The switch from analog to digital instrument clusters is now at a point where the default new car can be expected to have a full-color LCD display acting as its instrument cluster. There’s lots of potential advantages to the flexibility offered by a full-color, high-resolution raster display when it comes to displaying information needed for driving, but so far, I think most manufacturers have barely scratched the surface. One thing that these displays have allowed is something that has never really been possible in cars before, at least not without a significant amount of modification and money spent. That something is the ability to have four simultaneous speedometers visible at once.
Yes, the dream of the quad-speed display has finally been realized, and I myself have managed to experience it recently on two wildly different vehicles. We’re in a golden age, people, and I sure as hell hope you appreciate it. The two vehicles I tried this on are a 2024 Polaris Ranger XD and a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas.
Here’s the Atlas first, because it’s got a full LCD instrument cluster like you’d see in most new cars today:
So, by using a few buttons on the steering wheel, you can quite easily customize the instrument cluster to display four speedometers, three numerical and one skeuomorphic-type analog gauge with a needle. Look at that! You really can’t be more certain of your speed than when you’re confronted with four instances of it, staring you right in the face!
The Polaris is a more interesting setup, because it doesn’t use a full LCD screen for the instrument cluster; instead, it uses a pair of actual analog physical gauges (tachometer and speedometer) along with three rows of backlit seven-segment numeric displays augmented with a few 16-segment alphanumeric display characters. The middle row can be customized, so with a little work you can get three speedometers showing in the instrument cluster, and then a fourth one on the center stack infotainment screen, which is a full color LCD screen:
So, the effect is the same: four speedometers, all at once. So far, four seems to be the limit of concurrent speedometers one can get on most vehicles without additional equipment. If you have a heads up display (HUD), perhaps you could have a much-needed fifth speedo? I really felt myself needing a fifth one, so I hope that’s the case. Maybe legally all new cars should be required to display at least five speedometers for, you know, safety?
I’m being silly, of course, because all of this is silly. LCD instrument clusters offer so much possibility, and yet so little has really been done to actually re-think what an instrument cluster should be, with most automakers just adding fancy futuro-seeming blue grids behind floating numbers that cast slight reflections instead of really coming up with some new attempts to convey information as effectively as possible.
At least there’s been movement away from rampant skeuomorphism, when everyone was just rendering realistic-looking analog gauges on LCD screens, a charming if faintly ridiculous thing to do.
Interestingly, the limitations of the earliest digital instrument clusters, which were mostly seven-segment numbers and shaped elements that could be illuminated, caused more creativity of design, because automakers literally could not recreate analog gauges. They had to try some new ideas, and they definitely did just that:
I’m not saying these approaches were always successful, but at least they were trying something. The potential for novel instrument designs and customizations is nearly limitless, and all that most modern cars let you do is shove four speedometers into the display? That’s absurd, and these systems should be smarter than that.
A number of years ago I made some sketches of possible new approaches to instrument cluster design:
I’m not saying these are perfect either, but at least I was trying some new-ish ideas. Why aren’t carmakers even doing basic things, like displaying the full description of OBD codes when a check engine light is on, or letting owners have real customization tools, like letting them drag and drop and resize instruments of their own choosing in whatever arrangement they like?
The drag-and-dropping could be done on the center stack screen, which is almost always a touch screen, and then the chosen arrangement can be sent to the instrument cluster. Why hasn’t this happened already? It feels so obvious!
Being able to customize an instrument cluster to display four speedometers is funny, but it’s also a good reminder that carmakers are not exactly putting that much effort into the information design and UX of crucial components like these. There’s shockingly little innovation happening here, and I for one would love to see more experimentation.
Besides, it’s software! Companies could hedge their bets by including some traditional layouts and designs along with bolder ones with new ideas. There’s nothing to lose here!
Until then, we’ll just have to make do with four speedometers when it comes to innovation.
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This makes me wonder: can you get the speedometers to disagree with each other?
