitement, the sound track, the hard-to-define fizz – as competent its this, and as weaponised as the EV powertrain is – it does feel a little clinical, like a tool doing its job and doing it well.

One important caveat. We've driven the 4 and Turbo to date. The entry-level Macan and the mid-tier 4S are still incoming. And I suspect I wouldn't be dropping my deposit on the Turbo.

Yes, the power is ridiculous, but I don't reckon you need it. For me, the 4 is more than enough, but I suspect the real performance sweet spot will be with the 4S.

The Porsche Macan Electric is yet to be assessed by ANCAP, or by Europe’s NCAP, but it doesn’t appear to be missing any key equipment from its safety list.

That includes curtain airbags that extend all the way to the boot, AEB with pedestrian detection, lane keeping assist, a surround view camera and 'Intersection Assist'.

The ownership terms have been improved too with the RX now coming with a five-year/unlimited km warranty term, which is more in line with the market standard.

It has a five-year/75,000km capped-price servicing plan and services cost $695, which is $100 more than the previous model. Even with the price hike, the servicing costs aren’t as expensive as others in the class. 

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km – whichever occurs first, which is good.

Lexus recommends a minimum of 95 RON petrol for this model.

The Porsche ownership experience is frankly underwhelming by modern standards, with the brand offering just a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, plus an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.

The positive, though, is that servicing should only be required every two years or 30,000km. You also buy a prepaid service plan for three, four or five years, priced at $1495, $2795, $2995.