I stole this one from Inside Line Lead Senior Editor Ed Hellwig. Back in January 2008 he did a post about this same detail on our then long-term Audi Q7.
Ed wrote: "Whenever I drive our Q7, this little detail always impresses me. When it's fully warmed up, the temperature gauge reads dead on center. Not a little bit above or slightly below, but right on the middle hash mark. It's doesn't really give you any more information than a typical gauge, but it tells you something about the engineers who designed it...They could have let the needle rest anywhere, but it looks precise sitting there right on the mark so they took a little extra time to make it line up. A nice touch."
I think about Ed's insightful post everytime I drive an Audi. I find myself checking the car's temp gauge to see where the needle rests. Here's a shot of our S5's temp gauge and as you can see the needle is right on the mark.
Obviously this isn't a big deal, but it is nice detail that Audi should get credit for.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
slickersdrip says:
12:31 PM, 07/13/09
My Neon does the same thing, and actually tells me what temperature it is...
carguy622 says:
12:38 PM, 07/13/09
The two Honda products I've driven register a little lower than center, which is fine by me.
Also, Mr. Oldham, the three Fords my family had registered dead center on temperature too... I bet the Flex does as well, but there's that nagging sunroof gap, nuts!
chavis10 says:
01:24 PM, 07/13/09
My $23k Mazda3 reads the same way so, what's your point?
ckk2 says:
01:24 PM, 07/13/09
I think the cool part about the Q7 was the needle was completely vertical. This doesn't look as nifty. If they had set it up to be horizontal that would be nice.
canadia says:
01:28 PM, 07/13/09
It's also idling quite perfectly at 600 RPM.
Either that, or the needle just happened to locate itself there during an otherwise spastic idle as the picture was being taken. In any case, let's not ruin this appreciative moment of bavarian attention-to-detail by mentioning mysterious steering problems, trim pieces falling off, high-pressure fuel pump failures, disappearing dipsticks, useless cupholders, a general lack of storage space, and the apparent extinction of the handbrake.
...Damn.
bkochuk says:
02:14 PM, 07/13/09
tough crowd today...
uncanny_man says:
02:43 PM, 07/13/09
Typically, manufacturers put in a bit of variance to the gauge around the center mark just so while the temperatures vary slightly, the o.c.d. consumers won't be bothered by it being off the mark. Personally, I prefer gauges to be as accurate as possible since they ought to be there to convey info, not for beauty.
cruiserhead1 says:
03:43 PM, 07/13/09
none of the factory gauges mean much. There is such a large dead zone that it's really more like a on/off switch (or hot/cold light).
The older Audi temp gauges gave temp readings so you know from 170F to 250F, where you were at.
The current S5 temp gauge is actually not a nice detail. It's cost cutting and not informative.
jkp1187 says:
04:46 PM, 07/13/09
Color me unimpressed. Can you tell me what temperature it has reached? Don't tell me what the manual says the operating temperature range is, tell me what temperature the water's at right now. Go ahead. Celsius will be fine. :-) Those engineers didn't even have the guts to even put a low and high temperature on the gauge....
roadburner says:
07:49 PM, 07/13/09
cruiserhead is right. Most gauges are now nothing more than glorified idiot lights. Thank the typical idiot driver who would pee his/her pants if a gauge moves more than .01" off dead center- assuming that they'd even notice it in the first place.
pyo_s65 says:
09:46 PM, 07/13/09
Actually I do notice whether the temperature is too high or too low. It is indicative of how hard I am driving the car on a given condition. I would rather have a needle that would actually move given the temperature.
tomslick2 says:
05:41 AM, 07/14/09
My POS '03 bare bones Chevy Caviler sits at the middle too, and it includes the actual numbers. Does that mean that the car ($9900 Retail Price)is as good or better than the S5? Sweet! I will have more fun driving home today.
1487 says:
05:59 AM, 07/14/09
LOL. The lengths these people go through to praise AUdi and BMW are unbelievable. We all know the S5 is a great car and it should be for $60k.
bennetpullen says:
10:34 AM, 07/14/09
I actually think this is a negative. If the gauge always sits right at the middle it means it's not actually telling me what temp the coolant it at, which is kind of the point right? Coolant temps DO vary with usage, so the gauge should be moving around a bit as you drive or else it isn't working.
It's probably just an electronic trigger, when you coolant reaches a certain range it puts that dial in the middle, if its above that range it will shoot right up to the H and below that range it will sink right down to the C. That is still at least more aesthetically pleasing than a pair of idiot lights I guess but nothing Audi should be praised for.
blueguydotcom says:
10:48 PM, 07/14/09
Yeah pay attention to the gauge. Ignore the trim that will fall apart.