[M.Dua]

Apart from the standard Digital Speed, RPM, Fuel Indicator and Hot/Cool

Must Have features
1. Trip meters
2. Average fuel consumption
3. Warning messages ( low fuel, door ajar, boot open, external lights not working, check engine, airbags/ABS/EBD alarms, low battery etc)

Sometimes used and liked:
1. Distance to empty/Range
2. External temperature
3. Next service due alerts
4. Instantaneous mileage

Can do without
1. Total trip driving time
2. Average trip speed
3. TPMS
4. Speed Warning
5. Date and time
6. Gear indicator
7. Power and torque meters
8. Digital compass, tilt meter etc
9. Engine temperature display

[chiefpk]

Originally Posted by ashis89

I love analogue dials! So my request would be to leave the fuel gauge and temperature gauge as analog units.

Must haves:
1. Two trip meters
2. DTE reading
3. Outside temperature reading

Good to have:
1. DTE
2. Avg. FE (provided it is accurate)
3. Digital speedo
4. Service reminder
5. TPMS warning
6. Customizable speed warning (to be used when we have speed limits but can't apply cruise control)

With BS6 diesels and DPFs going wonky, I would like a reading of how clogged the DPF is and a warning at 80% mark to regenerate it!

Not useful:
1. Power and torque readings (I found them inaccurate)
2. Instantaneous FE

Originally Posted by Night Raven

Here are my suggestions.
Must Have features
1. Trip meters
2. Average fuel consumption
3. Distance to empty/Range
4. Warning messages ( low fuel, door ajar, boot open, external lights not working, check engine, airbags/ABS/EBD alarms, low battery etc)
5. Engine temperature display
Good to have features
1. Total trip driving time
2. Average trip speed
3. Fuel consumption with A/c only and car not moving
4. External temperature
5. Some kind of TPMS
6. Next service due alerts
7. A programmable speed limit warning ( in addition to the mandatory chime that we have now)
8. Date and time
9. Gear indicator in AT
Not so useful features (totally subjective)
1. Gear shift suggestions
2. Power and torque meters
3. Digital compass, tilt meter etc
4. Instantaneous mileage
5. Steering wheel position alerts

Add these two and you get the best MID setup for a car.
Didn't want to write a whole para since I have lot of things in my mind but these two just covers all of them.

[amitayu]

Hi

I would prefer physical/analogue meters for speed, tacho and fuel gauge.

MID for:
Most warnings like door ajar (specific door info helps), seatbelts, speed limiter, etc.
At least 3 trip meters (I use one for overall Km run over years, one for annual run measure between servicing cycles and one for fueling cycle tank-up to tank-up)
Service due reminder, battery low information, coolant low information,tyre pressure
A basic average or distant to empty measure. Do not see value in multiple fuel consumption measures as most are off the mark and I prefer to do my own calculations on tank-up to tank-up basis.

Do not want a MID for:
Infotainment system. I find it to be distracting while driving a car.
Gear or gear change suggestions. I understand it is critical for AT but I love MTs and prefer deciding my gear changes myself. If you cannot remember which gear you are in while driving a MT, you need to check for Alzheimer's !

Navigation information is something I am quite neutral to. I believe the future is heads-up display over the entire wind-screen and can be omitted from MID.

[sai_ace]

With a Linea I have the following features on the MID and I find them all useful

At any point the MID shows one of the Two Trip Meters - A and B. Under each of them I have Distance, Average Fuel Efficiency, Average Speed and Trip Time. Besides this I also have the Instant fuel economy and Range or DTE.

On top of this - MID does show the track that plays and radio station in lieu of the above info.

This is in addition to the ambient temperature and time on the MID. It can also show service due warning and obviously the call details when phone is connected.

In addition to this I would love to see and this is a wishlist -

-Gear suggestions for economy.
-instantaneous fuel consumption backed by a eco drive guide (think honda does it?)
-Turbo Boost (Fiat linea in BRazil has this boost bar)
-Drive mode or additional power maps
-Intake Air Temp
-TPMS with actual tire pressures

[sam_babushka]

I am a firm believer in keeping things simple.

- Speedometer
- Odometer
- Distance to Empty
- Gear position indicator
- Tachometer
- Warnings for 'Door open', engine trouble and overheating
- Maybe, just maybe, a clock

[Sedate]

I would prefer a dual mode MID.

