cug

I don't know the S7, but I assume it's the same Google driven navigation system that's in the A6, right? I still have a 2012 A4, friend of mine bought an A6 just a few months after I got mine. His infotainment system offers cellular connectivity (free for three years), Google maps as well as Google street view. My guess is that the voice recognition behind this is the same as for Android Auto which is (as far as I know) better than Siri is today – I only have Apple hardware so I can't compare, but I'm not blind to the world either.

But I really agree that Porsche has been pretty bad in adopting technology from it's siblings. I can only speculate on the reasons, but my guess is that corporate arrogance plays a major role.

Valvefloat991

I don't know whether that S7 was Google driven or not. It might have been, but it did not use Android Auto. The system worked superbly without any connection to a mobile phone.

I think you notion of corporate arrogance is probably on target. And not just at Porsche. It continues to amaze me, how much better phones perform the informational and navigational functions than cars do. I'm aware of the longer lead time in car development, but 2017 cars still don't work as well as 2012 phones did.

cug

But they can – it's worth testing a Tesla Model S just to get an impression on how a 2017 infotainment system CAN work.

bkrantz

Another old fart perspective, but...

1. I want an exceptional car like the 991 to be the entertainment.

2. Drivers somehow managed to navigate across town or across country for a few decades (with much less helpful road design and signing) without a computer nanny.

3. I appreciate good quality audio, and have a pretty good system at home--where I have a chance of appreciating that quality. No in-car system, especially while driving down the road, will ever come close.

4. Some people can survive 20 minutes or more without texting or otherwise interacting with their digital pen pals or buying something on line.

5. When the "car" becomes more about these extraneous features (and the customers want even more) the whole thing has lost any real meaning. What's next? A self-driving pod with virtual sports car sights and sounds derived from the good old days--plus lots of other infotainment?

cug

1. My 60PS Golf was entertainment, my piece of crap used MX-5 was entertainment, my bicycle is entertainment ... so, what are you saying?

2. People also managed to ride a horse across town. So what?

3. I don't think anybody here commented on the audio quality of the system, but rather the quality of the whole infotainment system.

4. Quite condescending, aren't we? Nobody here, other than you, has complained about texting or online shopping. That's what we have our phones for which we keep in hand and ready to use while driving.

5. Hmm, what are you trying to say here about infotainment qualities?

bkrantz

cug, my point--and very obviously my opinion--is that when the discussion of car quality, and owner satisfaction, has more to do with gadgetry than the car itself, and when the driving experience is more about infotainment than actual driving, then the cause has been lost. And Porsche is nothing more than a pricey brand with some ancient history in driving performance.

And I would also say that if you have your phone in your hand to use while driving, you are a hazard to yourself and others.

cug

I think you missed my point completely. You were very condescending in your choice of how to make this argument. Nobody has doubted that there are people who just want an entertaining performance car. Others question the choices of Porsche in terms of accessory prices and quality in a car costing more than $100k that is still mass produced inside a corporate framework of one of largest car manufacturers in the world.

And you obviously don't understand irony either.

okroger

Im wifh you on the whole pcm pcm plus connect plus plus shebang.
I have no idea what i signed up for or registered to during that portion of yhe sale.
It was poorly explained and i didnt have the patience to listen, even if they went into more detail.

Woe is me when it all expires and i start paying outta pocket. Hopefully by then ill have read through it all and canceled a majority of it

Curt Wohlgemuth

cug, thanks for your views, which generally dovetail with mine.

I think it's pretty clear that nobody on RL has bought a Porsche for the "infotainment" (god I hate that word) experience. We bought them to *drive*. That said, they cost a boatload of money. Should I feel good about accepting sub-par features in my expensive car? Should I push for AC delete, stereo delete, hell, electronic delete in my DD?

It's a bit sad that Porsche has the ability to ignore/de-emphasize various features of its cars, and will still sell them to folks spending for the "drivers experience," but these are first-world problems, and I'm still happy with my choice .

Mostly I feel bad for the Macan owners .

droidfan

@bkrantz, I agree with @cug you totally missed the point. Re-read the thread from the beginning.

We are totally pleased with the driving experience. We are not really pleased with some basic features or missing features of the infotainment system and we are not pleased to be "milked" by Porsche USA compared to what is done in Europe. We are also saying the the Porsche Car Connect or Porsche Connect are making us totally confused as the offering should be simpler and easier to understand and with free basic features for a premium sport car. Last we are saying that back seat situation needs to evolve: either Porsche make them practical or just remove them. You cannot stay "in the middle".

That said, if you want to know my feedback about the Bose Sound System, it is pretty great actually. The car insulation is good enough for enjoying music while driving (that would probably not be the same case for a GTS or more) .

One point that I missed initially was to setup the Bose System to have the "surround sound activated" and after I did I just said "woow pretty cool indeed". I have for reference the B&O Sound System in my previous M5 and the Harman Kardon in the M4.

Going back to the notion of gadgetry, I don't think we can say that for a Nav System and its real time traffic information in 2017. This is simply some basic feature, I am using my 911 as a daily driver and even if I know "all the tricks" for my daily commute I need to know the state of the traffic to take my decisions. Without it I would spend a lot more commute time on an already heavy 2h30min total commute time for the day.

So when Porsche ask me to fork more money for real time traffic information and Nav System updates when all of this is free on some similar cars that makes me quite upset.

Also all the other brands have such systems and it would be simply blindness from Porsche not to be on par or better than the others.

Last I have not said initially anything related SMS and other messaging stuff in the dash as I know this is totally not needed and can lead to some big safety issues. When I am driving I only want to have music and concentrate to the road and traffic. My phone is even put in silence mode for not disturbing me.

Finally, @bkrantz, my recommendation for you would be: just go to other brands dealerships and test drive other cars in the same category (I am doing this on a regular basis and this is the way I discovered that the 991.2 was way better for me than the past 991.1). That will open your eyes.

droidfan

@okroger, just cancel if you don't need it.

droidfan

@Curt, I don't follow you on the "Mostly I feel bad for the Macan owners". Would you mind explaining a bit more ?

rai

Agree, almost it's better for a car to have no navy as they get dated real fast, unless (now) like Apple car play can be upgraded over time.

I had an 07 M3 and got it in July/August was the primitive I-drive system and by November BMW came out with a revised better system. I was stuck with the worst possible POS system for 6 years in fact the Nav was so bad I was forced to use an external nav Garmen after a while. I should have not got the Nav I-Drive at all, but wanted it for the additional sport Throttle setting and whatever features that it was required to support.

I'm thinking that the M3/4 is great car plus the trunk and rear seats are nice but to me owning the car it was more muscle like than light weight sports car. I guess Muscle/GT was the way I'd say but the 991 seems to be GT/sporty but just as fast if not faster. So better in most ways except the price and the missing trunk rear seats with room.

Steve Cole

I traded my 2014 S4 for the Turbo. I really have no complaint about the PCM in my car. Yeah, in some ways it isn't quite as advanced, but I actually like the instant-access buttons and the PCM interface for my SD card music files - I did prefer the selector **** in the S4 for finding / browsing music but it's really a fairly minor thing. Other features are better than Audi's. They aren't that far behind and I am frankly not left wanting.

Haven't tried ACP as I don't do Apple.

Mostly I just want to drive the car. I'm having trouble keeping myself out of the thing for 8 hours at a time.

droidfan

@cug and all, I hope you have seen what Porsche is capable here with the Mission E:

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/mis...national.aspx/

If they can go that for this future car, then they can obviously get some bits of it and put that into the 911 (yes yes I understand that the electronics parts would not be the same).