A virtual dashboard is an electronic instrument panel, or digital dash, where drivers get a digital readout of such data as mph and rev counters, rather than reading an analog dial.
The earliest ones were introduced in the 1970s but were phased out in the 1990s because users widely reported that they were hard to see in the strong sunlight or other bright light.
Because of the way the speedometers operated, by stepping through a freeze frame of whole numbers at a constant sample rate. drivers also said that they took away the sense of continuous acceleration that is provided by an analog speedometer.
In the early days, a third problem was that they were expensive to repair in the event of a malfunction.
But time, and technology have moved on at an ever-accelerating rate and the current digital dashboards are far removed from their early predecessors.
They are essentially an onboard computer that present data in the form of numeric parameters, textual messages, or graphical gauges. They receive their information from a variety of sensors installed throughout the car’s engine and transmission.
In 2014, Audi launched its ‘virtual cockpit’ on the Audi TT and has later introduced it to the several other models.
In most modern vehicles a digital dash is available but their complexity depends on the make and model. The most simplistic, the trip computer screen is typically placed between the rev counter and speedometer, and it usually shows you information like your mpg and your speed.
More expensive cars might have additional information like tyre pressures or cruise control settings.
The screen quality in cars continues to improve and they can also now include things like sat-nav instructions or your contacts list on your phone.
The fully digital instrument dial is the most sophisticated and these use large widescreen entertainment systems. They allow the driver to choose the information they want in front of them, whether that is sat-nav instructions and speed, or the radio and rev counter.
There are a couple of cars currently on my cars for sale page which have great virtual dashboards, the ’65’ Audi TT 2.0TDi Sport Ultra Coupe and the ’19’ VW Passat 2.0 Tdi GT Automatic Saloon
