Our Porsche Macan EV Is Missing Something

• We added a Porsche Macan EV to our long-term test fleet.
• It's great to drive, but it's missing something important.
• And that something important is cameras.

Our Macan EV does not have an overhead camera view nor does it have a frontward-facing camera. This tech is extremely helpful when you're pulling into a tight parking spot and you have justifiable anxiety about dinging your $100,000 SUV. It's tech our long-term Ford Ranger has, and it's tech our Hyundai Santa FE has, which makes it all the more galling that the Macan does not. 

"I think the Macan's advanced driving aid suite needs a bit of attention (no forward-facing camera here)," wrote Jonathan Elfalan, director of vehicle testing. "I found the adaptive cruise control to be very well tuned when using it in stop-and-go highway traffic. Keeps a good gap, doesn't freak out easily, but it does a good job of slowing appropriately so it doesn't leave you guessing if you'll pack it into the trailer hitch of the F-150 that dive-bombed your lane. But for $100K I really wish there were more driver aids, like cameras, included."

Manager of video Will Kaufman concurs: 

"Some of the tech in here is kind of embarrassing," wrote Kaufman. "We don't have a surround-view camera, and the rearview camera display is tiny and not particularly clear. The camera lens had gotten smudged somehow, which is really something I very rarely come across in any car these days. Not sure if it's a quirk of the placement or what.

"Not having surround-view or forward-facing cameras means that when you trigger the front proximity sensors the touchscreen display still goes to what ought to be some sort of camera view ... but it's just mostly a black screen with the proximity sensor display tucked away to the side? It's very strange to see such a clear example of an expensive car shouting at you that you're missing a feature."

And that's ultimately the Macan's biggest flaw. It's fun to drive, looks great (I love the Papaya Metallic color we got), but ultimately feels like it's missing tech you'd find in much less expensive vehicles. That's a recipe for disappointment with a vehicle that costs nearly $100,000.