CD Article: 2007 Toyota Yaris sedan

[Rupert]

  The last three cars I have owned  included a tachometer as part of a package. But when I think about it I never look at them and I have no idea what I would do with the information if I did. So realy the instrument becomes a style statement only. Toyota have been a substantial company for a long time now and I hope they have the stamina to carry the central speedo through because I think it has promise. It's easy to pull something apart. These are only my thoughts. It's a great little car.
  Wow 10".

[Prius]

I thought it was 10" on the MINI without navigation system.

My Prius doesn't have a tach but has a pseudo heads-up display (except it's projected into the dash that's close to the windshield rather than on the windshield itself). Probably don't need it cause it's gonna stay at one rpm when I accelerate anyway. Same with the Murano or A4 Multitronic.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

You most definitely need a tach to tell where the engine is revving. The quieter a car is, the more you need it - hard to hear and 'feel' it.

I would have liked the Aero Pkg with SABs too. What a crock.

I think this car is nice enough and large enough that people will opt for it instead of Corolla for basic transport.

[Rupert]

With auto trans the tach is meaningless and you can not drive a car with best safety looking at the tach every time you change gear. Sorry don't agree.
People drove for years without a tach. and vehicles have been quiet drivers for years.

[AVToller]

With auto trans the tach is meaningless and you can not drive a car with best safety looking at the tach every time you change gear. Sorry don't agree.
People drove for years without a tach. and vehicles have been quiet drivers for years.

Thanks for the information. I guess if YOU don't use the tach, it must be both useless and dangerous. What were all of us thinking all these years? Mea culpa. We will try to drive more knowledgeably in the future! 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The tach does not cost much to install into a vehicle. By removing the tach, you will not recover enough cost to include air bags or ABS or other safety benefits. It makes the most sense to keep commonality in vehicles and keep in in all cars.

The tach is also good to tell if it's idling oddly, to diagnose potential issues too. Or upon start-up in the cold, it tends to drop some as the car warms up and it's good to wait until then to drive away. On the highway, it's good to determine where fuel economy can be optimized too.

Obviously we can debate this and either side won't budge, but I don't see benefit to consumers in deleting it - either practically or financially.

[Rupert]

Practically it's deletion leaves more space for a larger speedo with bigger numbers. Big help for more senior drivers with bi-focals. Perhaps we should all ask ourselves every day the following question...have I looked at my tach today and if so what did it tell me. If the answer is no or nothing for the most of us lets be rid of it and put in a decent oil pressure gauge or not. We live in the information age; some of it is of dubius value. As previously mentioned here Toyota did not put one in the Echo at first, so none is viable however as stated, customers seemed to ask for it. So you have others who agree with you.

[ovr50]

The tach does not cost much to install into a vehicle. By removing the tach, you will not recover enough cost to include air bags or ABS or other safety benefits. It makes the most sense to keep commonality in vehicles and keep in in all cars.

The tach is also good to tell if it's idling oddly, to diagnose potential issues too. Or upon start-up in the cold, it tends to drop some as the car warms up and it's good to wait until then to drive away. On the highway, it's good to determine where fuel economy can be optimized too.

Obviously we can debate this and either side won't budge, but I don't see benefit to consumers in deleting it - either practically or financially.

I agree with SAMs comments above. Although both our vehicles are auto tranny, I do glance at the tach often and find it useful. Deleting it serves not practical purpose IMO.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

lets be rid of it and put in a decent oil pressure gauge or not.

I think we could use some larger numbers on speedos on some cars, but we can be creative with how it's done. To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do with an oil pressure guage. I guess I'd want to know if I'm out of it, but otherwise the engine temp guage is fine for me. But I'm only 25 and am not too familiar with cars with them - I take it most others would know what the guage would do tho (I take it excessive heat would bring up the pressure so you would know it? But isn't that what the temp guage does? I'm not sure...)

I thought missing the tach on the EH was a poor omission by Toyota in a car appealing to first time buyers.

[AVToller]

I think we could use some larger numbers on speedos on some cars, but we can be creative with how it's done. To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do with an oil pressure guage. I guess I'd want to know if I'm out of it, but otherwise the engine temp guage is fine for me. But I'm only 25 and am not too familiar with cars with them - I take it most others would know what the guage would do tho (I take it excessive heat would bring up the pressure so you would know it? But isn't that what the temp guage does? I'm not sure...)

I thought missing the tach on the EH was a poor omission by Toyota in a car appealing to first time buyers.

Oil pressure gauges used to be very important when oil was not as sophisticated and might still prove useful. High pressure is rarely a problem. Low pressure is. At very high temperatures, oil thins and the pressure lowers. If it gets too low, the engine is likely to seize. Pressure also gets low if you don't have enough oil in the sump, the grade of oil is too thin, or if the oil froths exxcessively. Modern oils are much better at avoiding thinning and frothing than they were when I was a new driver back in the 1860s. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Thanks AVT for the explanation.

[84im]

When I drove my air cooled 356 replica, I had an oil temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge and a cylinder head temperature gauge. (and, believe it or not, a dipstick temperature gauge!)
Some guys even have digital head temperaure gauges that monitor all four  cylinders.
With the monster I usually keep a close eye on the water temperature, as the car can heat up in stop and go traffic (when the electric fan is off).
I consider the tach to be another gauge, and use it when I need it.  I use it all the time in the monster, but seldom look at it when driving the Ranger (auto tranny).  Also, the tach in the Ranger doesn't have a marked redline. 

[philmcneal]

so for the yaris sedan, 100 km/h where does the tach point at?

[johngenx]

What about the 10" one in the new MINI?

You wouldn't expect anything with 10" to be called "Mini."

[RunsinLight]

Do not like the centre dash

Agreed, the centre dash isn't something you normally look at enough to consider such an ugly design.