[GTO]

Guys, a manufacturer has reached out. What features of the MID do you find useful? And useless?

I was originally asked the question, but I'm not an MID guy. My answer was "I only use it on the highway - the trip meter & distance to empty (to plan my next fuel stop from a COCO pump) only". Guess they didn't find that helpful.

Would also consider TPMS to be useful, but more from the POV of a warning when tyre pressure drops, than continuously monitoring the PSIs.

You? Thanks in advance.

[a4anurag]

I want the following in the MID:

Screen 1: Average FE on top and range in centre.
Screen 2: Digital speedometer
Screen 3: Service reminder (not so important). May be settings pages for anything like Hyundai provides.

On the bottom right corner odometer will be placed anyway and on the left one trip meter. The digital clock can be incorporated anywhere but is a must.

Odometer, trip meter and clock should stay static. Rest information can be cycled using the screens via a button on the steering wheel.

PS: I don't want manufacturers to include fuel or temperature gauge in the MID. Let it be a separate entity in the instrument cluster.

[ABHI_1512]

Well, MID for me is just as same as you have quoted GTO. Besides, the car that I drive gets me the DTE and the average fuel consumption which I will take happily any day from the MID. Sometimes, I do fiddle around to see the average speed and the temperature outside but that's about it. Trip calculation is a nice feature and should be provided in every car. TPMS would be a nice addition though. I suppose many manufacturers have come up with the feature in their top models these days and I am talking about the cars below the 15L mark.

The MID anyways doesn't have any utility according to me while driving and the chime of your fuel getting below the DTE mark is the only distinctive sound you need to hear. But then, MID does look cool while you fiddle around with all the data that they display but in real world, all that matters is the steering feel

One thing that I like in Ecosport is the real time mileage figures that the MID shows, but then that's a one off thing anyways.

[nagr22]

My preferences are:
Useful
1. Speed
2. Engine RPM
3. Instantaneous and Average Fuel Efficiency
4. Navigation Display
5. Distance to empty and remaining fuel.
6. HUD is nice to have but is not a must. If present, brightness and ergonomics should be spot on/adjustable to cater varied driver heights, lighting conditions etc.

Useless

1. Clock and buttons to adjust time - I can not remember when I last looked at MID to check time. I don't even know whether my car has correct time set.
2. Engine Temperature - Many people might not agree but I feel all that is required is for the MID to tell me whether the engine is too cold or too hot. I don't want to know exact temperature.
3. Current gear indication - I wonder who sees this info. It is actually quite distracting when a learning driver looks at the MID and changes gear. Almost no one uses it once they properly learn driving.
4. Gizmos like G meter, Power and Torque meter etc. - People forget them once the novelty wears off. Manufacturers might still keep them because it is a wow factor that attracts a buyer.

[Samba]

This is what Renault offers in their Duster AWD-



All the above info's are pretty useful.

Apart from these, it also shows the following -

Mode- 2wd, Auto or 4wd.
Cruise control on or off with the speed its set at.
Speed limiter on/off.
Esp on/off.

The add on's can be-

TPMS. (Very useful)

Digital speedometer along with the analogue speedometer (Like in the Hyundai Creta/Verna). With this maintaining the required speed limit is easier.

Gear Indicator for manual cars. (Not that important for a seasoned driver, but general non enthusiast drivers like it.)

Digital clock. (Again not that important, but can be there.)

Service reminder. (Useful specially for driver driven cars or for not so car loving owners, who may simply forget it.)

[The Mechanic]

Car - FIAT Punto

Features found useful so far
1. ODO.
2. Trip Meter.
3. CAN Bus(?) telling you if a bulb is fused.
4. MID message asking me to "Check fuel filter" accompanying a check engine light after diesel filter change at FNG.(OT - Error went away after 1KM drive).
5.Distance to empty.
6. Door ajar warning specifying the door or boot.

Thinks I would like added to it
1. Had an ABS error and MID said " ABS Unavailable check user manual " and I had to go to service center and scan the car to find the issue. It would be better if the MID gave a more specific error. In this case it would have been "ABS Unavailable your left rear wheel speed sensor is sending incorrect data".
2. When check engine light comes on I would like the reason or code displayed on MID.
3. Ajar warning for bonnet/hood.

[RedTerrano]

I remember a PC game called Snooker, which had a "boss button".
Hit escape and the game screen is minimized.
For MIDs, need a similar "wife button".
Activate it and MID prominently shows (only) the digital speedometer with configurable max speed value. (Drive at 80, MID still shows preconfigured 65)

Besides this, my vote is for these already mentioned above.
1) Navigation/Route duh!
2) Location and distance to next petrol pumps/restaurant.
3) Traffic density

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, a manufacturer has reached out. What features of the MID do you find useful? And useless?

