Drive the new Honda Civic Si long enough and you'll get used to the somewhat unorthadox gauge cluster. I know I have, but I also can't deny the effect of having three major focal points in my driving experience (versus the more traditional two). The tachometer, the speedo and the road ahead are all at different distances, so if you're driving aggressively you have to re-focus everytime you switch between them. If you're 19 you probably won't notice this, as the human eye focuses almost instantly at that age...
Double the time spent on the earth, however, and you can quadruple the lag time between looking at something and having your eyes focus on it. That might be the most compelling argument against this gauge cluster...unless you're 19 (which most of the Si's target audience likely is).
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 16,383 miles
blueguydotcom says:
09:08 AM, 10/ 9/06
Agreed. Driving my girlfriend's mom's 06 Civic Hybrid (a nice little car by the way), I get annoyed really fast with the tach/speedo/out-the-window switching.
Is it just me or does the dash seem to go on forever with the civic? Reminds me of the old Pontiac minivan from the early 90s - the TranSport.
Also, those a-pillars are massive!
bromans says:
10:57 AM, 10/ 9/06
While I seem to be in the minority, I happen to like our Civic's gauge layout. For normal driving when velocity isn't changing much -- driving down the highway, for instance --the digital speed readout is very easy to check and better than a traditional analog gauge, in my opinion. As for the tachometer, there's a red LED starts to flash when one is approaching redline. You can see it flash in your peripheral vision, making it easier to stay focused on the road without having to look down in the first place.
As for the dash and A-pillars, just pretend Chewie's next to you and you're piloting the Millenium Falcon. Soon you'll be doing Kessel runs in less than 12 parsecs.
drjames says:
12:41 PM, 10/ 9/06
What I'd like to see is Honda prove that it's bi-level speedo is a great innovation and not some sort of cheesy gimmick by putting this 'great' feature in all their new products.
Did it make the new CR-V? Thought so.
spargo says:
11:26 PM, 10/ 9/06
To argue the backside though whats worse is a car with NO tach. To be honest when driving a car I do a lot of eye hopping, and it has occured to me this could become a real annoyance, but then again becoming more comfortable with the car were it your own, you might stop using the tach altogether. You'll just know from the speed you're going and engine sound what you need to be in. Thats my 2 cents.
-Spargo
nick001 says:
06:12 AM, 10/12/06
I agree with Bromans. Honda placed a convenient little red flashing light so that when driving hard, a persons eyes need only travel to the speedo (which is placed nice and high so the driver doesn't have to look back down completely). And the CRV has the same NAV unit but not the same instrument layout.
spargo says:
11:54 AM, 10/13/06
I'll also point out that because you get used to the engine sound and knowing what gear to be in at what speed rather than constantly checking your revs, the only real thing you need to look at is the speedo, which is conveniently placed in a position with the most minimal "eye hop" as possable. Only a HUD would do better.
-Spargo
actualsize says:
06:35 AM, 10/16/06
I have to admit that I'm getting used to it. In day to day use, when I'm not revving anywhere near the eight-thousand rpm redline anyway, the inability to see the tach is not a problem. The high digital speedo is easy to glance at in traffic and has been very useful when we took the Civic to Buttonwillow for a track day.
At least Honda hasn't fallen into the trap that Toyota has fallen into with the Scion Xa and others: locating the speedo and tach in the middle of the dash where you have to turn your head to see anything. Now THAT's a bad location.
gonzster says:
11:35 AM, 12/31/06
Ok, I know I'm a bit late but I'll step in with my comments.
I disagree with your point of finding it more difficult to focus on the Civic's speedo and tach as opposed to a traditional setup. Personally I dislike normal speedometers because if I want to see my speed I have to focus on the small numbers (or lines/dashes between numbers) to see my actual speed. It's not my eyes, I was blessed with good vision, but I think it is an inherent problem with analog speedometers.
The worst offender has to be my Jetta. The car has a rather weak 2.0 powerplant and a 4 speed transmission that is geared only for city and highway driving. Thus the car can only achieve about 110 miles per hour with a tailwind, but for some reason VW saw fit to use the standard 160mph gauge. That only adds 50 miles of useless space that could have been spread out to make the numbers easier to make out.
However with a digital speedo you don't have this problem. The numbers displayed are huge, so huge in fact I can make them out with nary a glance away from the road. I think it is also more precise especially while cruising at "5 mph above the speed limit" as even a slight change is easy to perceive and doesn't require the squinting at the tiny characters on a normal speedo. Though the short hood challenges a view of the front of the car it also means that combined with the dash design, the speedo is very close to your line of sight while driving, making it even easier to see.
As far as the tach is concerned, yes it is in a different place but it, like the speedo, is pretty big. To borrow from someone else, who likened it to being "Carnival size." It is easy to make out without entirely focusing on it. (That and tachs don't have to be tracked as preicsely as speedos) The audible cues of the engine are of course a big help as well. For aggressive driving, the blinking shift light way up at the top of the speedo is a highly visible guide to alert you when approaching redline.
Again I'm not so sure why the Si's dash gets such a bad rap. Its design is funky and futuristic and not for everyone but at the same time I think it is very functional and intuitive. My only request would be to have an option to toggle the speed at which numbers refresh on the speedo, with the current speed being slowest and faster refreshes as an option.