While other automakers are installing laptop-sized screens in the cockpit of their cars, Porsche is purposefully keeping its digital footprint to a minimum.
In a recent interview with Australia's Drive and other press outlets, Porsche's head of style, Michael Mauer, re-affirmed that the brand plans to offer only appropriately sized displays and analog instrumentation where possible.
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The Race For The Biggest Screen
It seems like only yesterday when automakers started to shove gigantic screens inside of cars. That includes the admittedly "massive" 18.5-inch screen in the Tesla Cybertruck and the otherworldly 56-inch glass panel overlaying three different displays in the Mercedes EQS. Now, some brands are backing down as screen fever dies off.
"I'm very happy that we are, so far, not following what most of the other brands are doing," said Mauer, pointing out that Porsche has yet to follow in the footsteps of any other automaker that slaps a tablet-like display in the center of the car's dashboard and calls it a day.
"We always said [screens] should be integrated, so not having this free-standing big tablet in the car. We always want to create driver orientation, which is one thing [we did with] the curved instrument [cluster].”
There are many reasons why automakers are eschewing buttons for giant screens in the EV era. For one, buttons and switches are expensive, and these companies are desperate to cut costs when new technologies like batteries are still pricey. Such cars are packed with features that make individual buttons tough to craft. And finally, buyers in China especially tend to consider buttons and switches old-fashioned; they often love the big screens. (Plus, such screens go with the car companies' goals to make your vehicle a kind of mobile home theater or office, full of games, apps and streaming video features they hope you'll pay monthly for.)
Yet Porsche's lineup of modern cars, including its EVs, supports Mauer's principle. You won't find a single vehicle under the brand's crest that has an infotainment screen that looks out of place. You will, however, find several screens strategically stuffed around the car; the Taycan even has a passenger-focused screen.
Those screens won't take the place of physical controls, though. While some might augment them, Porsche is committed to keeping key physical controls truly analog.
"We believe that just having touch screens [on their own] is, from a [user experience] side of car, [hard to use], maybe, at higher speed or curvy roads," said Mauer.
Sister brand Volkswagen has started taking the same approach after former CEO Herbert Diess steered VW in the direction of Tesla—that is, fewer buttons and one large central screen. That, however, led to plenty of UX frustrations, which we even experienced in our recent review of the updated Volkswagen ID.4.
The automaker has since pledged to walk back its digital-only path and install more physical buttons in its future vehicles, just like customers asked for.
It also comes down to the overall brand identity of Porsche. The automaker doesn't want to be seen as just another automaker that integrates a digital cockpit in the easiest possible way (that is, installing one large screen that controls absolutely everything). Instead, it wants to keep true to its driver-centric core.
"Risking that [for] some potential [new] customers, for that reason—go for another brand," said Mauer. "For a strong brand identity, you have to have [a] clear strategy and idea."
