Cayenne EV PCM

[tigerbalm]

Had a chance to sit in a Cayenne EV today and have a play with the PCM. I am only familiar with the PCM in the J1.1 Taycan and the current 911.

Some random observations:

1. While the curved screen is a unique looking thing, the size (the width of it) of passenger display was the most striking thing for me.
2. The resolution (especially on the passenger display) seemed much higher than on the Taycan/911.
3. The curved screen works well as both a full screen experience, but also as a split screen. Where you can reset your palm on the rest and control functions with all the options that show up on the lower part of the screen where it is bending towards your fingers. It feels very natural.
4. The correct physical controls are also present.
5. It was the most responsive PCM I have ever used. But it's not at iPad/iOS level of smoothness. It's close but not there, especially panning the navigation screen. Compared to the PCMs I've used, I'd see it as a major performance improvement, but fifteen years after the release of the iPad, people's expectations have been set high.
6. The sensors that sit above the steering wheel to observe your attention (or lack of it) on the road, look really like it is pointed right at you!
7. My co-driver would have loved this passenger display on our road trips. The maps look really great on it.
8. It wasn't signed in, so I couldn't try the video or browser, etc.
9. The overall UI seemed familiar to any PCM user, but is still more "colourful" and more modern looking.
10. I assumed this was the Android OS based PCM.
11. I think people are going to be quite happy with it – at least initially – though its likely not at the level of what is available in China.
12. If I could spend $$$ and magic it into my current 911, I'd defo consider it.

I've sat in the Macan EV and this well specced Cayenne EV interior was far superior. You could feel/sense the increased use of better materials. The exterior is typical Cayenne, its the interior and tech that seems the improvement here.

I still have no interest in SUVs.

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[d00d]

Thanks, I'd like someone to compare this with the new iX3.

 

[chun]

1. I think people are going to be quite happy with it – at least initially – though its likely not at the level of what is available in China.

It's not on the level of what's available in Europe. I also sat in one, albeit in my experience it was even slower than what you are mentioning - the maps were refreshing at 30fps, with considerable input latency.

Dacia Bigster, at 25k, has maps at 60fps, on a 60hz screen, with a much more responsive system. It comes with an appstore for: games, Netflix, different kind of maps, most music apps, etc.

But it's definitely a good sign that Porsche manages to catch-up to 25k cars when it comes to software in their 200k+ cars.

I do hope that the big PCM refresh that is coming in the MY27 taycan is this one from the Cayenne EV, but i doubt it... they already modernized it once in MY25/MY26 and could have put the Macan EV one, and didn't.

BMW offers better software, and the upcoming Mercedes will also likely be better on that front, since they vertically integrated all of their ECUs, with a zonal architecture.

 

[Flying ace]

Had a chance to sit in a Cayenne EV today and have a play with the PCM. I am only familiar with the PCM in the J1.1 Taycan and the current 911.

Some random observations:

1. While the curved screen is a unique looking thing, the size (the width of it) of passenger display was the most striking thing for me.
2. The resolution (especially on the passenger display) seemed much higher than on the Taycan/911.
3. The curved screen works well as both a full screen experience, but also as a split screen. Where you can reset your palm on the rest and control functions with all the options that show up on the lower part of the screen where it is bending towards your fingers. It feels very natural.
4. The correct physical controls are also present.
5. It was the most responsive PCM I have ever used. But it's not at iPad/iOS level of smoothness. It's close but not there, especially panning the navigation screen. Compared to the PCMs I've used, I'd see it as a major performance improvement, but fifteen years after the release of the iPad, people's expectations have been set high.
6. The sensors that sit above the steering wheel to observe your attention (or lack of it) on the road, look really like it is pointed right at you!
7. My co-driver would have loved this passenger display on our road trips. The maps look really great on it.
8. It wasn't signed in, so I couldn't try the video or browser, etc.
9. The overall UI seemed familiar to any PCM user, but is still more "colourful" and more modern looking.
10. I assumed this was the Android OS based PCM.
11. I think people are going to be quite happy with it – at least initially – though its likely not at the level of what is available in China.
12. If I could spend $$$ and magic it into my current 911, I'd defo consider it.

I've sat in the Macan EV and this well specced Cayenne EV interior was far superior. You could feel/sense the increased use of better materials. The exterior is typical Cayenne, its the interior and tech that seems the improvement here.

I still have no interest in SUVs.

This is great insights and very applicable to my upcoming Cayenne EV order.

In your opinion, given the size of the interior, is the passenger display more useful or about the same? My Taycan does not have the display, but when I sat in a Macan with a passenger display, the smaller cabin rendered the passenger display redundant. My wife also did not use the passenger display in our loaner Macan over a week of ownership. Simply, reaching over to the center PCM was not difficult.

I'm leaning towards NOT ordering this display.
Also after seeing moods lighting, what's your opinion on ordering it? I know it's tacky, but interior lighting is starting to grow on me. Back in the early 2000s, I would have hated it.