One for an average driver which doesn't confuse him and another which is for the advanced user(admin) mode.

The options on the driver mode can be the standard information currently available. But once you switch to admin mode, the display should have options to chose any value that the on-board computer is measuring. We currently can get it through OBD to our cellphones with apps, but why not in the car itself?

I think the ford cars have this twin option MID. You can activate it with a specific pattern of turning on and pressing the trip meter reset key.

Also the major thing will be audible alarm for critical failures - Like overheating, tire puncture, oil level low, low battery voltage, blown lights(especially rear/brake lights, turn indicators), airbag errors, low brake function/ABS failure etc.

Another good to have will be how much you have been driving and a suggestion for a stop or rest. I think some VW cars have this coffee break indicator suggesting to take a break.

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by codwapeace

Most 'useless' istance to empty: I don't know if I can trust it. Has anyone been burnt by it? I am too scared to trust it.

Yes but in a good way as it turned out...was required to empty fuel tank prior to shipping. With a final reading showing '8 km to Empty', these were acceptable levels according my shipping Agent. I did one final shopping spree to the local market. On returning back home I realised I had lost the front door key and couldn't get back into my apartment. My neighbour was kind enough to store perishable items in their fridge as I headed back to the shops in a bid to retrace my steps. I fuelled up with inr200 of diesel. The fuel gauge reading did not change. By now it was showing 6km to empty. An passer by had found my key on the dusty ground and had handed it back to the store keeper who had the presence of mind to leave it with the paan shop next to his stall as he closed shop for the day. By the time I parked up, the fuel reading was showing 'O km to Empty' which was perfect for purpose of shipping as it indicated Zero when the transporter arrived. For a 40lac vehicle I wasn't wholly impressed as I knew it had more fuel in the tank. It is probable that the inr200 I had added was a negligible amount that it did not make a difference to the fuel gauge. Since then I rarely let the fuel drop below 1/4 tank.

When setting out for long journeys I do tend to check the Distance to Empty reading as it helps plan refuelling enroute.

[alphahere]

Below are my thoughts on the various pages available within the MID once the car is started and also the permanent displays. Not talking about the useful/useless messages pre start. These are the only ones that I know of. Not sure if other information is provided by various manufacturers.

Useful MID (Toggle-able):
1. Trip Meter
2. Distance To Empty
3. Average Fuel Efficiency
4. TPMS - Very important. It has once saved me from a lot of trouble. Low profile tyre which contains very less volume of air compared to standard tyres. Low air pressure warning light came on as it reached 24psi or so. From the display readout I could see the rate of decrease and it helped me decide to keep driving till the next fuel station. If only the warning light was present, I would have stopped to inspect. Had I done this it would have gone flat before I reached anywhere.
5. Compass - Might be a lifesaver - you never know
6. Clinometer - For off-roaders
7. Remaining service interval for vehicles without CBS

Useless MID (Toggle-able):
1. Navigation display
2. Power/Torque
3. Instantaneous Fuel Efficiency - No use having this on an individual display page where you can't relate it to the AFE.
4. Driving time
5. Average speed
6. Music track

Useful MID (Permanent)
1. Outside temperature
2. Clock/Date
3. Speed Limit
4. Always on IFE (in the form of a graph) - Having this will surely enable mileage freaks to extract maximum.
5. Gear position indicator for automatics

Useless MID (Permanent)
1. Gear shift suggestion for manuals

[Bsimhan]

In my case, the most useful feature would be the speed. Had the opportunity to drive the Mazda 6 in New Zealand, and the HUD was a life saver. When you are driving in a new city for the first time and you need to also use the navigator, the HUD is a life saver. Speed of the roads also change and I found this to be the most useful feature. Can't comment on the other features.

