Porsche has revealed that its multimedia system, the Porsche Communication Management, has been updated yet again. The sixth generation of the unit, fitted in the 911, Panamera, Cayenne, and Taycan models, was first revealed in the summer of 2021, and it received an update that brought many new functions.
The PCM 6.0 user interface comes with new icons, which are colored in a distinctive manner to allow easy recognition. As Porsche noted, this improvement was made at the suggestion of customers, which is a nice touch. Moreover, the German marque now offers wireless Android Auto in the PCM 6.0, as well as a native integration of Spotify, which is a first for the brand. Android Auto was implemented when the system first got the 6.0 update, now it comes with wireless connection for compatible handsets.
The integration in question means that users can link their Spotify accounts to their Porsche ID and have Spotify directly integrated into the multimedia system as a source, not just as an app that is used on the connected mobile phone. Apple Music and Apple Podcasts were already implemented since Summer 2021.
The Voice Pilot voice assistant has also been optimized, as Porsche explains, and it now comes with abilities related to accessing news, as well as the operating manual. It is also possible to use voice commands to access in-car music streaming, which is linked to the Spotify integration mentioned above.
Furthermore, improvements have been made to the way that the system calculates and plans charging stops for electric vehicles. While the Taycan is the only EV in the Porsche range for now, it will not stay that way for long, which is we write about multiple electric vehicles instead of just the Taycan here.
Having driven the Taycan on multiple occasions, I can inform you that the vehicle has a route-planner built into its navigation system. Since you set a destination on the vehicle's navigation, not on Waze or Google Maps, it will calculate what will be the remaining battery charge when you reach your destination, as well as the remaining range.
Despite abusing the go-fast pedal whenever it was safe to do so, I had found that the estimated range and battery level that was calculated when I first left on the route was not changed. In other words, the system was already smart enough to estimate how much charge you would have at the end of a route, and its prediction was spot on. With a few trips like that, you do not get range anxiety, because you know that you will have enough energy left in the battery upon reaching your destination.
The improvements made to the Charging Planner involve a different algorithm, which prioritizes higher-power charging stations, which makes charging stops shorter, but possibly more on a long route. Overall, the driver might spend less time for two charges at a higher-power station than opting for a single charge at a lower-power station. The improvements were made with the help of customer feedback.
Photo: Porsche
While driving, there is a dynamic zoom function for charging stations integrated into the PCM 6.0 system, which shows all available charging options in the immediate vicinity, as well as information if they are currently in use (if available – the system cannot do magic), and the drive can select to sort these stations by output.
Porsche's engineers have even integrated an estimate of the time required to start and end the charging process at a charging station when the total driving time is calculated. That means that you will not be late because you did not account for the time required to plug the vehicle into the charging station.
The navigation system's route monitor was also revised, and it can now display or hide relevant events during a trip, depending on user preference. This is also something that was done in accordance with user preference.
The new functions described above are standard as of today on every newly configurated Porsche 911, Cayenne, Panamera, or Taycan, as Porsche notes. Evidently, the parts of the route planner regarding charging functions do not apply to the models that do not operate on electric power.
Editor's note:
For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows multiple images of Porsche's multimedia unit in 6.0 guise, as well as a few vehicles that get it.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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