Only during Festivus which is coming up Dec. 23rd…well, close enough since it’s Festivus “season”
Frank Costanza: “I got a lot of problems w/ you people, and you’re gonna hear about it!”
I just want the option to have a retro-future layout that apes the segmented LCD displays of the 80s.
Back in the Winamp days I would switch to the next cool design every other week, or whenever I felt like it, and some even react to the music in real time. I would like pretty much the same experience on the dash clusters.
Now if they can ray trace the clusters so that the gauge reflections and shadows would follow the ambient lighting, what a visual treat. Imagine driving at night and the reflections sweep outward with the road lighting, less the glare. Easier on the eyes as well since it reacts for example to the sudden dark tunnel scenario
On my 2021 Camaro Zl1 I got weird with speedometers in a group of cars on a road trip. We were in Ohio with a zillion cops on I75, decided to use the HUD speedo, center LCD speedo, of course the actual gauge. So that’s three built in. Add to it, CarPlay (Google maps) has speed limit and actual, and of course the Radar Detector (Escort redline) with a GPS speedo, then Waze app on phones active so had one. So that was six total. Wanted to see if they were different, only different one seemed to be the radar detector. Assume Car Play apps use car speed sensor, or GPS? I suppose my OBD2 scan tool could be number 7. Yes, I’m weird…
My 2011 Camaro has up to 3 at once, which I found to be overkill when I bought it way back then. It has the analogue default speedometer, then next to it in-between the tach is a small display that can also show the speed digitally- that screen I always switch to distance traveled, because it displays somewhat useful data for tracking the MPGs in my head, and yes I know there is a MPG display there too, but I don’t like to be constantly reminded that much of how much fuel I waste…
The third speedometer is on the HUD which I rely on the most. I do like the configurations available with tach, speed, and outside temps. Also the song title playing on my iPod shows up on the HUD, so I rarely look down.
Cadillac had a very similar (even suspiciously similar… Did vw hire an ex-gm gauge designer?) gauge cluster setup in the SRX, and maybe some others models. With the available HUD that’d be 4. I think if the operator has navigation running that would also display the speed, so 5. I don’t remember if this carried over to the… XT5 (had to look up its forgettable name) but probably not.
I believe I even mentioned something about it on the old lighting site in a gauge cluster-related article.
I swear I saw the 4 speedo picture posted by Jason Cammisa the other day on Instagram, now I’m like no wait, was it really Torch that posted that?
Also there’s no way manufacturers will make full descriptions of OBD codes visible, because then the service dept couldn’t come out and tell you “oh your Johnson Rod is leaking around the fifth seal. Its gonna run ya $1500.”
“The washer fluid…IS NOT FINE!!!”
hahaha yes!
Just put your phone in a dash mount – pull up the right app and there you go – speedo number 5 (maybe this is cheating?)
Hmm, now I wonder how many I can get on screen at once in my truck. I know you can have up to 3 with the permanent digital one, permanent skeumorphic one, and a larger digital one in the center page. Checking a video of the customization options it doesn’t look like I can put one in the middle of the gauges too, so I guess 3 is the max.
Ironically, I hate the speedometer setup on this truck. It’s all digital, which is fine, but the skeumorphic one that I prefer (sorry Jason) is crap. It only has numbers every 20 MPH and tick marks every 10, and the tick marks are stupidly designed so it’s a little difficult to pick out where the X5 MPH points are. There’s an alternate design that is even worse with numbers and ticks both only every 20 MPH, which is basically useless for driving, say, 65 MPH. I badly miss the hybrid physical/digital gauge cluster from my old truck, but not enough to keep driving that unreliable POS.
Helps to identify what kind of trucks you’re referring to.
2024 Silverado 1500.
Ah, yeah, gm’s gauges have been a mess for a while. Really their entire ergonomics and UX have been among the worst in the industry for an embarrassingly long time. The team that oversees that needs a clean-sheet “how-to” course hosted by interior R&D engineers from (at least) Mazda and Rivian. Or just replaced altogether.
