Gah, it's the Ion all over again.
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Originally Posted by Charlatan
As I see it, it is cost savings so they can make it left or right drive.
I don't see any other way to defend it. I can't see how it adds anything to viewability. I don't see how it really detracts either, so I suppose it really doesn't matter, other than will car buyers reject it.
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For Toyota that makes sense. Saturn uses a similar setup with the Ion (the first one to do it, so far as I know) which I don't think sells outside North America.
I suspect it's mostly convention speaking, but I hate that. The one time I drove an Ion, not having the speedo between the spokes where I expected it to be caused me no end of trouble.
I don't think the glance time would be reduced signifigantly in either situation. If anything, I'd expect this to be worse, since it requires the driver to look to the side instead of keeping eyes at twelve. Either way, once used to the setup a glance at the instruments should be no more than that and only takes a fraction of a second - if you're looking any longer than it absolutely takes to read the gauges, you're looking too long.
I've seen people who literally watch their gauges climbing. I don't understand this; it's moving, you know that because it's position changed. The stuff outside the car needs your attention far more urgently than anything inside.
Now driving without gauges, that's an experience.
Not one I'd recommend, but an experience all the same.