Digital vs analogue cockpits... help or hindrance?
- Thread starter Richdog
- Start date
All these new flashy instrument clusters, and the majority of manufactures don't include a temperature gauge anymore.
Some do. Then again I also have oil temperature, oil pressure and transmission temperature.
That Range Rover may have the same as well, just buried in the menus with angle/yaw, front wheel location and other useful features. On a normal car they’re pretty redundant though. I’m guessing something like an M3 will have much of the above as well as it’s important when being used hard.
The great thing about the screens is you can change what’s on depending on what you want/need.
My mx5 has a digital screen on the left part of the cluster, showing mpg, fuel tank status, and engine/oil temp. The revs and speed counter are dials though.
Sort of wish it was all digital / screens. I prefer reading the cars speed as a number rather than a needle/dial.
Sort of wish it was all digital / screens. I prefer reading the cars speed as a number rather than a needle/dial.
The Audi virtual dash is nice and useful. But I prefer the look of a nicely crafted analogue binnacle.
The MK1 TT and one of the SLK's was notorious for the LCD going bad and being expensive to fix. But in later years third party companies have been fixing them much cheaper. So I think a similar thing will happen with more modern systems too.
But knowing my luck I would get a stuck pixpixel in a really obvious place.
The MK1 TT and one of the SLK's was notorious for the LCD going bad and being expensive to fix. But in later years third party companies have been fixing them much cheaper. So I think a similar thing will happen with more modern systems too.
But knowing my luck I would get a stuck pixpixel in a really obvious place.
The VW/Audi digital cluster is very good especially when using sat Nav
However if I was buying a new car it wouldn't put me off if a model wasn't available with it.
If it was but wasn't specced then it would
And I'm not BMW bashing but the "virtual cockpit" they had with the silver rings, what a waste of time. And I hate the look of the new X5 virtual cockpit as well, reverse non circular rev counter and non circular weird speedometer. I hope you can change the style of yhem
However if I was buying a new car it wouldn't put me off if a model wasn't available with it.
If it was but wasn't specced then it would
And I'm not BMW bashing but the "virtual cockpit" they had with the silver rings, what a waste of time. And I hate the look of the new X5 virtual cockpit as well, reverse non circular rev counter and non circular weird speedometer. I hope you can change the style of yhem
Yea I hate it too. Trying to just a touch screen while moving is a lot more difficult than proper physical buttons :/
And like I said before, if the screen/unit breaks you can't use functions of the car like heating and AC until it fixed.
Have to agree with you there. It’s almost as if they gave the current dash to their tech and said make it digital so he made an exact copy. Something not quite right, so is likely that the money counters looked at what he first produced and said no-way tone it down have to leave something more digital when re release the LCI.
Last edited:
Oh god yes, the removal of real buttons in favour of everything being touchscreen is driving me nuts. I far prefer normal radio and heating controls which I can adjust by feel rather than having to look at the screen while driving.
This is what Volvo have done and as a passenger I found it interesting but as a driver whilst driving, no way!
Sadly this technology seems to have vanished. Further development could have been interesting for dash buttons. They emerge when you need them. Different physical buttons depending on if you're in the sat nav screen, radio etc. But yeah, physical controls for media and air con please.
That said, I do like the digital dash itself replacing the analogue dials. Especially when you can shrink the dials and have sat nave take over most of screen there. I do fear for their longevity though.
But, I'd love a HUD. Give me a display with speed, fuel level, the next sat nav point, and also any lights from the dash, so dipped lights, indicators, other warning lights. They could just be a row across the top. The less time you have to look down at the binnacle the better.
That said, I do like the digital dash itself replacing the analogue dials. Especially when you can shrink the dials and have sat nave take over most of screen there. I do fear for their longevity though.
But, I'd love a HUD. Give me a display with speed, fuel level, the next sat nav point, and also any lights from the dash, so dipped lights, indicators, other warning lights. They could just be a row across the top. The less time you have to look down at the binnacle the better.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
- Posts
- 12,660
I wish I hadn't....
Really?
I find it can sometimes take a touch too long for my eyes to refocus from far to near, enough that I can read the number. By contrast, I know where 20, 30, 40 is on the speedo like I know the 12 segments on a clock face, so simply seeing where the needle is only requires peripheral vision.
Always just known it as a dashboard or instrument cluster... Never heard it called a binnacle before, yet suddenly it's everywhere in this thread. Is this a spanky new buzz term, like Screen Real Estate, or does your car binnacle actually house a compass, clinometer and a pair of iron balls?
It's been used for years. I personally remember it back in the mid 80's but know it's been used for mush longer than that.
And if it's a Landy you could well have a compass and clinometer in there.
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
- Posts
- 12,660
Hmm, yeah, probably - It sounds pretentious enough that I imagine it'd find favour with the sort of late-middle-aged crowd who drive Range Rovers and Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags... I tend to find many of them have naval/nautical affectations in their speech, despite never having been to sea!!And if it's a Landy you could well have a compass and clinometer in there.
Annoyingly, more and more of my friends are getting to that age where a wood-trimmed Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag and nautical accoutrements seem to suit them...
This. Importing my civic to Finland and it was super easy to switch to km at the push of a button as soon as I got to France
