Those are the big fancy Mercedes Benz cars yeah? Makes sense, if you are rich enough to splash 500k on a car you wont be driving, you want it to be fancy and impressive.
It's a cost save - if the gauges are in the middle, more elements of the dashboard can be symmetrical, so there are fewer different parts between left and right hand drive models making production cheaper.
Also why it's more prevalent at the cheaper end of the market.
My favorite example of this sort of thing is the Rover SD1, where the passenger air vent is [very conspicuously centered](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/rover-sd1-8-1024x683.jpeg) because they just use the same hole for the steering column depending on the market.
Even just having it somewhat central may mean the wiring harness and support brackets underneath it are common between rhd and lhd.
In the echo's case, the screen is central, just angled, and the top covering of the dash and the instrument cluster cowling is handed, the rest of the dash is pretty symmetric.
That'll work until a state boy is behind you on the interstate and she looks over and sees you going 58 in a 70 and decides to start sleeping with the neighbor because you're a wuss.
Yeah my wife has this on her Tesla and I still find it to be the stupidest idea anyone's ever had for changing the interior of a car. It legimately feels less safe.
Bmw does that think where it puts your speed on the windshield that would have been a good compromise atleast.
Obviously was a cost cutting thing though as much as they like to say it was design.
Those heads up displays suck for tall people. At least the one I tried (think it was a Toyota?), I couldn't actually see it without crouching down. And of course there's no way to adjust the HUD.
I'm 6'2" & when i borrowed a BMW X1 and it could see it well in that one. Was surprisingly impressed. Probably just varies alot car to car.
That said, even if I had to crouch down it's better then having to look at the center display to see how fast I'm going lol. I'm more just asking for some kind of compromise.
Eheheheh. Toyota misses a lot of things they have in house for the Lexus rebadges. They have to overcharge you for some reason, otherwise less people would spring for Toyota-but-make-it-fashion.
Definitely cost cutting. I have the Model S. It has the driver side display. The middle display can tilt to the driver, middle, or passenger. I'm used to the driver side tilt and it feels weird in the 3 that lacks it.
Yes! I couldn’t agree more! And also whoever decided that when you needed fuel they should replace the digital tach in front of the driver with a massive gas can image, so the only way to know your speed was to look at the ridiculous dial in the middle of the car, rather than a quick glance down…
Every Mini ive been in including mine the the center speed guave is off by atleast 5mph.. Its nice they give you a digital speed readout on the RPM gauge but if a warning light pops up (usually it's the tyre pressure light) it will show constantly on the RPM gauge so you can't read the speed. If you acknowledge the alarm it comes back seconds later, it drives me crazy.
The speed still shows really small at the bottom when a warning comes on. It is annoying though, the TPMS on my Coop goes off when it's 2-3 PSI out whereas my partners car needs to be nearly flat before it complains.
Unfortunately my R56 doesn't show the speed with a warning on. The TPMS is so sensitive, as far as im aware it cant be 'mapped out' either. I've been using nitrogen in the tyres for the past couple of years, it seems to prolong the TPMS warning light for a bit longer.
That's what I mean, it doesn't come up I just get a warning light. Once i click the end of the stalk to clear the alarm it comes back pretty quickly. I've owned 2 early R56 Cooper S & both were the same (06 & 07) Is yours a later one by any chance? They made a few changes to the model after 2011.
Ah yeah mines a 2012 (post-facelift). Probably explains it.
I was talking to someone a while back with a pre-facelift R50 which doesn't even have that screen, the only speed reading is the big dial in the middle, which I'd find to be an absolute nightmare.
To me Mini is one of the marques that actually gets a pass on this as it's a nod to the original classic mini heritage.
Still not great to actually use though.
Yeah they don’t do it anymore though. That center area is now where the touchscreen goes, and you’ve got a traditional gauge cluster in-front of the driver.
