In a car, screens should be to display information. Input should be defined ***** and buttons.
MOO

 

Love the 718 interior vs 992.

After my test drive I felt like I was leaving someone's living room and entering a cockpit.

I swear I could hear my echo in there...

 

I'm in the similar camp with having buttons for things you use often and need quick access to and screens for those you don't. I appreciate that in my 991.2.

Is this move to screens just a natural progression in interior design or is it to attract t a new generation of owners? Or is it more basic than that? For instance, screens/touch have fewer moving pieces and parts and is easier (less expensive) on the manufacturing/maintenance side of things.

 

I love having the CD player - haven’t seen a cassette for many years !

 

It’s dated, absolutely, but some of their iterations getting to where they were in the 997/987 to the 992 and Taycan have been abysmal. Luckily the 981 and 982 has been spared the debacle that was the mid cycle refresh of the Cayenne/Panamera UI. At one point between the buttons on the console and overhead it was like doing a preflight on a jumbo jet.

There’s nothing wrong with large display surfaces and touch screens when executed well and combined with the appropriate level to tactile interfaces. It’s finding that happy middle ground that eludes many companies. As odd as it may sound the most intuitive and useful UI’s for passenger vehicles are coming out of FCA over the last decade IMHO.

Personally I like where the 982 has landed, a nice combination of old and new and a decent step up from the 2015 iteration where finding the right settings on the infotainment screen was always a where’s Waldo moment.

 

To me it’s perfection. I was going to get a 992, but I just couldn’t live with the video game interior. The interior layout and function of the Spyder is literally perfection. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Ok, I take that back. I’d change the parking brake to a manual lever...

 

Ha, was thinking the same thing yesterday when I parked my wife's 128 and pulled that puppy up...

 

Whether it's dated or not, I'm firmly in the camp that finds the system poorly conceived and terribly cumbersome to use. Awful actually. It's only because it's attached to a Porsche that I'm willing to look past its failings.

 

It depends on what you are asking it to do. I don't ask much of it on a daily basis except to play music and make/receive phone calls here and there (occasionally I'll use the nav for a destination etc). So for that it is just fine and I like that it doesn't dominate (or try to) the experience for me. The smallish screen and not too many buttons are just fine with me. The more it stays hidden or out of the way/the better IMO.

If one is a techie and wants to do a bunch of different things with it, than I can see that person being seriously disappointed with it.

 

OP,

Excellent thread for sure .............

And like you and a lot of others have commented the GT4 has a workable easy to live with Driver's Cockpit !!!

Well done Sir.

Terry

 

IMHO, the 982 interior is near perfect... if I had to update anything it would be the PCM resolution/scale. It’s made for a toddler/blind person... everything is huge. Was hoping they would have (still can) do a minor refresh like they did with the current Macan... still have buttons and ***** but have the nicer PCM. Who knows... might happen still with the 982.2? Though the next refreshed Macan spy photos show that it also gets the button/**** delete with the tacky gloss plastic. 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

I currently have a 997.1 GT3, I owned a 981 GT4 and have a 982 GT4 on order.
One of the things that appealed to me was the simple & functional cockpit - ***** & buttons as required but no more than needed.
For better or worse cars like these are a dying breed.....

I did an extensive test drive of the Ferrari Roma a while back -
overall a great car but the touch screen and touch control for rear view mirrors and most of all - the touch controls on the steering wheel drove me crazy.
Any time I inadvertently moved a thumb I would "swipe" a control and something would change.

 

Yes it's dated. And at least a generation behind sister brand Audi.
But it's part of the charm.

You want dated, check out a 987 Cayman!

 

Definitely one of the reasons I am trying to buy one of these... so sick of the touchscreen garbage and ugly tablets they are putting in cars today. As an Aston martin vantage owner I totally would have bought a new Vantage if the interior wasn't a busy, hideous mess with a god awful tablet in the middle, the tablet is what kills me. The prior generation allowed you to fold it away, why didn't they do that again? So dumb! I absolutely loved the Porsche interior in my 958 Cayenne and the GT4's is even more simple and nice, a pure driving experience is what I want, put your stupid tablets and phones down and just pay attention to driving I was cracking up watching that Harry's Garage video on the Roma as I would be yelling at the car in the same way!

 

I drove the 718 and 992 several times and in the end it was the driving experience that mattered. The 992 is a polished gentlemans(/womans) sports car that's beautiful to look at and actually very fun to drive.
The 718 (Spyder) is a raucous, loud race car experience with an engine that screams and a top that is guaranteed to **** you off. When I took corners at high speeds, the tech simply didn't matter. It disappeared and it was all about the driving experience. I chose the Spyder, you may choose the 992, both are great cars for very different reasons.