With the highly anticipated reveal of the Taycan on September 4th, Porsche invited us to their North American headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia to learn all about it and even experience its awesome performance.
We’re only able to give out information in chunks, meaning you’ll have to wait for official performance specs and impressions, but here’s what you need to know about the interior of this electric super sedan.
There’s a lot that’s new compared to conventional ICE (that’s Internal Combustion Engine) Porsches, so let’s dig in.
1. It has 4 screens
For the Taycan, owners will feast their eyes on four available screens in the interior. To start, Taycan has an all digital instrument cluster that measures out at 16.8-inches. The driver will get 3 classic gauges that are customizable with the steering wheel controls. The instrument cluster comes with four display modes: classic mode, map mode, full map mode, and pure mode. Along the side of the instrument cluster are touch-sensitive buttons.
Next to the instrument cluster is a 10.9-inch high definition centre touch screen for the infotainment system. You will be able to configure up to 3 features on the screen such as the map, your music and a list of your recent phone calls. If not, you can select one feature to fill the entire screen. Along the left side of the display are three touch-sensitive buttons for the home screen, car settings, and notifications. The car settings button allows you to access things like comfort or trip settings while the notifications button allows you to check things like missed calls, navigation updates, and service messages from the car.
On the centre console is an 8.4-inch touch screen that serves two main functions. The top half of the screen is where you’ll be able to control the air conditioning settings, while the bottom half of the screen is a trackpad for the infotainment system. The track pad includes a handwriting function and haptic feedback.
Last, but certainly not least, is an optional second 10.9-inch touch screen (previewed in the Mission E concept) that the passenger can control independently from the driver. Placed beside the centre screen, it allows the passenger to take over as DJ while the map is open on the centre screen. The passenger can also go through the navigation system and add additional stops or change the destination for the driver on long trips.
The only difference between the passenger and centre screens is that the passenger screen only comes with the home button and not the car settings or notifications button. It also can only be activated when someone is sitting in the passenger seat.
2. It has a voice assistant
For the Taycan Porsche is debuting a new voice assistant (think Siri or Alexa) that allows the driver to make changes while driving. To activate the assistant say “Hey Porsche,” followed by your command. It’s important to point out that won’t be able to change safety settings with voice control.
3. You can’t physically move the vents
The Taycan comes with an advanced climate control system that uses electronically controlled air vents – meaning you can’t just fiddle with them with your hands. You will have the choice between two pre-settings (focused or diffused) or and individual setting that allows you to adjust the airflow using the touch screen.
4. It doesn’t have a lot of buttons
For the interior, Porsche stated that their goal for the Taycan was to achieve “digital simplification.” As a result, there are not a lot of buttons inside compared to previous Porsches – like in the Cayene Coupe’s interior pictured above. For each of the available screens there are only a handful of touch-sensitive buttons to use. Most of the controls are done using the touch screens.
5. Transmission shifter has moved
Owners of the Taycan are going to have to get used to the the idea that the transmission shifter is no longer on the center console. Instead it will be up on the dashboard behind the steering wheel.
6. It has 5 drive modes
From what we can see in the latest interior photo from Porsche, the Taycan will come with five different drive modes: Range, Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual. We’re prevented from telling you any more about them (or about what they feel like) until Sept 4th.
7. It always tells you where the nearest charging station is
As a way to help people deal with range anxiety, the GPS will constantly let you know where the nearest charging station is as you make your way to your destination. For long rides, it will include charge time as part of your total trip time.
8. It comes with a new gen steering wheel
Porsche is introducing a new steering wheel generation for the Taycan. There will also be an optional sport steering wheel available as well.
9. It has available leatherette upholstery
For those who want a more environmentally friendly alternative to leather seats, Porsche has you covered. The Taycan will have a leatherette upholstery option called Race-Tex. Of course, traditional leather will also be available.
10. The floor mats are green
The Taycan’s floor mats will be made from partially recycled materials. Not the color green.
11. 3 different seat options
There will be 3 different types of seats available for the Taycan. Customers will have the choice between standard, comfort, or sport seats.
12. The interior can comfortably seat people in the back
Depending on how the driver and passenger like their seat settings up front, getting into the back of the Taycan can be a tight squeeze (although that’s coming from someone who’s 6’3”). But once you’re inside, passengers 6’3” and under should be able to sit comfortably thanks to Porsche’s foot garages.
13. It has “dark mode”
Well not actually, we just made that name up. It’s called “reduced mode” and it turns off all of the displays in the instrument cluster except for the speed.
14. It also has “Cockpit mode”
If you get a Taycan with the optional passenger touch screen, passengers will have the option of seeing how fast you’re going on their side in “Cockpit mode”. That said, having your driving partner know how fast you’re going might be a reason NOT to get this particular option.
15. Foot garages!
To make the Taycan as comfortable as possible for passengers, Porsche has developed foot garages for the rear seats. The foot garages are indents on the floor where a piece of the battery would normally be that provide additional leg room.
16. Apple Music
The Taycan will be the first vehicle to be fully integrated with Apple Music. Apple Music Subscribers will be able to stream their favourite music (50 million available tracks and plenty of curated playlists) on the go without using their phones.
17. Driving position similar to a 911
Keeping true to its racing pedigree, Porsche has designed the seating position of the Taycan to give you the same feeling as the 911.
18. The power button is located on the left behind the steering wheel
Just like the ignition lock on the 911 and other conventional Porsches, the Taycan’s power button is located on the left behind the steering wheel.
19. There’s an optional 5th screen
We almost forgot! If four screens weren’t enough, there is a fifth screen available in the Taycan. For the rear passengers there is an optional 5.9-inch screen for rear climate control.
As for the rest of the car, check back on September 4th when we’re allowed to reveal all the juicy details like horsepower and 0-60 times.
Discuss this story at our Porsche Taycan Forum