Ok so, bad news. After spending years working on car displays, I've hit a personal crossroads.
Currently I drive a Subaru WRX, and the displays are FINE. The gauges are analogue and LED and the PWM on them took a while to get used to but I have. The central screen is a tablet and I've gotten used to that as well. In fact, I tend to believe that I can learn to use most screens, it just takes time and sometimes patching or accomodation (covering, uncovering, etc.)
My wife drives a Volvo (brand new PHEV) and I tolerate those screens also, exceptionally well. This bodes well for modern display tech, since they're all digital! Sadly, I avoid her car because after a software update this past spring, I believe that her noise cancellation triggers my tinnitus badly!
So after a recent road trip, it has been determined that my WRX is ... sadly ... not the car for me. My back is 50 years old, and it's time to call it quits on rally cars with sport seats.
Rather than spend extensive money replacing seats and modifying the vehicle, I am reluctantly considering trading it in. I'm underwater on it, so I have to work THAT part out, but the hard part is finding a new car!
My criteria:
- Fun-ish
- Comfy!
- Has a rear seat
- More than 250hp
- Doesn't fuck with my eyes too much
- Under $60k USD
Now, some cars I've considered:
Volvo: Not only are we looking at $75k OTD, but they all seem to have similar noise cancellation going on. I've talked to folks on the Volvo forums, and I may play with some software on my wife's car that lets me turn down/off the noise dampers. But it's still out of budget.
Mercedes: My eyes tolerate their displays just fine. We test drove a bunch of MB models last year and I never had a problem. Additionally, we rented a 2022 Mercedes on a trip and I drove it for a week with no discomfort! However, any MB model worth driving can easily run $70k. Sigh.
BMW: I find their new screens (the single curved digital screen with two sections - one for gauges and the other for infotainment) to be "hard to look at". As in I couldn't focus well on it, much like some phone screens are hard to focus on. I haven't spent much time with it, but on one occasion after a test drive it really made my head swim. Or at least I think it was that, we drove a lot of vehicles that day. I could certainly get a CPO model - the previous digital displays were fine, I think. I drove a rental across Ireland last year, for hours at a stretch, with no eyestrain at all. I'd LOVE to own a new or nearly-new m240i or m340i, if I could swing it, and if my eyes cooperated. iDrive 7 is the one I took cross-country in Ireland, iDrive 8.x is the new asinine giant screen one. (Ironically, the giant screen in the MB models is just fine! I suspect it is down to how it's curved!)
Acura: The TLX is a great car, albeit with a wonky touchpad. I haven't spent any time with their displays, so I need to. I find the car very attractive, and it fits all my criteria - sporty and powerful enough, VERY comfy for cruising.
Alfa Romeo: Their infotainment screen is tiny in the Giulia, and I believe it shouldn't give me trouble. Their analogue displays (used up to early 2024 models) had some PWM that I'd have to get used to (much like the WRX) but they switched to all-digital recently so I have to spend some time with that. This is high on my list, as we have a local dealer and they are inexpensive for the amount of power and luxury you get.
Audi: No. I mean, maybe I should give their 2025 models a chance but I drove them extensively in early 2022 and they made my eyes sore. This also rules out VW and Porsche (well, my budget also rules out Porsche). Ironically, pre-digital the VW and Audi displays and infotainment were the nicest I had experienced!
Cadillac: I drove a CT4-V in 2022, they had just switched to digital and I recall it being fine on my eyes. At the time I didn't consider it due to the back seat being laughably small and me wanting more driver engagement, but nowadays my needs have changed so this is on my list. I can swing a CT4-V, MAYBE a CT5-V. These are high on my list.
Am I forgetting anything? Does anyone have any input on any of the vehicles I've mentioned? A good or bad experience with a modern model from any of these manufacturers? Basically I'm putting together a list of cars to test drive, right now that includes MB, BMW, Alfa, Acura, Cadillac. Anything I'm forgetting? Anything I should avoid?