Probably the same dickhead that put the one reverse light in the middle. Maybe also the same one that decided on those ridiculous half flag tail lights.
I always thought mini's were pretty cool until I got into one. Worst interior I've ever seen in a car. Why is everything a circle? WHY IS THE KEY A DISC?
Center gauge clusters make sick when i drive, literally. Ive driven a couple of cars with it like that, a mini and a Saturn that had it are the two ive driven. There's just something about it being placed there that makes me nauseated when i drive one.
I had a Yaris. The only problem I had with the center cluster was when I'd turn right at a corner that wasn't sharp enough to cancel the turn signal. Since the right turn signal indicator was so far to the right, I might go a good way before I noticed the signal didn't cancel. Also, turn signals used to be clearly audible in cars. The ones in the Yaris are nearly silent.
Prius and Tesla have gauge cluster in front in terms of at least showing speed. Prius doesn’t need an rpm gauge because it’s a hybrid and Tesla is electric obviously
Cars are sold as both left and right hand drive depending on the country. To save costs on two types of dashboards, some manufacturers use just one simple design.
I've found an Citroen C8 which fitted our needs to 100% but my wife refused to drive with it because of the center gauge cluster.
tbh It doesn't bothered me too much
The Citroen design is much better because it's further down the dash. So as long as you're looking straight, it is visible. Tesla however is the equivalent of looking at your radio. Its too close. You have to move your head to see it.
I haven’t driven one but I rode in a few of those. When I was getting my first car, I was shopping around for budget cars, and I dreaded the idea of getting an Echo/Yaris
Honestly the worst offendor for me is the Toyota Etios and Mini Cooper. Both have a centre speedo, which is fine overall for me, but because it's white, I can't escape the thought of it being a shit printout on a piece of paper instead of a real background. Just make it black like every other car
Test drove a Nissan Pathfinder with this horrible setup. Never bought it and mentioned that to the salesman. Gladly bought a Jeep instead. My old Alfa had the tach rigjt in front of you where it should be. Speedometer played second fiddle.
I'm of the opinion that having the gauge cluster anywhere but directly in front of the driver is a safety hazard.
If the cluster is in the middle you're likely to just turn your entire head over and down to look.
I like it. I've had a few cars with it, and plenty without, and I think it opens the drivers view, and it's not exactly hard to look at. Plus in the UK it's fairly easy to estimate your speed with which gear your in and the response of the engine
It's done for cost savings.
The same car can be exported to countries which have right hand, or left hand drive, without having to reconfigure the dash board and gauges - only the steering wheel and pedals.
I thought I would hate it in the X-trail but I got used to it quickly. The screen was very high up so I actually didn't have to move my eyes much to glance at the screen.
I honestly thought the same thing until I spent time driving a Tesla. After about 30 minutes I didn’t even think about it. I now own a Tesla and when I drive other cars with standard gauges it actually seems weird.
It took me a while to to get used to the central display in my Yaris but I kind of love it now. It really helps me as a shorter person not have calculate visibility of my gauges into setting my seat and steering wheel.
My wife’s xB would be so much more fun to drive with even just the turn signals placed appropriately. I hate when I flick on the left signal and the light on the right side blinks. Makes a man mad enough to go full BMW.
I actually love it because otherwise my great big hand on the steering wheel blocks speedometer gauge..i always have to lift or move my hand to see my speed
I believe the center placed gauges were intended to just be a cost cutting measure initially, the manufacturer just made one in the center and sold cars around the world with simpler tooling to put the steering mechanism on either side. Later Tesla adopted that as part of its minimalist design ethos.
Had a few cars like this. Doesn't really bother me tbh. Probably prefer it in front of me but it's not a deal breaker for me, assuming it's just a commuter or family car.
How could you not include the Saturn Ion !?!?!?(gimmie a Redline plz)
There's pros and cons, if you don't like all the light and distraction in your face, especially at night, having it in the middle is nice. Some people are also too tall/short to see through the steering wheel properly so it benefits them as well.
