Well, it's come time - with tariffs looming, and wanting to decrease the monthly budget - for me to ditch the WRX. I am just not in love with it enough to justify the pricetag (I got a 4 year note, so my monthly is really high).
BUT, Subaru gauges and screens are a known good quantity for me. The WRX took me a few days to fully get used to but now my eyes are fully relaxed in the car.
So I've been shopping, and have to be concerned not only about my eyes but my ears (tinnitus, triggered by some noise canceling) and also it has to be the right car and the right price.
And I have to say I've found a couple candidates, two in particular, but I'm just feeling anxiety about it. You can't really tell what an afternoon or evening driving a car will be like on a 15 minute test drive. Although many dealers now do let me take a much longer test drive if I'm honest with them ("I get migraines from lighting" seems to be the magic words that get them to just let you sit in the car for a while and drive around aimlessly), I have to admit I'm afraid I'll buy something and after a few weeks be like "oh man this was a bad call".
THAT SAID, I have yet to actually have a car I didn't adapt to - many Subarus I had to adapt to the screens (my wife drives a LOT so we turn over cars every couple years, and in the past decade I've had to get used to 5-6 different Subaru screens, and every time it was a few days of strain and then comfort. My wife currently drives a brand new Volvo and the digital gauges are COMFY for me - the infotainment took some getting used to but now doesn't bother me.
So I just thought I'd share, writing down my worries seems to help and y'all are always super supportive.
And because I always like to be comprehensive with my updates, here's where I'm at for the various models I've tried:
Acura TLX (2023): Analogue gauges but lit with a BRIGHT RED LED behind them. Had to turn the LED way down, but then it was absolutely fine. If driving longer term I'd likely put a darker film over the gauges and keep them turned up to reduce PWM. Infotainment absolutely fine.
Acura TLX (2024+): Digital gauges fall into the "have to work to make my eyes focus on them" category which I know from experience leads to strain, although for the purposes of a 30 minute test drive I was fine. Infotainment remains absolutely fine.
Alfa Romeo: Seem fine at first but spending 30 minutes in the car gave me mild strain - that developed into a migraine over the afternoon. Was very surprised by this, but have learned to recognize when a screen will do this to me.
BMW (2023+): The curved glass of new BMW's (gauges and infotainment all in one curved cluster) is bad for me. Like old Samsung phones with the curved glass, some folks LOVE it and for me it is just migraine-inducing to make my eyes actually focus on the screens.
BMW (2022 and older): There are a bunch of iterations of BMW screens. The "iDrive Pro" screen for me is ... absolutely fine. Crisp, flat, no strain at all. Their infotainment on the other hand has significant PWM, and it's the kind where the different colors refresh at different rates. It's tolerable for me though - if only there was a BMW I wanted to drive (they're all pretty insipid nowadays). I drove a 2022 530e for a weekend and had no issues.
Mercedes Single-Pane: The "single pane of glass" on Mercedes was actually ok for me. Drove one for a week in Europe and had no issues. Tried out a brand new CLA and it was fine (didn't like the car for other reasons).
Mercedes Multi-Pane (Older): Also fine. Gauges are crisp, maybe a little harder on my eyes than BMW but not bad. Infotainment is fine.
Mercedes Multi-Pane (Newest): More testing needed. Was fine on a daytime test drive of a CPO C300 (2024). Took an evening test drive and the ambient lighting (purple) was out of control. I got some eyestrain from it, but really need to go back and turn the ambient lights off entirely and try it again, because I liked the vehicle quite a bit. The gauges aren't the problem, it was the ambient lights and maybe the giant 12" tablet screen - but that can have a matte film put over it to cut the strain a bit.
Lexus: Actually no problems. Most Lexus models have the same gauges and screens as Toyotas did like 4 years ago, which are all fine. I'm seriously considering a CPO Lexus IS. I just need to spend more time in one to be SURE.
Subaru (All): No problem. Exception is the Solterra - I haven't spent any time in one.
Toyota (late model): Fine.
Toyota (2025 models): Jury is out.
Volkswagen/Audi: Bad. Their screens are just harsh to my eyes. Drove a Golf R at night and wasn't doing well afterwards, eyes were swimming. Definitely the worst screens for me, hands-down.
Volvo: Actually 100% fine on all models I've driven, for all years. Kids drive 2008 models now, and I've test driven 2018/2019 models with no issues and wife owns a 2024. That said, there is definitely a generation in between that I've never driven so I don't know for sure how a 2012-2016 model would be. I'm also seriously considering a black edition S60 PHEV. But the issue with Volvo is that my ears ring after riding in my wife's car - something about the pressure in there or the noise canceling. I've been playing with the engine software to see if I can find the feature and turn it off, since it was fine for 6 months of ownership until one day a software update killed it, so I'm hopeful not all Volvos will be like this. I drove a 2025 mild hybrid sedan and loved it.
I hope some of this data helps some people? I know we're all just taking stabs in the dark here, and thought I'd vent a little.