Odd things with the Civic

[vid6639]

Ram, It's different so it does give an impression that it will distract. The pulsar also has this now. You may argue that it is not in the line of sight which i agree.

I have driven a civic for a fair amount of time and initially found it novel idea to see the speed on the digital display. It did not distract me even once nor did it flicker for small changes in speed.

The system is pretty clever does not change for every km. even in slow speed traffic it does not disturb with small changes.

The comparison of the clocks is an interesting thought. I would prefer a analog meter anyday to see atleast how much the speedo is designed till and how much more to go till i reach the max or to see how close i get to the max. it's a nice feeling.

At the same time i did not mind this.

[sbasak]

In my test drive in Civic (daytime), I didn't find the digital speedo distracting at all! In fact it made me feel better aware of the speed than the analog one!

But I think this is absolutely true....

prefer a analog meter anyday to see atleast how much the speedo is designed till

It's all psychological afer all... with analog speedo, you tend be cautious as your needle reaches towards end of limit, but with digital you don't know limit [unless you observe rev counter and gear carefully] so you'll be tempted to drive faster....which isn't good.

[hydrashok]

Very true, Ram. An analog display is always better for a Speedo & a Tach (best examples of single needle displays). You can tell where you're at with just a glance at the gauge. The visual input is more. You get an idea even with the gauge in your peripheral vision.

But with a digital readout you'll need to spend a second staring at the figure for it to sink in.

(I prefer digital time to analog time, though )

[csentil]

The RS costs 2 lakhs more and I'm pretty sure that if the Civic had cost 2 lakh more more of these options would have been present. I love the Octavia but the service cost factors was what prevented me from buying one. ( My uncle has 3 Octavia's. one L&K, RS and the diesel version, so I've had a chance to look at all of them)

Though i still don't understand why they couldn't have given Fog lamps as standard in a 13L car beats me.

Also knowing Indian roads, they should have had a higher suspension. I've had two bad scrapes so far. What were they thinking??

Most of the civics that i've seen are driver driven and it makes sense to have audio controls at the back and the good leg space at the back is also well thought of. Why no leather seats...

The speedometer does not distract. you can reduce the brightness to a very low level and it does not glare. Also the place where its situated is so good. u don't have to take ur eye of the road. u can see it along with the road.

[determinus]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Ram, It's different so it does give an impression that it will distract. The pulsar also has this now. You may argue that it is not in the line of sight which i agree.

The comparison of the clocks is an interesting thought. I would prefer a analog meter anyday to see atleast how much the speedo is designed till and how much more to go till i reach the max or to see how close i get to the max. it's a nice feeling.

At the same time i did not mind this.

Think Ram's point is a very valid law in ergonomics. You really dont need to know that you are driving at 157.4 km (while you are at it, right?) But seriously, the question is not about digital meter, but about the location of it. BTW, the car comes with a analog meter as well. So dimming out the digital (can you do separate dim outs?) should reduce distraction.

Ajmat/Moral/Others, I did try to sell him an RS (with some vested interest, hehe) but his foremost requirement was that it has to be an auto. I dont think RS comes with one.

[GTO]

The cassette player incident notwithstanding, your Boss is a pretty smart guy with these observations:

Didnt come with fog lamps, 15k extra
The trip computer is brain dead, it only gives distance traveled, no average mileage, no range left
No safety lights on doors when you open them
No traction control on the Indian model
Back seat wont fold down
Digital speedmeter very annoying. For every kilometer change, the display which is in the near horizon, changes

I found the digital speedo pretty annoying too! It looks nice initially, but the coolness factor wears off in daily use.

Hes got the rest spot-on! They are indeed areas where the Civic has scope for improvement.

[vid6639]

Nope no analog meter. Only the tacho is analog. You can't dim it out. Only till a certain extent.

It shows only full numbers not decimals. The distraction is mainly due to the novelty feature. After a period of time you get over the novelty. It's just a break from the traditional analog meters.

The location is so you dont look down and you still know the speed. How will it distract if it's in the line of sight of the road. You see the road and you just see the display.

A HUD should be more distractive but it's not and prevents the driver from removing his eyes off the road.