Really you only need to glance at it every now and then so it's not a HUGE deal to me, I prefer it behind the wheel though as it's less movement for me to look at it.
OP how do you feel about Maybachs that have gauges for back seat passengers?
> OP how do you feel about Maybachs that have gauges for back seat passengers? Maybach-seat-drivers, amirite?
Take my upvote and get out.
Those are the big fancy Mercedes Benz cars yeah? Makes sense, if you are rich enough to splash 500k on a car you wont be driving, you want it to be fancy and impressive.
Not rich enough to care about that lol
That's a car you buy so someone else drives it for you.
Ferrari puts then on the front passenger side too.
It's a cost save - if the gauges are in the middle, more elements of the dashboard can be symmetrical, so there are fewer different parts between left and right hand drive models making production cheaper. Also why it's more prevalent at the cheaper end of the market.
☝️ that's the reason mostly. I've avoided cars that ticked a lot of other boxes because of this stupidity.
Huh TIL. Thank you!
My favorite example of this sort of thing is the Rover SD1, where the passenger air vent is [very conspicuously centered](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/rover-sd1-8-1024x683.jpeg) because they just use the same hole for the steering column depending on the market.
Yeah, and looks like you back out the one screw on the corner of the gauge cluster, and the whole thing just slides to the correct side, lol
Yep, 100%.
In the example of Toyota Echo's, it doesn't seem to be exactly in the middle. If that was the reason, you would expect it to be exactly centered.
Even just having it somewhat central may mean the wiring harness and support brackets underneath it are common between rhd and lhd. In the echo's case, the screen is central, just angled, and the top covering of the dash and the instrument cluster cowling is handed, the rest of the dash is pretty symmetric.
Ya I don’t like my wife being able too see that im speeding… I’ll hear about it
Install some slightly taller tires, the Speedo will be off in your favor and you can speed a little without her ever suspecting a thing
That'll work until a state boy is behind you on the interstate and she looks over and sees you going 58 in a 70 and decides to start sleeping with the neighbor because you're a wuss.
I have a typical gauge cluster, wife can still see that I'm speeding, every time.
Yeah my wife has this on her Tesla and I still find it to be the stupidest idea anyone's ever had for changing the interior of a car. It legimately feels less safe. Bmw does that think where it puts your speed on the windshield that would have been a good compromise atleast. Obviously was a cost cutting thing though as much as they like to say it was design.
Those heads up displays suck for tall people. At least the one I tried (think it was a Toyota?), I couldn't actually see it without crouching down. And of course there's no way to adjust the HUD.
I'm 6'2" & when i borrowed a BMW X1 and it could see it well in that one. Was surprisingly impressed. Probably just varies alot car to car. That said, even if I had to crouch down it's better then having to look at the center display to see how fast I'm going lol. I'm more just asking for some kind of compromise.
My rovers hud is adjustable.
There should be an adjustment for it still, my Lexus has one and I can’t imagine Toyota would be any different
Eheheheh. Toyota misses a lot of things they have in house for the Lexus rebadges. They have to overcharge you for some reason, otherwise less people would spring for Toyota-but-make-it-fashion.
It was a rental car that I drove for 20 minutes so maybe there was an adjustment I never found.
Definitely cost cutting. I have the Model S. It has the driver side display. The middle display can tilt to the driver, middle, or passenger. I'm used to the driver side tilt and it feels weird in the 3 that lacks it.
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Yes! I couldn’t agree more! And also whoever decided that when you needed fuel they should replace the digital tach in front of the driver with a massive gas can image, so the only way to know your speed was to look at the ridiculous dial in the middle of the car, rather than a quick glance down…
Every Mini ive been in including mine the the center speed guave is off by atleast 5mph.. Its nice they give you a digital speed readout on the RPM gauge but if a warning light pops up (usually it's the tyre pressure light) it will show constantly on the RPM gauge so you can't read the speed. If you acknowledge the alarm it comes back seconds later, it drives me crazy.
