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One of the things that appealed to my wife and I was the interior layout of the 718. We like the buttons on the side of the gear lever, the volume ****! on the radio and generally the simple layout of the controls. I simply can’t imagine drilling down through menus to turn the fan up or down by sliding your finger over a screen. You can still plug your phone in for car play, which is enough tech for me.
I was just watching Harry’s Garage and his test of a new Ferrari and he was going nuts with the tech (worth a watch just to see how annoyed he gets lol). It seems to take away from the experience rather than add to it. Compared to that Ferrari, and the 992, this interior almost looks retro. I’m sure there are many who feel it looks dated, not me, it seems just right.
Agree. I like buttons and dials. The PCM isn't too bad, as I can access pretty much anything that I want (Waze, music) with one or two taps. I am OK with a touch screen interface on a tablet or phone, but don't want it in my car.
Just right IMO - classic and, drumroll, functional. I have enough screens in my life, no need for my entire dash to be one. Do note this is coming from a guy who’s into manual transmissions, mechanical watches and vinyl so YMMV.
I will soon have a 718, but right now I have a Tesla model 3, and the gigantic touch screen drives me insane. I spend WAY too much time looking at a screen rather than on the road. I 100% prefer the look and feel of the 981/982 physical controls. I think the 987 looks dated, the 981/982 (they are pretty similar) to me look just right.
Its very interesting thing with the 718 GT4 and the interior that is a bit deceiving and is based on the concept of simple not being easy. Everything in the cabin is understated yet so well placed that the controls/vents/instruments/display/etc.. fade into the background when driving. So with the short, sloping hood of the mid-engine design combined with the simple interior you are placed into the action in front of you without distraction. Im sure that this is not happening by accident and the engineers at Porsche make this bit of magic thru a lot of effort/thought. Its subtle but pretty much perfect to me.
One of the things that appealed to my wife and I was the interior layout of the 718. We like the buttons on the side of the gear lever, the volume ****! on the radio and generally the simple layout of the controls. I simply can’t imagine drilling down through menus to turn the fan up or down by sliding your finger over a screen. You can still plug your phone in for car play, which is enough tech for me.
I was just watching Harry’s Garage and his test of a new Ferrari and he was going nuts with the tech (worth a watch just to see how annoyed he gets lol). It seems to take away from the experience rather than ad to it. Compared to that Ferrari, and the 992, this interior almost looks retro. I’m sure there are many who feel it looks dated, not me, it seems just right.
Word —^
Form should follow function not the reverse. We had a ‘19 Cayenne loaner last year with what I call a ‘tween’ UI: half-way to Panamera/992 touchscreen-centric but still had buttons. As a s/w guy that has employed HMI experts and absorbed part of that field, it was infuriating. Wanted to smash it with a hammer every time I got in it.
I actually like the previous PCM (2013-2016) better than the out-going (2017-2023) version. The current one ‘looks pretty’ but takes far more gestures to do tasks than did the previous.
Although they say this is called modernization, I don't think touch screens can bring more convenience to drivers.
They may look good, but useless.
Always love physical instrument, physical buttons and manual parking brake.
My 718 directly replaced a 992 C2S, and I prefer the interior in 718. Yes, feels more dated, but it works and I much prefer less/smaller screens.
for example for Apple car play, in the 992 the screen resolution is higher so the buttons are smaller, and the screen is high up. A pain to use in a moving car. 718 screen is more accessible and CarPlay buttons are bigger, so easier to use.
I get that Porsche needs to evolve, I guess I’m just getting old.
Form should follow function not the reverse. We had a ‘19 Cayenne loaner last year with what I call a ‘tween’ UI: half-way to Panamera/992 touchscreen-centric but still had buttons. As a s/w guy that has employed HMI experts and absorbed part of that field, it was infuriating. Wanted to smash it with a hammer every time I got in it.
I actually like the previous PCM (2013-2016) better than the out-going (2017-2023) version. The current one ‘looks pretty’ but takes far more gestures to do tasks that did the previous.
I bet you mean a Macan, not a Cayenne. Current Macan has the “old style” interior but with new style big screen... and yea, they’re not nicely integrated. Can tell that Porsche saved money on that facelift, full new electric Macan in development already so they’re cutting corners.
New Cayenne has identical interior to the Panamera.
The 718 interior may be dated for today because its not a giant tv screen, but honestly the only people I know that like digital dashes are not car people and in 10 years the 718 interior is going to look a heck of a lot better than any interior with a giant tv for a dash that is on the fritz because it was only designed to last 5 years. I find it funny the tech people I know (and being one myself long ago I'll include myself in that) hate the digital dash interiors with a fiery passion. You'd think they like it because ooh more tech, more tech is always better!, but it's quite the opposite. Applying tech when tech is unnecessary is infuriating and usually ends up making it more complicated and costs more time to use even when you're 100% familiar with the tech.
Give me a physical button, don't make me go 3 menus deep with some stupid touch screen I can't use while driving, or worse, make me play where's waldo with trying to find the option in some random corner of the software.
I bet you mean a Macan, not a Cayenne. Current Macan has the “old style” interior but with new style big screen... and yea, they’re not nicely integrated. Can tell that Porsche saved money on that facelift, full new electric Macan in development already so they’re cutting corners.
New Cayenne has identical interior to the Panamera.
LOL. You may be right. However, ... now that you remind me, it was indeed a Cayenne with the LCD screen for an instrument cluster. I remember that now, because of additional HMI and design b1tch3$ I had about that part of it too! Tons of wasted display pixels. One of the screens (don't want to remember which one) uses about 1/5 of the pixels and can't be customized. Arg... PTSD attack
It was an experience that I was eager to forget and also the final nail in the coffin for accelerating my 718 Cayman purchase by two years: I wanted to be sure that the "dated" interior didn't go Dodo on me before I pulled the trigger.
Now, I'm happily driving my '21 Cayman T with the "ancient" UI. I might actually look into back-dating the PCM to the pre-'17 version that is more functional.
981BS and 95B.2 here: worf928 has it right 100%. The 981/982 PCM generation was far superior. The new one does something different every time I start the car... sometimes CarPlay comes up, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it does and then disconnects, sometimes it reconnects OK after that happens, sometimes it resumes playback by itself, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it appears to resume playback of Spotify but the sat radio channel continues to play, ...
Basically there is no sign that their engineers still drive their cars, or anyone else's car either. The Macan itself is very nice... but the PCM system, wow, just wow. One of the most frustrating pieces of hardware ever. It essentially turns the car into a giant Skinner box.
01-24-2021, 11:18 PM
Dated? or Just Right?
