Looks cool, but isn't. The backlighting in our 2008 Hyundai Veracruz's interior is a bad idea.
It's said that the rods in humans' eyes are most sensitive to wavelengths in the bluish-green range, which tend to "bleach" out a person's night vision.
I'm not sure how effective night vision is when you've got headlights on, but I can say that the blue illumination in our Veracruz makes things tough to focus on. All of the numbers and letters printed on the dozens of buttons look very fuzzy when lit in blue, making them difficult to read...
So why not just crank up the brightness to compensate? That's problem #2: the gauges in the cluster are WAY too bright even with the dimmer turned all the way down. I can't imagine driving the Veracruz in some remote location devoid of light pollution. The speedo and tach would bore holes into my skull.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 3,365 miles
zoomzoom22 says:
09:57 AM, 01/22/08
that's a shame, because it does look awesome. From a sheer looks perspective, the Veracruz has really impressed me.
Personally, blue like this is my favorite, but since it obviously sucks as far as vision goes, I like red and the blue/white combo that is in my dad's Civic (as well as Escalades, etc.) I'm not a huge fan of the basic green setup, and I really don't like the Nissan orange that lights up the old Infiniti G, Altima, etc.
opfreak says:
10:07 AM, 01/22/08
they need pruple would be a comprimise between cool, and night vision.
But I'm willing to bet if all cars were red, someone would complain about it being boring.
lazyhater says:
10:51 AM, 01/22/08
Hyundai came a longgggggg way, but still got things to work on.....they will get there.
roar02ram says:
11:20 AM, 01/22/08
Red is actually the easiest at night, although Mazda red is a touch too bright. Audi used to do it perfectly.
dougtheeng says:
11:28 AM, 01/22/08
I like the purple/blue + red in VWs...I always found them easy enough to read.
dalaw says:
11:29 AM, 01/22/08
I think something like an aqua/light blue backlighting would be easier on the eyes.
tra2883 says:
11:49 AM, 01/22/08
I had trouble focusing on the gauges at night when I first got my 2002 VW Golf that I once owned, which I blamed on the blue backlighting. But, I did eventually adjust to it and it never proved to be a major issue. My biggest problem was forgetting to turn off my high-beams - I wouldn't notice the blue indicator on the dash, because it blended in with the rest of the gauges.
SubyTrojan says:
12:02 PM, 01/22/08
Following up on what roar02ram said, I believe studies have shown that a reddish color is the easiest to see at night. I believe that's why it was used to illuminate fighter cockpits such as the one in the Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcat. I don't know if different color is used in current fighters.
I believe this is also the reason why Bimmers use red lighting in their cockpits as well. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
ktwnzsmartguy says:
12:11 PM, 01/22/08
The blue backlighting looks awesome, and I've heard that Vw is the first one to use the blue backlighting?
billt9 says:
12:16 PM, 01/22/08
Danger car!
Try reporting that to the NHTSA!
Blue lighting is illegible!
Biology and Safety? Never learned that in engineering classes.
"Our test subject did not die in our 5,000 hours of testing."
estreka says:
12:29 PM, 01/22/08
Suby - I believe green is the standard.
I agree with everyone that the blue looks sharp. It's a pity it's rough on the eyes.
bimmerjay says:
12:43 PM, 01/22/08
You are 100% correct, Suby. Amber is the best color for interior lighting at night. It is least shocking to the eyes and is easiest to adapt to in a dark environment. This is in fact why BMW uses amber for backlighting and ambient lighting. Function over style!
Green isn't too bad either, and many would argue that it looks more attractive.
ewilfong says:
01:11 PM, 01/22/08
Red or amber makes sense to me. Those old army flashlights come with red and amber filters, and I always heard they were used to preserve night vision (and maybe those colors aren't as visible from afar?). I also recall hearing that blue was chosen for many police vehicles because of how far it shows at night. I know the little blue lights on my various computer components light up a dark room quite a bit, so I can imagine the color causing an issue for night driving.
Too bad because blue does look cool.
stingray454 says:
02:22 PM, 01/22/08
It's a shame because I think blue looks the best too, but it is the most difficult to see at night. Red and white are the easiest to see at night, and is why most plane cockpits are illuminated in these colors. Unfortunately red is one of the least appealing colors in style at the moment for LCD displays and back lighting. Well, Audi still uses it, but they're about the only ones.
I suspect this blue craze is a fad, and in ten years we'll be on some other color (maybe red again), and all of today's cars with blue backlighting will look retro and dated, just like green backlight interiors of Ford vehicles from the 1990's look today.
actualsize says:
09:46 AM, 02/ 6/08
Don't you get it? Hyundai's corporate color is blue. So the interior lighting has to be blue.
Seriously Jay, you've blogged the nail right on the head. I drove the Veracruz last night, and the black numerals bleed into the smurf-blue LCD backgrounds, making the displays fuzzy and hard to read at night. Not smurfy at all, really.
I reached up to turn them down, and found them already at minimum.
It's a shame, really, because in the daytime the interior of the Veracruz is a tastefully attractive place to sit.
If anything, they should be red. Rally navigators use red lights so the driver won't have his night vision impaired. Ditto safecrackers, stagehands and special forces. When photographers used to use film, you'd find it in darkroom.
VW's have used blue, but not to the worrying extent we see in the newer Hyundai offerings. They manage to use a mild amount. And I find nothing wrong with white.
I'd rather be able to see the instruments and the road at night than congratulate myself on being cool.