Renault have been doing this for ages. I had a 2009 Mégane which gave the speed as a digital number. Fuel and oil temps were bars to either side. Revs was a physical dial.
It was such a great car, just a shame about the engineering…
When I’ve rented vehicles with a digital speedometer I haven’t felt like I’m missing anything without a dial. I haven’t found myself in situations where the movement of the needle helps me.
When I get into rental cars with a dial, I feel like I need to watch it closely because I’m not familiar with where the ticks are. It doesn’t work for me at all.
I have absolutely felt like I am missing something when I don’t have a dial, I like having a tool get a general idea of how fast my speed it changing, rather than having to focus on a number to see how fast that is changing.
I feel like this debate is about the concept of a seepometer as a simple number vs a speedometer as a dial.
Your claim that this speedometer was a lot easier easier to read than a normal dashboard, leaves out a bit, that is dependent on what situation we are talking about. In normal driving, I find the dash perfectly easy to read, this concept you have shown be seem to be lacking color coding which would make warning lights less distinct.
One of the best features in modern cars is when they have a HUD, that is fantastic.
I guess I’m in the minority: I prefer to see my speed as a number instead of a dial.
Yes, it does need to be in front of the driver.
Chevy 15-seaters from 2012+ you can turn the status screen on the dash and display numerical rpms. They are a bit slow to update but it’s kinda cool.
Renault have been doing this for ages. I had a 2009 Mégane which gave the speed as a digital number. Fuel and oil temps were bars to either side. Revs was a physical dial.
It was such a great car, just a shame about the engineering…
Before I bought a new car, I assumed digital speedometers would be available as a setting, not apparently not.
It’s the kind of thing that I didn’t realize I wanted until I had to deal with the alternative.
An advantage of a proper dial is that you can instinctively see the change in speed by how quickly the needle moves.
Different people have different considerations.
When I’ve rented vehicles with a digital speedometer I haven’t felt like I’m missing anything without a dial. I haven’t found myself in situations where the movement of the needle helps me.
When I get into rental cars with a dial, I feel like I need to watch it closely because I’m not familiar with where the ticks are. It doesn’t work for me at all.
I have absolutely felt like I am missing something when I don’t have a dial, I like having a tool get a general idea of how fast my speed it changing, rather than having to focus on a number to see how fast that is changing.
Also, range. You don’t even need numbers on the RPM dial to know it pointing past 12-o-clock is not good.
The Citroen C4 had a the speed right under the windshield which was a lot easier to read than a analog speed gauge in the dash.
A picture:
I feel like this debate is about the concept of a seepometer as a simple number vs a speedometer as a dial.
Your claim that this speedometer was a lot easier easier to read than a normal dashboard, leaves out a bit, that is dependent on what situation we are talking about. In normal driving, I find the dash perfectly easy to read, this concept you have shown be seem to be lacking color coding which would make warning lights less distinct.
One of the best features in modern cars is when they have a HUD, that is fantastic.