For those of you who have the new Fit, do you find it hard or distracting to look at any of the gauges on the dashboard while driving? Would you have preferred a digital speedometer that falls right on your line of sight like the Civic has?

I ask this as part of my ongoing debate between the 2015 Fit and the 2014 Civic. Any opinions are welcome.

 

Gages seem fine to me. Clear and quick to read

 

Ditto. I like analog style gauges for things like speed, rpm, and fuel. My brain know what the display *should* look like and can instantly process if there are departures from the expected. Even the instant mpg scale is essentially an analog display, and very quick to spot position and trend.

With digital displays, you need to read a number, and then process what that number means in regard to the applicable scale, kind of reconstructing that analog scale. And the number can change unless you have a good cruise control on flat pavement, so you have to process the number each time it changes. Takes many more brain cycles than observing the position of a needle on a dial. And numbers at the same position, such as Range and MPG take time to recognize which number you are observing, maybe showing identical numbers at times, with or without a decimal point (210 miles remaining or 21.0 mpg). So you have to process the number, read the label, and then process what that number means. Many more brain cycles than analog gauges.

 

Having owned a few different model years Civic's since '06 (inception of the digital speedo) I much prefer analog gauges. I currently drive a '14 Civic EX sedan and when I test drove the '15 Fit EX for the first time last week I fell in love with those beautiful analog gauges in it. For me analog is the way to go.

 

In cars, I like both analog and digital.

Analog for the speedo and tach.

Digital for engine temp., battery voltage etc... My solution - install an already purchased Ultragauge which am currently using in the wife's Lexus RX. Its a hog compared to my GD!!!

 

I do agree that it takes more time to interpret numbers than it does to interpret needle position. Same goes with digital vs. analog clocks if you think about it.

I really like what Honda did with the trip computer and maintenance minder, especially the latter. It's nice to know when to get an oil change, coolant refill, or service brakes without all the guesswork.

But now I have something entirely unrelated: how is the performance of the car/CVT when it comes to climbing steep grades? Is there a considerable drop in speed before accelerating back to desired speed, or is the car able to maintain/exceed that speed? This is of moderate importance to me for my commute back and forth from college, as there is a lot of steep hill climbing involved.

 

Absolute non issue. 2015 display is about the same as the other older fits, but this one is a bit larger, and better on the eyes. I have the 2013 Civic and both to me are just fine.

 

Since the speedometer on my car is really only a measure for me of, "am I speeding?" I prefer the digital readout of my CRZ to the Analog readout of my Fit. When I look at the digital readout, I quickly do the math in my head of what is the speed limit on this road and how many miles over it and I going. Also the digital readout always reminds me of the display that the cop would see on his speed detection device, so it reminds me to slow down better than an analog speedometer does.

Having said all that, I have always found the displays of my GE fit to be clear and easy to read in all conditions.

 

i too am actually considering the Civic, for about the same money as the Fit. Of course, the Civic has those infamous Digital Speedo readouts. Luckily, we in Canada use Kilometers, which are more finely distributed than the Miles you USAians use. It makes no difference to the Fit, as its Speedo is analog, but having to choose speeds which are 5 m.p.h. apart, as opposed to 5 k.p.h. apart, OBVIOUSLY makes it harder to manoeuvre in rush hour traffic. Yes indeed, teh speed pedal of the Civic, being "Quantized" in discreet 5 unit/hour steps is quite a pain in bumper-to-bumper traffic! (Although, if we actually had real bumpers, it could actually be fun.)

TL/DR: analog gauges rule. Therefore: FIT ftw!