In a sense, a car is nothing more than a moving speedometer and all the machinery in place to support it.
Why does the Atlas have attitude indicators in the speedo? Is this thing doing some serious rock crawling or does it just fly down the highway?
At any rate, I don’t need speedos in full view of my back seat driving passengers.
The Atlas sells to folks who think that fragile “gee-whiz!” gizmos and features are a selling point, in contrast to having something that’s reliable, holds its value, is easy to see out of, and doesn’t look like it’s trying to “cos-play” as something else.
Thank you! Definitely attitude indicators (artificial horizons) on the Atlas – made my heart race and stomach sink just scrolling them into view on the screen.
Imagine the confusion when revs and speed visually diverge – a partial panel nightmare!
I love that your concept speedo has NINE? YOU’RE FINE! as the example speed 🙂
Dealers would fight tooth and nail to keep full OBD codes out of the display. Anything that reduces the chance of you going into the service department would be criminal in their eyes.
Well if you are going to have a digital display of speed, measuring it in mph or log seems silly.
How about:
Speed squared, since that’s what really counts. Or speed squared times weight of the vehicle. Something catchier than jules, call it breaking distance or how hard you’re going tho hit something index.
Actually a stopping distance indicator would be a very good thing.
If I owned a new car with those screen gauges, I’d display my check engine light in every display possible.
Or better yet, i’d get rid of the speedometer entirely and just replace it with, say, oil psi or rev counters?
If I had 4 speedometers, I’d set them to display my speed in New York, Chicago, Denver, and LA.
Lol. Took me a second. I’m a truck driver, so my phone has all 4 time zones displayed
“I can’t drive…55! It took me 16 HOURS to get to L.A!”
What I would pay good money for is a screen that does the old BMW trick of only being visible from certain angles. I want to use this tech to create two speedometers. One that I can see with my actual speed on it. The second visable by the passenger that shows 1-3 miles over the current speedlimit. This way my wife can’t get mad at me for speeding.
One of the many things I like about my Matrix is that the speedometer is in a deep well that cannot be seen by the front passenger without leaning way over.
Opposite side of that spectrum is the Mini where the speedo is in the center for all to see.
Yeah, that turned me off from buying it. Cars I’d be passing could see that thing!
My 91 Riviera has a digital readout inside of the digital-analog style gauge, and through the on board diagnostic system, I can also display speed on the HVAC control head, among reading OBD codes, and various other engine readouts. Of course there isn’t a HUD on those cars, and my other HUD equipped cars don’t have redundant speedometers anywhere else.
With some effort, I thought I might be able to beat this, but I could not:
I can only get two on the instrument cluster, unless I’ve missed something.
I have a HUD, displaying an additional one. My Android Auto, while navigating, can also display my speed on the infotainment screen.
I can only get 4, and only two of them on one screen.
The VW instrument cluster, the one going 42 miles an hour, the gauges look like an artificial horizon on an aircraft instruments. The plane is making a very hard right turn with a slight climb
You’re gonna want to provide a little more screen real estate for OBD codes if we’re talking the VW Atlas. Ooooo, or maybe it can be done bottom of screen ticker-style, like ESPN or cable news! That would allow for unlimited codes to be displayed, given patience.
I hate when that “Gas Cap Loose” warning is illuminated on the dash of my Nissan Leaf.
Oh cool. What I really need is one for my dad to watch so he can pretend to have a heart attack if I speed. Seriously though, the man is a menace. He and my mother have been married over 40 years and she has refused to drive with him in the car for probably 39 of those years.
Really? I wouldn’t fall for ‘there are three lights’ so you switch to speedometers? (Picard facepalm)
I remember one of my dad’s criteria when car shopping was whether or not the passenger (mom) could see the speedometer. He would sit in the passenger seat and check!