This is NOT, we repeat NOT, the all-new Macan EV due in 2023. Porsche’s grand plan calls for its forthcoming electric SUV – codename E-Macan – to co-exist with the current car for a little while at least. In Porsche engineering director Michael Steiner’s words, that’s “so customers and regulators can choose", and because the company does “not know how fast the switchover will happen in different regions”.

“Before the electric Macan in 2023, we will invest in updating the existing one,” promised Steiner back in May. And now here it is, with engine, tech and aesthetic upgrades designed to keep what is already an eight-year-old car feeling relatively fresh for a few years yet. The headlines are thus; updated engines, more modern tech, sharper styling.

From the outset, in order of price and performance the line-up will consist of the plain-old Macan, the Macan S and the Macan GTS. We suspect an upgraded Macan Turbo will be along in the not too distant future.

The entry-level Macan uses a newly-developed 2.0-litre petrol engine with 261bhp – it manages 0-100km/h in 6.2 seconds and has a top speed of 230km/h. The Macan S and GTS use the same twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 with 380 and 440hp respectively. That makes the incoming Macan S as powerful as the outgoing Macan GTS, and the new GTS as powerful as the old Turbo.

Naturally all Macans get the seven-speed PDK auto and all-wheel drive. And we’re promised chassis and suspension tweaks have made Porsche’s small SUV – already a fine-handling thing – even better to drive.

PASM adaptive suspension is optional on the entry-level car but standard on the S and GTS. Over and above the S, the GTS gets a 10mm drop and standard “sports air suspension” that’s been stiffened up versus the old GTS. Torque vectoring and stickier tyres are optional.

Though the Macan’s nose and tail have both been redesigned, it doesn’t look vastly different. The changes are most obvious on the GTS (the red car, pictured here), with its black-painted nose.

The changes inside appear subtle too, but look closely. Many of the buttons on the centre console have been replaced with touch-sensitive panels (as per the Cayenne, Panamera, 911 etc.) and the gear lever is stubbier. The 12.9-inch display is latest-generation Porsche tech.

STORY Tom Harrison