 

[Flying ace]

It's not on the level of what's available in Europe. I also sat in one, albeit in my experience it was even slower than what you are mentioning - the maps were refreshing at 30fps, with considerable input latency.

Dacia Bigster, at 25k, has maps at 60fps, on a 60hz screen, with a much more responsive system. It comes with an appstore for: games, Netflix, different kind of maps, most music apps, etc.

But it's definitely a good sign that Porsche manages to catch-up to 25k cars when it comes to software in their 200k+ cars.

I do hope that the big PCM refresh that is coming in the MY27 taycan is this one from the Cayenne EV, but i doubt it... they already modernized it once in MY25/MY26 and could have put the Macan EV one, and didn't.

BMW offers better software, and the upcoming Mercedes will also likely be better on that front, since they vertically integrated all of their ECUs, with a zonal architecture.

yep, agreed. My 2022 BMW X5 (2019 gen infotainment) feels about 1 generation newer than the j1.1. PCM in terms of features and responsiveness. And BMW updated again in 2024 while Porsche did a mild refresh in 2025, BMW went to a new generation in 2024. Clearly, VW's infotainment architecture is archaic. Keep in mind, part of the tech share with Rivian is for this purpose, so I would guess it has to be in the 2027+ cars.

 

[chun]

Keep in mind, part of the tech share with Rivian is for this purpose, so I would guess it has to be in the 2027+ cars.

Unless things changed in recent weeks, there is only a demo car planned. Negotiations broke down when VW started demanding that the Rivian OS/ECUs must be compatible with 12v, since they want same tech stack in all cars, including ICE, and Rivian told them: how about no.

So i think the plan is to move with their in-house shit for western markets, and for asian markets with chinese cars with VW group logos and chinese software

 

[Flying ace]

Unless things changed in recent weeks, there is only a demo car planned. Negotiations broke down when VW started demanding that the Rivian OS/ECUs must be compatible with 12v, since they want same tech stack in all cars, including ICE, and Rivian told them: how about no.

So i think the plan is to move with their in-house shit for western markets, and for asian markets with chinese cars with VW group logos and chinese software

so the entire strategic investment with Rivian is over?!

 

[chun]

so the entire strategic investment with Rivian is over?!

Yes and no, some 6bil extra later, and rivian might do it for them just to be nice
https://www.electrive.com/2025/09/1...ware-joint-venture-allegedly-hits-turbulence/

 

[tigerbalm]

This is great insights and very applicable to my upcoming Cayenne EV order.

In your opinion, given the size of the interior, is the passenger display more useful or about the same? My Taycan does not have the display, but when I sat in a Macan and a Taycan with a passenger display, the smaller cabin rendered the passenger display redundant. My wife also did not use the passenger display in our loaner Macan over a week of ownership. Simply, reaching over to the center PCM was not difficult.

I'm leaning towards NOT ordering this display.
Also after seeing moods lighting, what's your opinion on ordering it? I know it's tacky, but interior lighting is starting to grow on me. Back in the early 2000s, I would have hated it.

When I ordered two Taycan's from factory – the only Porsche's I've owned that had passenger display as an available option – I selected it.

My use case for it is very purposeful: we drive long road trips, usually in foreign countries, in places we've never been before. The passenger display allowed my co-driver to investigate and tweak our routes without impacting my ability to follow the current route in unfamiliar territory.

It wasn't about being able to see the main screen already; it was about dual function and active navigating by the passenger.

With the Cayenne EV, I think its setup a little differently than both the Taycan and the Macan. Firstly, both screens are very, very different from each other. And the in-person experience drives that home more than pictures or mockups.

The central display is square and feels very driver orientated. It is as much about controls as it is about showing content. It is performing the duties of two screens in the Taycan: display and controls.

The passenger display is much wider than it is high. If the central screen is 4:4, the passenger display feels like it's 16:9. The central screen – because of the curve – feels "pushed forward" compared to the passenger display which seems more recessed.

That separation of design and sizes immediately removes the feeling of "dual" or "copy screens" right beside each other that the Taycan and Macan has.

The central screen is controls and driver info, the passenger display is passive consumption. For example, the ambient lighting themes can be controlled from the passenger display. Or videos watched on it, etc.

I know if I was in the market for this, that we would pick it again. And I think we'd feel like we were getting something better than we had on the Taycan. But we got great use out of the Taycan screens too.

Also, its just a way better use of that space aesthetically than whatever shiny plastic would be facing the passenger otherwise.

If your Cayenne EV is for hauling shopping home on familiar routes .... well then ... it is likely just an enjoyable gimmick that will see little use. But if your passengers prefer a more active participation on longer drives, they are not going to dislike it.

In my opinion of course: having never moved one metre in a Cayenne EV!

 

[andb]

I quite like the Cayenne EV but I'm waiting to see the iX5 and decide which one I will get. Efficiency will play a big part since my Taycan is pretty much unusable on long trips during this cold and snow in Europe.

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