About 10 years ago I recall being a passenger in a then-new Citroen C4 with the digital speedo in the middle of the dashboard. What a gimmick I thought. Digital speedometers will never catch on...
Now 10 years on suddenly I am an addict! I use the digital speed display in the middle of the instrument cluster on the Audi constantly, and find it much more "readable" in a fraction of a second than looking at a needle's position on a dial.
What has changed? Has 10 years of staring at computer, iPad, and iPhone screens had some subtle effect on the brain?!
Keyless ignition is another innovation that I don't think we need or anyone asked for. Yet I am starting to look for a push-button starter in my car after driving SWMBO's X3 over the weekend...
Maybe we can be taught to like things, even if we don't at the outset?
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I must say I haven't used the digital speedo in the digital display of the A3. Don't see it an advantage.... still a new car so seeing how mpg is going. I am impressed so far.
Also surprised without trying how well the 1.4TFSi performs. I've had 3 diesel turbo cars recently and two petrol (VAG) turbo petrols before that. So don't tend to use revs. I thought I might with a 1.4TFSi to the detriment of mpg.... it drives so well even at low revs.
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You can clearly see the digital speedos in other cars when on the motorway.
I expect a police officer could pull you over at say 75 because that is what your speedo said even if the actual speed was a bit less.
Much harder to see the needle in a more tradional speedo from another vehicle.
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Rest easy. The speedo would not be 'calibrated' as is all of the enforcement equipment.
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>> You can clearly see the digital speedos in other cars when on the motorway.
So you can see the 3" display between speedometer and rev counter in an Audi from another car? How?
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Thread drift... Be keen to find out how you get on with that engine in the A3, rtj70. I've got essentially the same engine in the A1, albeit 122HP and not cylinder-on-demand. I'm seeing 45mpg on my regular run which includes lots of hills and twists. No complaints about performance yet either. The A3 must weigh around 200Kg more than the A1 though?
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I've somehow managed to do over 1,500 miles so far. And only runs I'd call long (so about half that total). One or two other drives where mpg showing fair compared to what I expected but I didn't do a brim to brim test.
Best mpg so far is about 42-43mpg brim to brim. Lots to be honest is short and stop-start. But the absolute best I got from the last car, a diesel 170PS VW was 47mpg.
I know it's down to my driving as much as anything. For example in a 30mph zone in the Passat I'd be in 3rd at most... it could have tolerated 5th and 4th would be fine... And then you'd need to change down... and up... etc. So I didn't. Part of the logic for the DSG in this A3.
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Quite a few proper vintage cars have digital speedos. Bicycle ones can have quite big numbers, are easily calibrated for different size wheels, yet are small enough to be almost inconspicuous on an old dashboard.
Whilst speedos are common enough on luxury and fast vintage cars, the fact they were not a compulsory fitment until 1934 and the modern day cash gatherer safety cameras mean they are often added these days to what were cheap cars.
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I expect a police officer could pull you over at say 75 because that is what your speedo said...
What offence would you have committed at 69 with the speedometer showing 75? (Assuming a 70 limit, of course.)
And for RTJ, yes you can read a digital readout from the next lane if it's the car's main speedometer - Citroëns and the like - especially if it's mounted mantelpiece style rather than where the driver can see it. Displays like your Audi's and my LEC's are a different matter. And I seldom use mine either - although of course there's a permanent, and even smaller, km/h display.
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>> You can clearly see the digital speedos in other cars when on the motorway.
At least the mk 3 (modern) Mini has put the speedometer back in front of the driver rather than the retro large gauge in the centre of the dash. That big display is still there of course for 'retro' reasons but it's no longer the speedo.
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You can do all sorts of clever things with the dash display in the Merc including setting it to give a digital speed readout in either mph or kph. Whichever you choose automatically then sets the sat nav to the same scale. Handy enough when you're in a kph zone. It has a conventional analogue speedo too
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The Passat CC I had didn't have kph markings on the speedometer. Therefore it relied on a (small) permanent digital readout in the MFD. No way of turning it off.
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>>with the digital speedo in the middle of the dashboard.
I was impressed with the digital speedo on a Toyota Yaris I drove for a few days a while back. It, too, sat in the middle of the dashboard and was much easier to read than the analogue on my own car.
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What is the point having a speeding giving you the speed in 1MPH digits, when its up to 10% out.
Don't like Digital speedos, most of them are too "jumpy"
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>>Don't like Digital speedos
I thought you used your satnav as a speedo.
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>> >>Don't like Digital speedos
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>> I thought you used your satnav as a speedo.
Most of the time I use the analogue speedo, because most of the time the SatNav is switched off.
I use the speed camera app on my iPhone sometimes, which has a digital speedo on it AND an average speed readout through SPECS zones.
Take great delight in averaging 55mph through a 50 mph section.
But my self proclaimed assertion still stands, for a main speedo I don't like Digital, too jumpy.
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My lorry, a Renault, has a digital speedo.
Our vehicles are tracked and drivers accumulate "points" for going over speed limits which can lead to disciplinary action if it gets excessive; it's far easier to keep on the right side of this with the digital speedo than with the analogue type fitted to the Volvos which comprise the rest of our fleet.
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>> >>with the digital speedo in the middle of the dashboard.
