The sports utility thorn in BMW’s side has always been the Porsche Cayenne. While BMW’s X5 has always been sportier than its Mercedes, Audi, and Lexus rivals, the Cayenne has forever managed to out-handle and out-perform the X5 in almost every way. So BMW would beat Porsche with more luxury and, in some cases, better tech. However, the new 2024 Porsche Cayenne may have out-done BMW in that regard, too. At least it has in terms of screen count.
Porsche just revealed the interior of the next-generation Cayenne ahead of its full reveal and it packs the most tech and luxury-focused cabin in the Cayenne’s history. In many ways, it’s still quite typically Porsche. For instance, it has the same sort of three-spoke Porsche steering wheel that every other Stuttgart product has. It still has the famous Sports Chrono timer on the dash (if that package is equipped), and it still has the Cayenne’s famous console grab handles.
However, it’s also different from normal Porsche cabins in some ways. For instance, the digital gauge screen is far more traditional than you’ll find in most Porsches, the Cayenne now has a dash-mounted electronic shifter, and three dashboard screens. One such screen is the aforementioned gauge screen, the other two are infotainment screens. The center-mounted screen is the main infotainment screen for the driver. The one mounted to the right of it sits in front of the passenger, giving them their own little screen.
That passenger screen allows the front passenger to take some strain off the driver. So they can control media, navigation, or car settings, allowing the driver to pay more attention to the road and also use the main infotainment screen for something else. For instance, if the driver needs to use the main screen for navigation, the passenger can use their screen to control the media. Or the passenger can just watch a movie and chill out. Interestingly, the passenger screen can’t be seen by the driver, thanks to a special foil that blocks the screen at the driver’s angle. So the driver can’t be distracted by any media being streamed by the passenger.
Porsche has pulled off a pretty interesting trick with the new Cayenne interior, as it features flashier screen tech while also looking sportier and more driver-focused than the X5’s cabin. The new Cayenne’s cabin is more high-tech than ever but still looks simple and easy on the eyes. It isn’t just BMW that needs to take not, it’s every manufacturer. Let’s keep getting interior updates like this one, please.