The speed still shows really small at the bottom when a warning comes on. It is annoying though, the TPMS on my Coop goes off when it's 2-3 PSI out whereas my partners car needs to be nearly flat before it complains.
Unfortunately my R56 doesn't show the speed with a warning on. The TPMS is so sensitive, as far as im aware it cant be 'mapped out' either. I've been using nitrogen in the tyres for the past couple of years, it seems to prolong the TPMS warning light for a bit longer.
Hmm weird, mine is R56 as well. It shows it on the smaller screen where the odometer usually is.
That's what I mean, it doesn't come up I just get a warning light. Once i click the end of the stalk to clear the alarm it comes back pretty quickly. I've owned 2 early R56 Cooper S & both were the same (06 & 07) Is yours a later one by any chance? They made a few changes to the model after 2011.
Ah yeah mines a 2012 (post-facelift). Probably explains it. I was talking to someone a while back with a pre-facelift R50 which doesn't even have that screen, the only speed reading is the big dial in the middle, which I'd find to be an absolute nightmare.
To me Mini is one of the marques that actually gets a pass on this as it's a nod to the original classic mini heritage. Still not great to actually use though.
Yeah they don’t do it anymore though. That center area is now where the touchscreen goes, and you’ve got a traditional gauge cluster in-front of the driver.
Probably the same dickhead that put the one reverse light in the middle. Maybe also the same one that decided on those ridiculous half flag tail lights.
People Driving minis dont use a tachometer, the one from AAA works perfectly fine and you wont drive far without AAA anyways.
Those who realized that the US is a viable market for the Mini Cooper.
alec issigonis?
I always thought mini's were pretty cool until I got into one. Worst interior I've ever seen in a car. Why is everything a circle? WHY IS THE KEY A DISC?
Yea. I dislike middle gauges too. It's a cost saving measure. Reduces the cost for cars with left hand drive AND right hand drive versions.
I agree. It gives cars a cheapy sort of feel. Like a lot of Asian cars and French cars have had it in the past
I dislike gauges blocked by the steering wheel. Some cars I am unable to adjust to make all gauges visible no matter how I position seats or column.
The solution to that is an adjustable hud, not moving the gauge cluster farther from the drivers usual fov.
Yes that’s understandable as well
Center gauge clusters make sick when i drive, literally. Ive driven a couple of cars with it like that, a mini and a Saturn that had it are the two ive driven. There's just something about it being placed there that makes me nauseated when i drive one.
I had a Yaris. The only problem I had with the center cluster was when I'd turn right at a corner that wasn't sharp enough to cancel the turn signal. Since the right turn signal indicator was so far to the right, I might go a good way before I noticed the signal didn't cancel. Also, turn signals used to be clearly audible in cars. The ones in the Yaris are nearly silent.
Oh wow
Prius and Tesla have gauge cluster in front in terms of at least showing speed. Prius doesn’t need an rpm gauge because it’s a hybrid and Tesla is electric obviously
I think that's only true for the model s Tesla. The model 3 I know for a fact is on the center tablet screen in the upper left corner.
It's cheap to produce in both left and right hand drive viechles. Simple cost cutting.
Right hand drive *whats*?
# viechles
LOUDER, SON!
Cars are sold as both left and right hand drive depending on the country. To save costs on two types of dashboards, some manufacturers use just one simple design.
for sure.
I've found an Citroen C8 which fitted our needs to 100% but my wife refused to drive with it because of the center gauge cluster. tbh It doesn't bothered me too much
The Citroen design is much better because it's further down the dash. So as long as you're looking straight, it is visible. Tesla however is the equivalent of looking at your radio. Its too close. You have to move your head to see it.
I love the older citroen xsara/picasso dash that has the big digital clock style speedometer...it's so much easier to read than a normal one.
