The evolving Cayenne Interior

[RDMcG]

For the last couple of days I have been driving a 2017 Cayenne while my much beaten up and well used 2008 Cayenne S was having its camshaft adjusters replaced. The current interior is a much nicer place to be, and will in turn be superseded by a variant of the new Panamera interior when the new generation Cayenne arrives in Q1 of 2018. I have been in the new Panamera and love the massive reduction in buttons and clean design of the dash..Pics below….(I have a Turbo S on the way in Spring of '18.)

My trusty old Cayenne today


The current Cayenne



New Panamera shows the dash design direction…thought Cayenne will be a bit more rugged looking

[Gerber1]

Although they are all stunning interiors I would be quite satisfied with the one from 2008, it looks analogue and purposeful.

Maybe I am easily pleased.

[Cheib]

New Panamera interior is great...had one for a day and really liked it. What will be interesting is how they get that feel in the next Gen 911....I am not sure the smooth "touch screen" which is in reality a lot of buttons works in a sports car.

[996TT02]

Current a bit too 60's Starship enterprise for me, prefer yours - or the forthcoming.

[Callughan]

Leather dash is a must have, makes a huge difference. Loving mine only thing I would change is position of centre grab handles as they can get in the way if you're not slim build.

Edited by Callughan on Friday 20th January 11:01

[Cheib]

Callughan said:

Leather dash is a must have, makes a huge difference. Loving mine only thing I would change is position of centre grab handles as they can get in the way if you're not slim build.

Edited by Callughan on Friday 20th January 11:01

100% massive difference!

[p1stonhead]

How many bloody buttons does the current one have?!

[jh001ace]

p1stonhead said:

How many bloody buttons does the current one have?!

I like the current one, the symmetry satisfies my OCD, I personally don't like the current FFRR with almost no buttons...each to their own✔

[RDMcG]

I think that the number of things in a modern car such as various suspension settings and engine mapping options, things like launch control ,internet services,multiple heating and cooling ,entertainment and so on demand a simpler approach with few or no buttons. I recall the famous IDrive wars at BMW. Sure, the early stuff was tricky. However it turned out that once you set the car up the way you wanted you rarely accessed the menus again. Now we are moving to much more voice control and it is getting very good.

Yes I know that there is a view that you should just drive the bloody thing in which case a Caterham is a great choice. The realistic future for the average car though is that all these services and options are here to stay. I have driven a Tesla which is surprisingly good and they are upgraded with new services overnight.

Getting back to my original musing I like the newest and simpler panamera approach and I suspect that most cars at any level are evolving to the same approach

[Cheib]

RDMcG said:

Getting back to my original musing I like the newest and simpler panamera approach and I suspect that most cars at any level are evolving to the same approach

I drove a Panamera for a day so admittedly not used to it in the way an owner would be but I quite often pressed the wrong button on that control panel (there are buttons which click). I think most of us when we get used to cars press switches without looking....we can feel which button is which. You can't do that on the Panamera.

[David W.]

Nothing wrong with buttons IMO, you can feel where they are without looking and there is that lovely tactile experience you get from using them, assuming they are from a quality manufacturer. It's why I still have Blackberry.

[patch5674]

Can we all just stop referring to liking symmetry as having "OCD".

[Cheib]

David W. said:

Nothing wrong with buttons IMO, you can feel where they are without looking and there is that lovely tactile experience you get from using them, assuming they are from a quality manufacturer. It's why I still have Blackberry.

Yup I really like current Cayenne interior but then I would as I am about to take delivery of one. Will be a change from the X5 with its iDrive. Quality on a whole different level.

[Cobnapint]

David W. said:

Nothing wrong with buttons IMO, you can feel where they are without looking and there is that lovely tactile experience you get from using them, assuming they are from a quality manufacturer. It's why I still have Blackberry.

You soon master the buttons in the present Cayenne, but that didn't stop the motoring press referring to the layout as confusing etc during the first reviews.

Utter bks of course. Our lives are full of buttons - computers, TV/DVD remotes etc etc - nobody complains about those.

Looks like Porsche have bowed down to those reviews, and the latest human desire to touch a glass surface to make something happen. At least the seat heaters can be put on without going into an on screen menu - unlike in the RRS.

[Cheib]

Cobnapint said:

At least the seat heaters can be put on without going into an on screen menu - unlike in the RRS.

The RRS interior might have ambience that appeals to a lot of people but the functionality of whatever they call PCM is just woeful. And as you say buttons are sued in a lot of applciations for a reason. That is I suppose what is clever about the Panamera interior...its got buttons but doesn't look like it has!