The Porsche Cayenne is beloved – our test driver calls the 2023 edition “great to drive” and “great to sit in.” But it’s been around since model year 2019 – a tad bit long for a Porsche to go unchanged. The company has already started to tease an all-electric replacement likely to hit the market in 2025 or later. But the current model won’t stay the same until it gets here.
It’s scheduled to get a significant update for the 2024 model year – not quite a redesign from the ground up, but more extensive than the usual midcycle touch-up.
Porsche today revealed photos of the all-new, redesigned interior of the 2024 Cayenne. The new look is heavy on screen space but allows the driver to adjust many settings with steering wheel controls. It also includes the first chilled cellphone storage area we’ve seen in a car.
Screens in Place of Gauges
The German automaker calls the new cabin the “Porsche Driver Experience.”
It replaces the traditional gauges with a 12.6-inch curved screen in front of the driver. What it displays changes based on the trim level and optional equipment. But, if you’re a Porsche enthusiast unsure about the move to screens, you’ll be happy to hear that one option is a “classic mode” that shows the traditional Porsche five circular gauges.
A new steering wheel “originates from the current 911,” Porsche says. It includes controls to change modes, adjust what’s displayed in the instrument cluster, and control the optional head-up display.
Keeping controls near the steering wheel, Porsche has moved the gear selector to the right of the steering wheel, freeing up space in the center console.
Manual Controls for Climate, Volume
A 12.3-inch central display handles infotainment functions. But Porsche has resisted the urge to put every control in a touchscreen menu. A new climate control panel in the center console combines touch panels with haptic feedback and mechanical switches to make controlling the temperature old-school easy. There’s a physical volume controller, too.
Beneath it is “a cooled smartphone storage area with inductive charging.” That’s standard equipment. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard – and you can connect to them by scanning a QR code.
Optional Passenger Screen
Optional is a third screen in front of the passenger. It, Porsche says, “allows the front passenger to operate the navigation system or select a media service.” A screen filter prevents the driver from seeing it, so it doesn’t prove a distraction.
Passengers can use their optional screen to stream video via ScreenHits TV. The center display can run the same videos when the car is parked.
That’s all Porsche has revealed for now. The 2024 Cayenne will be revealed in full on April 18, the company says. We expect a few more info drops before then with mechanical details and exterior photos.
