$21k Kia K4 has better backkup camera than _ANY_ of my Porsche's

[daveo4EV]

seriously this is 2025 and starting to tic me off!!

Why is my pathetic rental Kia K4 (a horrible sedan by any measure, the hard plastics alone and my phone sliding around in it like it's a ice rink nearly drove me mad in less than 3 days)

the backup camera in the K4 is: high resolution, responsive, fast, clear, easy to see and simply and frankly living proof that Porsche is behind the times and for what they charge I can expect a decent backup camera...

a $21k economy sedan shouldn't embarass my Macan Turbo EV in a simple and daily feature like backup camera

get it together Porsche!!! your problems run deep!

this is embarassing.

Sponsored

 

[sor]

I honestly don’t see what the outrage is about on the camera in this forum. After having the car a week, I don’t find it measurably worse than my iX or my Volvo, resolution wise. I even went as far as to check if I could read certain signs as a way to compare graininess.

I assumed that the complaints were all centered around the summer recall, which can blur the camera.

The main difference I see is that the screen is smaller on the Macan, which might give the impression that the camera is much worse. The Volvo really shines here because it has a beautiful portrait screen, makes a great impression but if I look closely it is definitely not 4k, and has a graininess that blown up images show.

now I need to go do side by sides

 

[daveo4EV]

the resolution is really really low vs. common backup camera's in economy box vehicle's availabvle for $25k or less…

the camera is simply substandard for a luxury vehicle when virtually any economy vehicle has a better one.

it's simply a proxy/canary for deeper problems with the Euro auto maker's and their lack of understanding about where they are in the world vs. competitive alternatives.

I shouldn't get in a $2.72/day rental and notice that the backup camera is remarkably better than my $132k Macan Turbo EV

 

[fubar.droid]

It's such a weird place to cut corners on. One that is very visible, literally.

 

[sor]

I would not be surprised if the Kia is better. What is the resolution of the Macan camera?

 

[sor]

Being a data driven pedant, I decided it wasn’t good enough for me to rely on impressions that my Macan backup camera is decent, so I printed out an ISO12233 test pattern in an attempt to compare.

Granted this means nothing for the Kia, I’m sure it’s excellent, they need some sort of differentiator after all . This is just me trying to figure out if my suspicion that the camera quality is based more on screen size and not actual quality has any merit.

I think it’s safe to say by many reviews and accounts that the Volvo EX90 camera system is excellent. I don’t know where exactly it ranks in the broader scheme of things but people seem to really like it. Granted, they have a huge, beautiful display that feels more like looking out a window than peering through a peephole.

I took some shots and my impressions are that the Macan camera is pretty good resolution wise. The image is softer but you can make out the details, read the digits, etc. The Volvo’s image is quite blocky in the details, but more crisp.

I understand as well that it isn’t ideal to take a photo of a screen, and then upload it where it gets further compressed. Ideally we would take screenshots within the car OS, but I think this still gives a decent idea of what the user sees if you ignore moiré effects.

Volvo full view

Macan full view:

volvo detail:

Macan detail:

in the end I maintain the Macan camera hardware is good, but held back by the small display. People also complain about having large “bolt-on” displays though, so pick your poison.

 

[ColdCase]

seriously this is 2025 and starting to tic me off!!
.....

Pick another car to use an example.... My nephew works as a tech at a Kia dealership and he says don't buy any Kia POS. For example, among other issues, the Kia camera usualy fails about every 8- 14 months. So if you don't mind having it serviced once a year, then it is fine. But keep in mind that parts are on back order for months and it takes weeks to get a service appointment. So now you are without a camera for maybe 4 months. Porsche average camera or one with better eye candy thats not available 25% of the time... your choice.

BTW the Porsche camera works well for me. Dunno what some are so upset about. I drive a lot of cars. My biggest pet peeve is that they now all put the shift lever or knob in a different place, hard to buld up muscle memory and the Macan lever is somewhat hidden.

 

[fubar.droid]

Being a data driven pedant, I decided it wasn’t good enough for me to rely on impressions that my Macan backup camera is decent, so I printed out an ISO12233 test pattern in an attempt to compare.

Granted this means nothing for the Kia, I’m sure it’s excellent, they need some sort of differentiator after all . This is just me trying to figure out if my suspicion that the camera quality is based more on screen size and not actual quality has any merit.

I think it’s safe to say by many reviews and accounts that the Volvo EX90 camera system is excellent. I don’t know where exactly it ranks in the broader scheme of things but people seem to really like it. Granted, they have a huge, beautiful display that feels more like looking out a window than peering through a peephole.

I took some shots and my impressions are that the Macan camera is pretty good resolution wise. The image is softer but you can make out the details, read the digits, etc. The Volvo’s image is quite blocky in the details, but more crisp.

I understand as well that it isn’t ideal to take a photo of a screen, and then upload it where it gets further compressed. Ideally we would take screenshots within the car OS, but I think this still gives a decent idea of what the user sees if you ignore moiré effects.

Volvo full view

Macan full view:

volvo detail:

Macan detail:

in the end I maintain the Macan camera hardware is good, but held back by the small display. People also complain about having large “bolt-on” displays though, so pick your poison.

One thing that makes the camera feel even worse is the frame rate. I don't know the FPS but it's pretty low compared to some other model's I've seen/been in where it should be like 60 FPS for a premium experience.

 

[sor]

Yeah, that I haven’t looked into, nor low light situations. In general I don’t think it deserves the hate it gets here, although maybe some genuinely have an issue with their hardware. Based on some past threads I half expect some to say their camera doesn’t look nearly as good as my photos, the complaints have been so bad.

 

[krissrock]

the camera appears to have fish eye lense...or the view is actually much bigger than what's shown on the screen.
I think the issue is that the screen in the macan is smaller than others...and it's a cut out of the whole picture the camera is capturing

 

[alxman]

Maybe, maybe not. My 2014 BMW X6 had a smaller screen with I suspect lower resolution and the rear camera picture was better. I could even adjust the night vision to make it look almost like a day picture. However, I have gotten used to the Macan’s rear camera mostly because the surround vision helps to compensate for its limitations.

 

[byebye]

I totally agree with @daveo4EV

Moreover, the quality under low light conditions is awful: you can’t use 360° view as a reliable solution to park your car.

I don’t know why, but with this 360 view, even in perfect conditions, I can’t be sure where the corners of my car are…

it was so better in my 2012 Audi A6 with 360 view, a screen that was smaller than the one in the Macan… 14een years ago!

the Macan is a car made for drivers, but Porsche has forgotten that even Porsche drivers need to park their car, in Europe for instance, in very tight parking lots.

 

[W1NGE]

How did we ever manage without cameras....??

 

[Awaz]

How did we ever manage without cameras....??

By the same token, how did we manage without computers/smartphones?
Better tech is meant to help

 

[W1NGE]

By the same token, how did we manage without computers/smartphones?
Better tech is meant to help

Context here is the vehicle

Sponsored