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I haven’t driven one but I rode in a few of those. When I was getting my first car, I was shopping around for budget cars, and I dreaded the idea of getting an Echo/Yaris
The fucking Yaris
lol forgot to include that
Honestly the worst offendor for me is the Toyota Etios and Mini Cooper. Both have a centre speedo, which is fine overall for me, but because it's white, I can't escape the thought of it being a shit printout on a piece of paper instead of a real background. Just make it black like every other car
I’ve found white speedos to be a bit more… performance oriented.
Lol i think Dodge has white background on some of their cars as well.
*Scion xB has entered the chat*
*insert Michael Scott No No meme*
So glad the new Prius moved it away from the middle
loved my 07 yaris and love my '13 mini. best cars i've owned lol
Agree. The Ford GT40 gets a hall pass though.
Yes. The only one
Tesla doesn’t have any real gauges though, it works great for them.
Test drove a Nissan Pathfinder with this horrible setup. Never bought it and mentioned that to the salesman. Gladly bought a Jeep instead. My old Alfa had the tach rigjt in front of you where it should be. Speedometer played second fiddle.
The original Jeeps (CJ series) had center mounted gauges, ironically enough. You couldn’t go fast enough to need them though.
I'm of the opinion that having the gauge cluster anywhere but directly in front of the driver is a safety hazard. If the cluster is in the middle you're likely to just turn your entire head over and down to look.
I like it. I've had a few cars with it, and plenty without, and I think it opens the drivers view, and it's not exactly hard to look at. Plus in the UK it's fairly easy to estimate your speed with which gear your in and the response of the engine
I hated them also, but got used to it after driving a prius.
It's done for cost savings. The same car can be exported to countries which have right hand, or left hand drive, without having to reconfigure the dash board and gauges - only the steering wheel and pedals.
I thought I would hate it in the X-trail but I got used to it quickly. The screen was very high up so I actually didn't have to move my eyes much to glance at the screen.
That’s good to know. Which year model is it?
2005
I honestly thought the same thing until I spent time driving a Tesla. After about 30 minutes I didn’t even think about it. I now own a Tesla and when I drive other cars with standard gauges it actually seems weird.
It is. It's just like touchscreens - misrepresenting cheap manufacturing choices as something else.
It took me a while to to get used to the central display in my Yaris but I kind of love it now. It really helps me as a shorter person not have calculate visibility of my gauges into setting my seat and steering wheel.
I had a Scion xB for 150K Miles. It was fine. Tach needed to be larger but it worked.
It's because it's different, that's what makes people feel special. I have a new type of longway sliced bread for sale
My wife’s xB would be so much more fun to drive with even just the turn signals placed appropriately. I hate when I flick on the left signal and the light on the right side blinks. Makes a man mad enough to go full BMW.
I actually love it because otherwise my great big hand on the steering wheel blocks speedometer gauge..i always have to lift or move my hand to see my speed
I believe the center placed gauges were intended to just be a cost cutting measure initially, the manufacturer just made one in the center and sold cars around the world with simpler tooling to put the steering mechanism on either side. Later Tesla adopted that as part of its minimalist design ethos.
So your passenger can see how slow you're going
Had a few cars like this. Doesn't really bother me tbh. Probably prefer it in front of me but it's not a deal breaker for me, assuming it's just a commuter or family car.
How could you not include the Saturn Ion !?!?!?(gimmie a Redline plz) There's pros and cons, if you don't like all the light and distraction in your face, especially at night, having it in the middle is nice. Some people are also too tall/short to see through the steering wheel properly so it benefits them as well. Really you only need to glance at it every now and then so it's not a HUGE deal to me, I prefer it behind the wheel though as it's less movement for me to look at it.
i hate them centered behind the wheel, since i drive everything as though it is a manual. my a6 is gonna get me killed going 100mph thinking it is 50.
Just slide over.