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>> I was impressed with the digital speedo on a Toyota Yaris I drove for a
>> few days a while back. It, too, sat in the middle of the dashboard
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My daughter has a 2000 model but I understand that the Yaris now has a "normal " speedo.
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>>and was much easier to read than the analogue on my own car.
I understand that the display is arranged so that you do not have to refocus your eyes when switching from the distance to the speedo.
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>> About 10 years ago I recall being a passenger in a then-new Citroen C4 with
>> the digital speedo in the middle of the dashboard.
I've never understood this occasional fashion for putting the speedo in the middle. Why wouldn't you want it directly in front of the driver?
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Might get disguised as other things but there are two basic reasons. Rev counter in pole position in a sports car (the Morgan 4/4 I had) and cheapness in production as it is the same whether LHD or RHD. Proper Minis fall into that bracket.
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Yes, but they have to make a different dashboard for all the other controls, not to mention the steering wheel and pedals, which must cost a lot more than merely moving an electrically-connected speedometer.
And if the speedometer and other instruments are in a separate sub-dash then the whole unit could just as easily go on the other side.
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I can multitask and use either.
The rest who cannot are wimps.
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>> Yes, but they have to make a different dashboard for all the other controls, not
>> to mention the steering wheel and pedals, which must cost a lot more than merely
>> moving an electrically-connected speedometer.
>> And if the speedometer and other instruments are in a separate sub-dash then the
>> whole unit could just as easily go on the other side.
In the original Issigonis Mini all the controls were central except for the indicator stalk - which in RHD versions was on the right. Alternative mountings for the clutch and brake pedals/hydraulic cylinders were provided and even the steering wheel was a reasonably striaghtforward move.
There was a guy in Kenton in London in early 80s importing them from Belgium, converting pedals, lights etc and selling them at a profit. Until the rules changed, IIRC in 83 with
change from Y suffix to to A prefix registration they even got a 'new' looking reg.
I nearly bought one but opted for the Pug 104 I've mentioned before instead.
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>> Now 10 years on suddenly I am an addict! I use the digital speed display
>> in the middle of the instrument cluster on the Audi constantly, and find it much
>> more "readable" in a fraction of a second than looking at a needle's position on
>> a dial.
On the contrary, I find the needle's position in my peripheral vision enables me to "read" the instrument without looking at it.
80 mph in my 3 series is at 12:00. Needle vertical-ish means I'm driving at a sensible motorway speed. Past vertical I am likely to be pulled if caught. And if the needle is at 9:00 or below I'm not speeding around town.
With a bit of familiarity, analogue instruments are still easiest to read, IMHO.
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>> analogue instruments are still easiest to read, IMHO.
Yes, mechanical ones driven by a flexible drive off the transmission. At least when one fails you don't have to buy a whole new electronic dashboard and try to get someone to make it work.
The other problem is that such digital screens can be hard to see properly in bright, flickering or rapidly changing light levels.
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Time was I could more or less tell what speed my car was doing by the noises it was making. A combination of engine note, wind rush and the intensity of the squeaks and rattles were a pretty good guide. They're all a bit too quiet now.
;-)
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"When I was here, I could tell ya the speed that we were travelin' by the feel of the deck plates."
Scotty, talking about his Enterprise (NCC-1701), compared to the Enterprise-D
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My son is strangely unimpressed that I can do a Vulcan salute. He particularly doesn't like it when I say "Live long and prosper" at the same time when being introduced to his friends.
Can't think why.
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"Can't think why."
Son keeps his has hands behind, secretly flipping the bird at you? Mine does that when I embarrass him. He didn't notice the 2m x 1m mirror above the sofa though.
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>> "Can't think why."
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>> Son keeps his has hands behind, secretly flipping the bird at you? Mine does that
>> when I embarrass him. He didn't notice the 2m x 1m mirror above the sofa
>> though.
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Thought it was traditional to put the ceiling mirror in the bedroom?
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>> Thought it was traditional to put the ceiling mirror in the bedroom?
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Dave tried that but it gave him nowhere to put the CCTV.
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Three instrument modes in the V40....the "Performance" has a digital speedo, the other two have analogue ones...I use one the analogue ones when driving after dark....in its lowest contrast mode it is very subtle....!
Why the wait ? our 2.0 Astra GTE had one of these back in 1987 !
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I prefer to have both at the same time.
But if I had to choose one, then it would be analogue as it shows the rate and direction of change (that's why altimeters are analogue in aircraft)
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(that's why altimeters are analogue in aircraft)
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Digital on the newer stuff.
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>> >> analogue instruments are still easiest to read, IMHO.
I agree.
All one has to do is glance and see the needle to get a fairly accurate reading, where as one has to read the digits to see the speed - one reason I stopped using digital watches years ago...
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My car has digital and I've got used to it, although I still prefer analogue. One unforeseen disadvantage is travelling abroad where I expected the switch to kph to be a real boon. In fact I found I missed the ability to see mph and kph on a dial together. I think its because most limits abroad are broadly similar to UK so for example driving in a town and seeing 30mph/50kph on one dial is reassuring and less off-putting than seeing just a "50" in the display without any point of reference. Not a major issue and I got used to it after a couple of days but just one more thing to think about in an unfamiliar environment.
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Digital speedometer v. analogue - rtj70
