Speedometer Location

I must echo this - Never driven a Gen II or... the Gen III. But had test-driven the Insight. Personally I do have concern (too strong of a word, but) about the Prius speedo location. It's such a mental reflex to glance straight down to check speed. A quick down-vertical glance. In the '10 Prius - it will be down a bit and to the right (for left drive models). I think I've heard here the focusing will be lessened as the speedo is a bit further away from the eyes. But - from all the pics it appears the MPH/KPH size is not all that large and a muted Toyota green hue - smaller at least compared with other digitals I have seen incl the Insight.

 

The current location is easy to use. On the Gen III the spedo is still in the same place as the Gen II, but more information has been added on the passenger side.

Many if not most car companies are moving instrumentation toward the center. I assume this means than some sort of human factors study has shown that it works better.

Don't worry about it. Once you use it a few times, it works very well.

Tom

 

Ask a first-time drive what they prefer.
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You haven't actually looked at the car and sat in it have you?
The left edge of the speedo is right in front of the driver, it is no more off centre of the drivers seat than a speedo would be if it had a tacho beside it in a traditional dash.
Wait till you actually see it, I have and it's not just a non issue, it's great.

If you can't easily see and read the speedo at a quick glance you should trade in your licence. One thing I love about the setup is I can easily see the speedo even though I'm long sighted. No need for glasses to drive a Prius if you're long sighted.

 

Not to pick nits, and no I don't have the Whine Flu, but the '10 speedo isn't quite in front. From the pics looks to be directly above the plane of the power button. Valid point about some cars with the speedo off center with the tach. touche' - and I will shut up on this topic. One of the reasons I desire the Prius is that it IS distinctive, and in addition to being Hybrid sets Prii owners in a different class (I mean that in a nice way).
My best friend has a '04 Prius which I have driven several times. Certain that the 2-gen jump will be a leap in many areas. Can't wait.

 

You are entitled to your opinion. Obviously many of the automotive designers don't see it the same way.

As for me, it doesn't matter to me either way. I like the nearly heads-up location out front, but side to side doesn't make any difference for me. On the other hand, my training as a pilot makes me pretty comfortable scanning instruments.

Tom

 

I'm going to agree with the original post. Center speedometers are horrible. My feeling is I would think twice about buying a car with one but since I have not driven one I can't give my final word on the issue.

Does anyone have any evidence on why some cars have this? I believe the min does and so does the yaris to name a few.

 

I don't even notice the speedo being off center. I don't think you are supposed to be looking straight ahead all the time. I ride motorcycles and I have gotten in the habit of kind of scanning back and forth. It comes under the heading see everything or die.

On a side note has anyone noticed that the steering wheel feels a little off center in the Gen III? I don't think it is but on my test drive I definitely noticed something felt different over my Gen II
G

 

Hasn't bothered me in the least ... love the new instrument cluster design.

 

Could be about money not style, when putting dashboard in center of car it makes a dashboard a standard that can be used globally, the position of the driver seat and steering wheel does not matter. Inside center dashboard enclosure the mounting for speed indicator and information screen are most likely the same so items can be changed. One Dashboard equals cost savings to manufacture. Just guessing….

 

Sorry but I have to disagree. The Speedo is somewhere between the center and the driver, but not in front of the driver like you think. I have no problems with centralized MFDs. The one in the Prius looks a lot similar to what Citroen have been using in their cars. The only problem I had with it in the Prius was the distance, I thought it could be a bit closer for my level of comfort but this is very personal.

 

I test drove the Prius 3 yesterday - and the HUD is perfectly in the centre of the driver's line of view!

 

I think the center gauge cluster is "better" due to its novelty, not its utility.

It reminds me of the small center mounted brake light- when it first came out for a couple years accidents were reduced for cars that had them and everyone patted themselves on the back for this wonderful invention. Now every car has had them for years and we're back to where we started.

 

I think some people are still making a confusion about where the MFD is located. The picture shows clearly that in is in the center console with the Speedo closer to the driver but, again, not in line with the driver facing ahead....

 

Note that the subject of this thread is the speedometer, not the MFD.

Tom

 

Note that the speedometer in not in front of the driver... the difference from traditional ones is that you have to look slightly to your right instead of looking down thru the wheel ring...

Just reinforcing what I just said in my above post: "the Speedo is closer to the driver but, again, not in line with the driver facing ahead...."

 

One thing I like about it is that you are free to adjust steering wheel height without blocking view of the speedo. I like having the wheel a little lower than possible in most cars.

 

I agree with Greylar (even though I own an '09, not the '10): IMO it is a non-issue.

When I drive, I am constantly "scanning" the roadway directly in front as well as in the distance, as well as my driver's mirror, inside mirror, passenger side mirror, and occassionally the MFD. So training my eyes to glance at the speedometer is a non-issue.

Probably if all you'd had is a "rotary dial" phone all your life, you'd have a little trouble adjusting to a "push button" phone. But our children, who now have only ever know push button phones, will someday have to think hard when their children ask, "why is it called 'DIALING' the phone, Daddy; what is a 'dial'?"

Someday "speedometers" as we know them will probably be a thing of the past, also.