[ADVICE REQUEST] 2026 Macan EV Build-Out

[AlexJ]

Fair point but why have the "innodrive" option available on the new 2026 Taycan and Panamara and then have another system called "drive assist" on the Macan and the Cayanne EV? The Taycan is the more expensive vehicle. If drive assist is all that then they should say it like they do for innodrive. Anyway, I guess the first receipents of the 2026 models will be able to tell us. I hope you are right.

I have the 2026 and Drive Assist, and I‘ve seen a few comments on it here.
What the dealer told me, is that it’s the next evolution of Innodrive.
There’s even a small chance they will keep improving it (although I wouldn’t count on it).

It’s rather good, but I’m not sure I would call it Level 2+.
It accelerates/breaks/steers very nicely.
It only works on roads with clear markings; if they’re missing or faded, forget about it.
And you have to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times. It starts displaying an icon on the dashboard after something like 5s.

It still really really great on motorways, I use it almost every time.
Frees up a bit my mind, especially in heavy traffic.
The steering is fluid, and it stays almost perfectly in the center of the lane.
It also changes lane automatically when you activate the blinker.
It’s not bad in town either.

I have however disabled the automatic speed adjustment; it detected a 30kph sign… in the middle of the motorway, while driving at 120.
Probably a one time fluke, but still a very bad one.

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[shawn]

I have the 2026 and Drive Assist, and I‘ve seen a few comments on it here.
What the dealer told me, is that it’s the next evolution of Innodrive.
There’s even a small chance they will keep improving it (although I wouldn’t count on it).

It’s rather good, but I’m not sure I would call it Level 2+.
It accelerates/breaks/steers very nicely.
It only works on roads with clear markings; if they’re missing or faded, forget about it.
And you have to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times. It starts displaying an icon on the dashboard after something like 5s.

It still really really great on motorways, I use it almost every time.
Frees up a bit my mind, especially in heavy traffic.
The steering is fluid, and it stays almost perfectly in the center of the lane.
It also changes lane automatically when you activate the blinker.
It’s not bad in town either.

I have however disabled the automatic speed adjustment; it detected a 30kph sign… in the middle of the motorway, while driving at 120.
Probably a one time fluke, but still a very bad one.

Great. That is the kind of confirmation I was hoping for. Very helpful.

 

[Awaz]

it detected a 30kph sign… in the middle of the motorway, while driving at 120.
Probably a one time fluke, but still a very bad one.

Don't count on it. A frequent occurrence here, at least in the UK.
I have disabled auto speed recognition. I now always do it manually by moving the stalk up and down as required per speed limits.

 

[vanjwilson]

Don’t count too much on that. Porsche really seems to do unique builds compared to sometimes their Audi/VW brothers where there is an App Store called Functions on Demand but Porsche is lacking it. Except one batch of Taycans but they also removed it there.

I have a guy who is doing retrofits on basically all VAG cars except Porsche. It’s all locked down or missing the hardware in almost all cases. He advised to go all the way when buying a Porsche because of that.

When I asked my SA last spring if I could add Innodrive later to a MY 2025 Macan EV, he told me no, that Porsche had complaints from second buyers of Taycans, who had been told by the original owners that the car had Innodrive, only to discover that it had been the subscription, not the permanent upgrade. So, they took away Function on Demand for both buying or subscribing to Innodrive.

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[shawn]

When I asked my SA last spring if I could add Innodrive later to a MY 2025 Macan EV, he told me no, that Porsche had complaints from second buyers of Taycans, who had been told by the original owners that the car had Innodrive, only to discover that it had been the subscription, not the permanent upgrade. So, they took away Function on Demand for both buying or subscribing to Innodrive.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Odd that they cannot just cancel the old subscription and let the new buyer subscribe. oh well.

You can still buy it outright for a Taycan as it’s in the configurator and I assume that would be available to second owners onwards.

 

[PrudentOcean]

If it can help: I received mine last week with Bose.
It’s really not good at all. Clearly worse than the Harman Kardon in my 2015 BMW.
it’s not tragically bad, but the mids are really lacking.
I wish I would have ticked the Burmeiser

There have been a couple of users with the Bose system who have reported that the sound system has improved noticeably after a break-in period. Hopefully you will find your audio to be satisfactory soon.

My personal opinion is that the diaphragms of speakers (regardless of brand) benefit from exposure to the full range of frequencies they are designed for, and preferably at elevated volume.

 

[surfcitydermatology]

Thanks to @PrudentOcean, I had the opportunity to check out the Burmester in the Macan EV today.

Objectively, Burmester is superior in nearly all technical aspects relative to the Bose including improved clarity, soundstage, tonality, and imaging. This lends itself well for mid-to-high tier frequencies.

Subjectively, Bose is superior in it's lower end frequencies (sub-bass + bass) as well as overall sound signature.

For those wondering whether if Burmester can compensate by increasing the bass: it cannot. I suspect that this is due to two reasons. First, lower end frequencies cannot be individually tuned. Second, the physical drivers are designed to maintain precision among frequencies across the board. This makes for a more “crisp” bass extension, however sub-bass becomes increasingly absent in both instances.

For audiophiles out there: as a reference, the Burmester sounds similar to KEF LS50's paired with KEF KC62 sub (eg, precise but lacks fun). A reference for the Bose would be any mid tier V-shaped home sound setup. Bose also sounds similar to the Philips Fidelio open-back headphones.