This is a great question! I use MID a lot, and the MID design is a critical parameter for me when evaluating different cars. I love all types of data, and so I love the MID :-)

What I find useful: Everything! I love all the data I get on the MID, and I love scanning multiple parameters while driving. However, the layout of the MID as important as the features, and hence I would like to share a couple of points:
1. Please do not include the fuel gauge and the temperature gauge in the MID. They deserve their own location outside the MID so that they are clearly visible all the time. MID is only for secondary and dynamic functions. The primary and static functions must remain outside MID in their own dedicated places.
2. Please make as much information available in one screen of MID as possible, instead of scrolling through (which means clicking the button on the stalk) multiple screens. The worst MID designs are where only one parameter is seen at a time and you have to keep clicking through the scroller to see multiple parameters, one at a time. This is highly distracting at worst (while driving), and highly annoying at best (while stationary).

What I find useless: Two things, mostly:

1. Navigational directions in the MID: Now I love this "hi-tech" feature and I am glad my car has this. However, on my BMW, and on all BMWs and most of other cars that have this, this only works with the car's own navigation system, which renders it useless. And that is because I find the car's navigation system itself useless. I always use Google Maps for navigation, and unfortunately, there is no way for me to see Google Maps directions on the MID. So unless you integrate Google Maps or Apple Maps or whatever maps the driver is using, through Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, with the MID, this feature by itself is useless.

2.Music playlist and other information in the MID: Now this could be just me and others might disagree. For me, the MID is for vehicle related or more specifically engine related parameters, driving/trip data, warnings, alarms, errors etc. I do not associate music and ICE related parameters with that data. For me, it is a lot more intuitive to glance at the iDrive in the center of the dashboard for music information, than look straight ahead into the MID in the instrument panel. My mind is programmed to look straight into the instrument cluster for car/engine/journey information, and look towards the center of the dashboard for music, AC, and other "auxiliary" functions. Given this, I find the music information in the MID to be useless (to me, other could differ of course).

[libranof1987]

If I get the drift, manufacturers are wondering what / the extent of purpose the MID serves when large touchscreen HU's are commonplace in cars across segments now.

The most useless feature in my opinion: Instantaneous FE. When there are SO many variables that affect FE, there's literally no proper sense it can make for you.

What I'd like on the MID:

1) Odo
2) Trip A / B (although I don't use the Trip function at all)
3) DTE
4) Average FE (I don't use this though)
5) Average speed (I don't use/need this though)
6) Gear indicator, especially for ATs

Not on the MID but separate buttons on the console:

1) Speedometer
2) Tachometer
3) Engine temp
4) Fuel gauge
5) Separate icons for Cruise Control, Door ajar (for each door, hood, hatch) alongside the existing ones

[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

[vb-saan]

I find the DTE and TPMS very useful, especially on highway drives. And the digital speed display was also surprisingly useful. I found the instant FE thing quite a useless feature.

[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

[BlackPearl]

Useful in no particular sequence:

1. Distance to empty (DTE)
2. Average fuel consumption that can be changed like Kilometers per litre or Litres consumed per 100 Kilometers etc.
3. Time
4. Outside temperature
5. Engine temperature
6. Two trip meters
7. Error Codes and one liner e.g. Brake Pads Worn, Washer fluid low etc (Picture showing Brake Pads Worn in my RRS given below)
8. Gear selected
9. Digital speedo
10. Kilometers left for next service as well as service reminder

I find the MID in my RRS to be fantastic. It is simple and functional. I like the fact that it gives the option to change to Kilometers instead of Miles when I travel to Europe. That will not be needed in India as our adjoining countries use the same system of measurement. Attaching a couple of pictures -





Not useful:

1. Instantaneous fuel consumption

[--gKrish--]

Things I find useless in the Linea's MID :

• The music and radio info. - I really do not understand why this redundancy is needed when the same is available in the HU.

Thing's I wish the MID had :

• Battery voltage (wont need it all the time, but good to have as an item in the menu scroll. It would be easy to notice parasitic draw overnight(if any) if the reading drops in the morning. Also a weak alternator can be identified in advance and can help avoid getting stranded.
• Option to view exact DTC.

I know the instantaneous FE is going to be useless for many but I think it should be retained. It gives a rough idea about which RPM is best for cruising. I no longer use it but it helped a great deal when I was new to the car. Listening to engine note can help identify the sweet spot to most of us but in newer cars I've noticed that shifting up a bit late returns better FE(in the MID) compared to going solely by engine note/intuition.

[voldemort]

Below is a list of information I'd like to have available.

Some of these are available in our cars. Some of them aren't.

For certain items I don't even know if it's technically possible to get that information:

1. Windshield washer fluid level (not just an indication light for when it goes low; I'd like to know the current level. Likewise for the next 5 items)
2. Engine oil situation
3. Brake pad thickness
4. Clutch life
5. Battery health
6. TPMS
7. Kilometres until next service
8. Indication for when something electrical fails/fuses out
9. Seat belt indication for all occupied seats
10. Door open indication that shows which door is open, and also shows boot/bonnet/fuel-lid status
11. Range. In most cars this goes down non-linearly, but still it's good for a rough approximation
12. Multiple trip meters with average fuel-economy and average speed for each.
13. Current gear (for automatics)
14. Clock. Because I abandoned wrist-watches.

Useless:

1. Gear shift suggestion (for manuals)
2. Current audio track (esp. when the ICE has a dedicated screen)
3. Outside temperature (however, people in certain climatic conditions may benefit from this)