Unique Gauge Cluster Works Well - 2016 Honda Civic Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Unique Gauge Cluster Works Well - 2016 Honda Civic Long-Term Road Test

The gauges in our 2016 Honda Civic are not traditional in their design, yet they work so well that I like them anyway.

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kirkhilles1

I don't understand. Isn't the tach that gauge that goes around the circle that currently shows an idle of about 700 RPM? Obviously, its good to have even on CVTs and Autos, so you can see what you idle is like and can often show symptoms of issues later on with clogged throttle bodies and such.

I like the gauges though in general.

bankerdanny

kirkhilles1 said:

I don't understand. Isn't the tach that gauge that goes around the circle that currently shows an idle of about 700 RPM? Obviously, its good to have even on CVTs and Autos, so you can see what you idle is like and can often show symptoms of issues later on with clogged throttle bodies and such.

I like the gauges though in general.

I am also confused since based on the picture what Honda did was keep the tach and get rid of the analog speedometer, pretty much exactly the opposite of Ed's comment.

diondi

I think Ed may need a little more coffee this morning.

subatomic

I am glad that the "two-tiered" instrument cluster of the previous model is gone. I have driven the previous model as a rental and as a loaner. When I adjusted the seat and steering wheel for my height and build, the top of the steering wheel rim always blocked the digital speedometer, which was set high on the dashboard, away from the other instruments. This made it a challenge to monitor vehicle speed....not good when driving through municipalities where the police are trying to generate additional revenue.

dinpdx

Um, that IS a tachometer in the photo. There is no speedometer, only the digital number display. I hate digital display for speed. With a traditional analog speedo the needle is a nice frame of reference for rate of acceleration which you don't get from watching numbers change. I find an analog speedo much easier to read and less distracting than a digital number display.

longtimelurker

dinpdx said:

Um, that IS a tachometer in the photo. There is no speedometer, only the digital number display. I hate digital display for speed. With a traditional analog speedo the needle is a nice frame of reference for rate of acceleration which you don't get from watching numbers change. I find an analog speedo much easier to read and less distracting than a digital number display.

Cannot improve on your post - perfect as is on the superiority of a dial for rate of accel/decel, right down to noticing along with many others that there is of course a tachometer still on the dash.

misterfusion

I don't hate it, but the massive temp & fuel gauges seem like a waste of space to me. And yes, I noticed the tach first thing...

schen72

Given that the center "gauge" is simply a TFT screen, there's no reason why they can't provide different templates for gauges. Provide a mode where you show a real speedometer. Seems like an easy improvement to add as it's just software.

fst1

Sorry people, my mistake, I used the wrong photo. The tachometer can be toggled on and off. It was off for the majority of the time I was driving it, hence the gist of the blog post. When I took the photo, it was turned back on. I'll add another pic with it off so you can see what it looks like. Turns out, it doesn't look much different.

Ed Hellwig

bankerdanny

Thanks for the clarification Ed. What is the purpose of the big blue arc in the 2nd shot? Getting rid of the tach doesn't seem to have resulted in getting different, more useful info on the display.

desmolicious

With the tach turned off it looks like the speedo digits are larger, or is that an illusion?

longtimelurker

You had the tach turned on and turned off when you were driving the car, but only after posting the two photos on the website do you realize there really isn't much difference - ?

And Honda offered this mode just to show off its new TFT screen - there is exactly zero functional purpose served by turning off the tach display - there is no additional info offered in place of engine speed. An excellent example of something being done because it can be, rather than because it should be.

03hondaaccord

Like others have sort of said, I hope future versions (and maybe as an update for current cars) will get some more displays and or layouts. Id love to see turbo PSI, battery, oil pressure, and (although this might be too premium for a Honda:) radio/ navigation directions.

drex2

What I'd like to see added is a simple digital compass that displays all the time. Previous Hondas with center screens always displayed it there. Now with the new Civic, you have the choice of a fancy compass in the information display or no compass at all if you wish to use a different option in the information display.

BTW, the Touring model (which comes with standard factory nav) shows info about upcoming turns in the info display. It temporarily displays over whatever display you've chosen.

schen72

drex2 said:

What I'd like to see added is a simple digital compass that displays all the time. Previous Hondas with center screens always displayed it there. Now with the new Civic, you have the choice of a fancy compass in the information display or no compass at all if you wish to use a different option in the information display.

BTW, the Touring model (which comes with standard factory nav) shows info about upcoming turns in the info display. It temporarily displays over whatever display you've chosen.

The current Acuras do this. It's pretty nifty and looks really sharp.

fst1

03hondaaccord said:

Like others have sort of said, I hope future versions (and maybe as an update for current cars) will get some more displays and or layouts. Id love to see turbo PSI, battery, oil pressure, and (although this might be too premium for a Honda:) radio/ navigation directions.

Some of this information is available with this system. I'll cover it in another post.

moparbad

dinpdx said:

Um, that IS a tachometer in the photo. There is no speedometer, only the digital number display. I hate digital display for speed. With a traditional analog speedo the needle is a nice frame of reference for rate of acceleration which you don't get from watching numbers change. I find an analog speedo much easier to read and less distracting than a digital number display.

Agree 100%