Admittedly, I’ll have a bit of trouble deciding between the two as I do enjoy the technical aspects of music but… I have a feeling that I'll end up choosing Bose solely based on my personal preference for the overall "feel" for the sound itself.

TL;DR:
- skip the base speakers (no bass whatsoever)
- get the Bose if you enjoy bass-centric genres (eg, hip hop, EDM)
- get the Burmester if you enjoy vocals primarily and/or instrumentals (eg, classical)
- sound signature in Bose is more "fun".
- sound signature in Burmester has technical improvements over Bose in every regard except resolution (eg, feeling).
- will likely get Bose due to personal preference for sound signature (lower cost also a plus, but not a huge factor in making this decision)

 

[yycmacan]

Great build. I'm up in Canada and have the Turbo. I have about 13,000 miles of mostly highway driving, most of that in the mountains.


HEATED WINDSHIELD- We have lots of thumbnail sized "sand" particles for winter traction in the winter snows. The windshield will be pricey to replace. We have an insurance option that seemed very reasonable when compared to the cost. Function is great. No noticeable cellphone reduction, perhaps due to faraday cage openings around all side windows and sunroof. I did notice the glass appeared to be very "soft" and prone to chips from our road sand.

HUD-If you like to sit quite low in the car, the hud will be directly in your line of sight and can be slightly annoying. The "alignment" adjustment in the roll axis does not have adequate range to level the "HUD cues" to the horizon or road surface. The alignment does not have sufficient range to adjust the visuals directly in front of the driver. I asked the dealer if they had either a hardware or software fix to get the HUD level and straight but received the "deer in the headlight" stare. Data and features in the HUD are great and it is quite fast to react.

REAR WHEEL STEER- Great at slow and higher speeds and tight turn radius. Just watch it out of garage or tight parking spaces as the rear end "grows" in a tight turn.

BOSE SOUND- Acceptable. I agree with the earlier writer from Europe that a moving car isn't a great listening theater. The Bose is fine when charging or slower cruising. I would like to hear the Burmester, but none available when I purchased.

INTERIOR SEAT LEATHER COLOR- I am unaware of color bleed from sweaty jeans on a hot humid day in Socal. I went darker leather, but in Canada I don't worry so much about heat when parked and driving.

REAR WINDOW SHADES- Great! They work well and help with low winter sun angles. I am disappointed with the LADA era sunvisors. No extension for low sun at side window and no extra shade for front window when on curving roads with low sun. Pack a hat.

INNODRIVE- I have used on the twisty roads in light traffic. It works extremely well. I don't use the "partial" functions; either all or nothing. The lane guidance steering vibration bugged me if I didn't signal the lane change. I got some repeated "disconnects" in rural areas that self corrected after a couple of minutes. Disconnects appear to be related to older microwave transmission towers and the myriad of antennas attached.

OUT OF CELLULAR RANGE- I download routing prior to trips on Apple Maps and use until back in cellular coverage.

 

[Yves]

Thanks to @PrudentOcean, I had the opportunity to check out the Burmester in the Macan EV today.

Objectively, Burmester is superior in nearly all technical aspects relative to the Bose including improved clarity, soundstage, tonality, and imaging. This lends itself well for mid-to-high tier frequencies.

Subjectively, Bose is superior in it's lower end frequencies (sub-bass + bass) as well as overall sound signature.

For those wondering whether if Burmester can compensate by increasing the bass: it cannot. I suspect that this is due to two reasons. First, lower end frequencies cannot be individually tuned. Second, the physical drivers are designed to maintain precision among frequencies across the board. This makes for a more “crisp” bass extension, however sub-bass becomes increasingly absent in both instances.

For audiophiles out there: as a reference, the Burmester sounds similar to KEF LS50's paired with KEF KC62 sub (eg, precise but lacks fun). A reference for the Bose would be any mid tier V-shaped home sound setup. Bose also sounds similar to the Philips Fidelio open-back headphones.

Admittedly, I’ll have a bit of trouble deciding between the two as I do enjoy the technical aspects of music but… I have a feeling that I'll end up choosing Bose solely based on my personal preference for the overall "feel" for the sound itself.

TL;DR:
- skip the base speakers (no bass whatsoever)
- get the Bose if you enjoy bass-centric genres (eg, hip hop, EDM)
- get the Burmester if you enjoy vocals primarily and/or instrumentals (eg, classical)
- sound signature in Bose is more "fun".
- sound signature in Burmester has technical improvements over Bose in every regard except resolution (eg, feeling).
- will likely get Bose due to personal preference for sound signature (lower cost also a plus, but not a huge factor in making this decision)

Hmmm I have the Burmester and love techno/base and do not find it lacking in base on the contrary, I love V shape curve … now the iX and B&W is better.
Can’t remember the Bose, but when I listened to it a year ago I was not impressed … for me audio is important and a bit disappointed that Porsche is not really paying attention to this …

 

[surfcitydermatology]

Hmmm I have the Burmester and love techno/base and do not find it lacking in base on the contrary, I love V shape curve … now the iX and B&W is better.
Can’t remember the Bose, but when I listened to it a year ago I was not impressed … for me audio is important and a bit disappointed that Porsche is not really paying attention to this …

Techno pairs nicely with crunchy / crisp bass (high BPM), so I could see why the Burmester works in this case. Planar magnetics have a similar effect for this subgenre of EDM as well.

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