[Shanky_1002]

My preferences are:

Useful
1. Average fuel efficiency
2. Distance to empty and remaining fuel
3. Door ajar warning, specifying which door/boot/fuel lid
4. Outside temperature reading

Wish list:
1. TPMS would be good to have, as GTO mentioned a low pressure warning would be
sufficient
2. HUD also would be a nice feature to have but not a must
3. Engine oil level/health,Brake pads life, clutch and battery health/life, low battery
indicator would be enough


Useless:
1. Digital Clock is alright to have not really required though
2. Engine temperature, the engine temperature gauge is enough, I don't need to know
the exact engine temperature
3. Gear indicator for manual cars
4. Service reminder indicator, I think it might be helpful for non-enthusiasts
5. Engine running time elapsed
6. Instant fuel efficiency

[akshye]

Must have:
The Odometer must be static. In many cars, I see, odometer is replaced by trip meter, when trip is selected. Trip meter should be displayed separately within MID. Odometer must stay visible all the time - just like it used to be in rolling counter odometer days.

[arijitkanrar]

I'm someone who like as much information as possible as long as its curated properly. Hence for me all information is useful. But if I have to choose between whats more useful I'd say:

1. Time
2. Outside and Inside temperature
3. Current fuel level
4. Distance to empty
5. Engine oil temperature
6. Cruise control status
7. Vehicle status (Brakes, tires, engine etc)
8. ODO and Trip meters

Less useful but required information

1. Door ajar warnings
2. Next service interval

I thought about this. Then I thought why not design how I would like my MID to look.
This is what I came up with. It contains information important information that is persistent with a central section which can be changed to display multiple different screens with different information and warnings that will show automatically. (I've shown only three but the possibilities are endless).
The display is white on black because thats the most legible with least strain on eyes for long night drives.

[download2live]

Most useful:
1. Date and Time. DST aware.
2. Door open warning with which door is open.
3. External Temperature.
4. Simple FE.
5. Distance to empty.

Most useless:
1. All those fancy FE stats.

[Amukherjea]

Having driven fair amount of kilometres in 3 MID equipped cars namely Skoda Yeti, LR Disco 4 and currently VW Tiguan all mainly long distance routes, I find the most useless thing is the Inst Fuel avg.
Since most of the information is switchable so it is as and when you require it, so they all come in handy at some point of time.
The Tiguan has TPMS as a separate sub_screen easy to access and with the lit up amber warning it has proved its worth twice already once on the Mumbai Pune Expressway at fairly high speed and other time between Khandwa and Jabalpore in a deserted stretch during heavy rain.
Yeti had MT, and the current gear and recomended shift indication was very useful even after 15-20000 kms on the clock particularly on highway stretches where so may times I have gone on at 100 kms without shifting up to top gear till I looked down and saw the indication to shift up. Because the noise levels were so low at high speeds.
Today with everything that one can think of being available on the car computers Let the Companies provide all information they want to.
It should be switchable and context sensitive so any individual can have the information he or she wants while driving.
Modern Airplanes have been doing this from the time glass cockpit came in vogue and it was always context based. Like you could not access the maint pages while airplane in motion or Doors open close was a switchable page but with a master warning.

[advenk999]

I prefer analogue Speedometer clusters over digital anyday.
The 6 'o' clock position needle at rest is something that I really like on the Swift.
Things that I appreciate in any instrument cluster are :

1) DTE - Distance to empty. Most important so that I can plan my next pump fill up on the highway.

2) Multi trip meters - One trip meter for fueling. Reset constantly upon fill up and check your average. The inbuilt/default average isn't the most accurate. The other trip meter for calculating long distance trips.

3) TPMS : It is extremely useful to have one of these. You will require it especially on long highway drives and that you can plan your top ups accordingly.

4) Gear shift indicators : Not that I have any use for it, but I like the shifting arrows on the Hyundai clusters.

5) Okay with the digital rev counter and analogue speedo. Like the one on the Honda city. Allows useful information along with service intervals/reminders, bonnet and boot lit open indication. Hate the ones on the Nios and upcoming Sonet with th Casio like digital speed indication.

6) White lit numbers with red needles for easy reading and sportiness.

7) Ambient surrounding temperature.

8) Day/date and time.

Things I find useless :

1) Changing instrument binnacle lighting. (Brezza's ones look horrible. Sorry no offense. White is the best in all the colours.)

2) Cheesy graphics like torque meter, acceleration etc. (Baleno/ciaz clusters)

3) Music tracks, Navigation etc is a no on the speedo. You have the ICE for that. (VW/Audi)

4) Anti clockwise rev counters - BMW (Loved the analogue clusters though), MG, Aston Martin.