[Ram]

With these newfangled digital readouts, will the analog display become obsolete?
No! The analog clock face is a display method. It will never become obsolete.
An analog display can tell you at a glance WHERE a value is, a digital display can only tell you WHAT the value is.

The human brain can process information from analog displays far quicker than digital displays.

Even though the underlying information-feed spews out of an embedded digital system,
primary automotive, aviation and marine instrument panels are largely analog.
Secondary instruments may be digital.

Example: Modern All-electronic Cockpit of an Airbus A320.


Primary Flight Display (PFD)


Standby Airspeed and Altimeter


The exception is only in the rare case where, the range of data is too great to be put on an analog display.

The purpose of the information provided by the analog displays is primarily a status indication. "Is everything OK or within acceptable limits?" Analog displays can tell you that at a glance.

On the other hand, a digital display requires that you do a mental sanity check against min. and max. allowable readings.

The world tends to be logarithmic (and log-normal) and multiplicative — rather than additive.

That is why Microsoft Excel has a charts feature!

I close by asking you all Team-BHPians. Look at this display and see how it gives a sense of your life running away!!

http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf

Ram

[vid6639]

Yeah Ram absoultely true. All the crafts have an analog interface although completely digital background hardware.

The sense of speed will be there only on the analog meter. Say, your doing 140kmph, when you see the analog display struggling to stay there and you see your speedo marked only till 160kmph. that gives you a good feeling.

Seeing the digital speedo will be just like "Oh ok I'm doing 140kmph. cool". Thats it.

[sbasak]

@ram

You've given an excellent explanation

PS: Where from did you get those flight pics? Flight Sim?

[srishiva]

Well, I hope the novelty factor might be wearing out for Honda too. Digital tachometer makes sense (like in S2k) but speedometer, no. How many like the instrument cluster in the center of dash like in Mini etc ?

[unknown]

Maybe honda Will add those things in new Civic which will be out in Six months ...

[ST7677]

No foldable seats is silly. They have done the same to the city. It is sold elsewhere with foldable seats. Why remove for india?

The Indian version of honda CIVIC comes with a safety bar behind the back seat for additional structural rigidity...
If you really want it, it can be removed and with minor alterations/fabrication you can get foldable seats.

IMHO, I feel that a flickering digital speedometer with an indecisive LS Digit jitter would distract in a way no wavering analog needle ever would.

You need to drive in Civic to understand this, while I agree with you on the watch front, somehow the speedo meter on CIvic is so much more natural... maybe a lot is to do with the placement... and it's not at all distracting or glaring.

Fog lamps and a brain dead trip meter are indeed what they could have bettered upon...

[EVO6]

Well which car at the 13 to 18 lakh bracket has bluetooth. Even the Accord RS and Camry doesnt have it..

Cassette have almost become extinct now a days and since Civic is a world car they cant have specifications for every country.. Even the Mercs and Audis and Beemers dont have a cassette player since a very long time now. Move towards the future..

I agree about the rear split and folding seats which should have been an option but since a very long time now Honda's dont have a split folding seats in the rear..

Good thing is that the rear floor board is flat and the rear sitting comfort is far better than a RS..

Also RS doesnt come with an AUTOBOX so then the only options were Laura and Accord. Accord is out since its too big for the BOSS's choice.
Laura is very expensive compared to CIVIC and that too doesnt have a Cassette player and Bluetooth.

Dont think traction control is available on any car in that segment so why crib about it. If it would have been given then the cars would have gotten much more expensive and then we would complain more about cars in India being more expensive than other parts of the world..

I agree a digital trip computer should have been provided. Dont know whether it is available in the civic in other countires. I know its there on the new CRV. It isnt even there in the accord. The skoda's have it as a standard on all their cars.

RAM,
The three instruments you mention in an aircraft are available in Analog and Digital on the flight deck. The real reason for the analog to be present is that those are the meters which are really needed for a aircraft to land in case of any electronic failure.. If for some reason the electronic systems fails and the digital displays go off the pilots can still land the aircraft. Its got nothing to do with ease of reading or brain processing capabilities..

Cheerss

[BUSA]

Dont think traction control is available on any car in that segment so why crib about it

The Elantras have it.