Cars - For Car Enthusiasts

I have to imagine you have some anxiety related to the road. Reading a dial should be much harder than the number being directly presented to you. Work on speed control and using cruise control... Whether you're going x0 or x9 shouldn't be significant if the speed limit is x0 or 5. There are few scenarios where it's not appropriate to go with traffic and/or use cruise control... Be predictable.

I'll be jealous if you get a digital display. I've had a car from each of the last 3 decades....all dials. My grandparents 90s Town Car? Bright, digital, multi segment display...

I've never owned a car that shows the speed digitally, but I use my phone as a speedometer very often and now it's easier for me to read that than the dials.

I have a digital dash on my Honda scooter. It took a bit of getting used to, but I like it better than the original one as it has more features.

That said, there are plenty of newer vehicles that still have a physical needle speedometer, my wife's 2015 Highlander being one of them. You don't have to buy a new car. Manufacturers started using screens because they're cheaper to manufacture and program compared to a physical gauge cluster.

Interesting, it’s completely opposite for me. I understand the number as it is written, but it always takes extra cognitive load to convert the needle position into number.

Personally, I like digital speedometers and I think you might get used to it, but in case you're afraid you won't, there are usually different display options. Audi, for example, allows you to customize their "Digital Cockpit" from more conventional looking gauges to a "hockey stick" style. Honda, at least as far as the newest Civics are concerned, uses a fully digital display but with conventional-looking dials (with the exception of the Type R, which in Sport+ mode gets a unique display).

I think your best bet might be to narrow down your search to particular cars you're interested in and either ask here, in some forums specific to that make and model, or ask the salesperson - any of them should be able to help you find out if and how to customize the dashboard to your liking.

Edit: what cars have you looked at so far?

Edit #2: it also sounds like you may be running afoul of the cars' safety features. Many cars, including mine, are set from the factory to flash, blink, or otherwise highlight the speed when you've gone over the limit, even if only by 1 mph / kmh, which I did find distracting. I adjusted the buffer to +10 and it's much less annoying.

My 2025 Subaru WRX still has standard speed and tach gauges.