NavarroOne

I was out testdriving an F10 last week which unfortunately left me unimpressed. Sure there were niceties but compared to my 2008 car then it's like Ipad 1 versus Ipad 2 for me. The new version may be slightly better objectively speaking but it is not worth upgrading from a cost perspective and the materials feel slightly cheaper. Here I'm in particular referring to the instrument cluster, and that inspired me to this little walk through of 5-series instrument clusters and some ideas about where it could go next. I hope you will contribute with your ideas so that we might collectively inspire BMW to do better the next time around. There is limitless potential to make it much better...

Back in the seventies, it started out very promising with clear and stylish instruments in the E12; functional and minimalistic:



The square and messy instrument cluster in the E28 was a step back for style, as so many other designs were in the 70-80's. However it was a clear step forward for functionality with interesting experimentation with new measurements such as the economy meter and service indicator:



Style wise, the E34 got everything right both on the exterior and with the instrument panel. This is how it should be done; beautiful. Nothing much new but very harmoniously laid out:



The E39 is virtually identical; why mess with perfection? A shame though that new functionality was not introduced; very conservative approach. On the plus side there is a more detailed scale on the fuel gauge and the economy meter looks more like a real instrument. The instruments have a nice smooth movement of the needle without vibration and this also goes for all the later generations. I haven't driven an E34 or earlier so I cannot comment on that but I suspect it worked really well also in the past generations and I cannot think of any improvement needed in that particular area.



The E60/E61 introduced a new style with a clean and uncluttered instrument cluster. Dumbing things down a bit, many of the measurements were unfortunately reduced to mere warning indicators as it seems the introduction of new functionality was focused on the iDrive. The coolant temperature was deleted which was a mistake and it would have been preferable if BMW had gone the other direction and added an oil temperature gauge. In the initial design, the "aluminum" rings around the dials were a bit thick and a little too plasticky. On the plus side, pre LCI instruments had a variable redline indicator which inexplicably was deleted on the LCI version:



The LCI update slimmed the rings down a bit for an overall very clean style. The cruise control indicator; an orange/green LED which flies around the perimeter of the speedomer scale is nothing less than brilliant.



With the F10/F11, BMW took another step backwards in the design department. Apparently corporate bean counters prevailed and rather than upgrading materials to real aluminum, chrome and glass, shiny plastic that would look more at home in a Kia ended up on the surface of the dials. The instrument design itself is good and clean but the slimming of the "aluminum" rings have gone too far. The cruise control principle is maintained but the LED is now smaller and less visible. The decades long tradition with the instant fuel economy meter is broken and is instead replaced with an unusable, though very nicely executed "regenerative braking" indicator. An exciting element however is that you can now configure the instrument cluster to a small extent, using iDrive, as the regenerative braking can be turned on and off. The fuel gauge has changed shape; not for the better, leaving an unsymmetrical set of main dials and like the E60 there is only a dumbed down scale instead of proper indication of liters/gallons. On the plus side, a coolant temperature gauge has resurfaced and even with a properly graduated scale. With the F10/F11 there have been great attention to attractive high resolution color displays on the iDrive as well as HVAC controls but it appears to have been at the expense of the important instrument cluster:



Going over the various instrument clusters in 5-series past and present, it is clear there have been progress as well as setbacks. It is interesting to speculate what might happen in the next LCI if BMW gets back on track? I would prefer a classic analog display and I'd like to see better material selection, not unlike what Apple use, i.e. glass, aluminium, chroms and carbonfiber. My hope is that BMW would fire the person responsible for instrument cluster design and instead hire someone grounded in the mechanical watch industry. This designer should not come from Breitling as the instruments would become attractive but virtually unreadable:



Although flight instruments, where Breitling gets their inspiration from, look very cool they are just a bit over the top for a bimmer:



Inspiration and quality benchmarks could instead advantageously be sought from the German luxury watch maker Lange & Sohne:



I am not advocating introducing gold and platium; we don't want a new wave of crime with instrument panels ripped out of our cars nor shiny bling that would make a rap star drool. The cars are also pricy enough as it is but Apple show that you can you nobler materials without blowing the costs skyhigh.

I would like to see more instruments in the cluster and here a classic Jaguar mkII could serve as inspiration:



I also think Aston Martin serve as good inspiration:



Porsche have a very radical way of arranging the dials and they know what measurements are the most important. These instruments are a little too sporty for a family sedan but cool nonetheless.



Subaru also have great and innovative ideas with a blackpanel where the instruments only become visible when you turn the ignition on. The instruments then swipe through the full range very quickly as of to say "Welcome, shall we have some fun?"


So much can be done to make the next BMW instrument cluster a strong asset. High quality materials, more measurements and more accurate scales. I'd like to see oil temperature alongside the coolant temperature and how about Amps, Volts and Turbo pressure? I also want the economy meter back; I've finally become used to it and look at it all the time. How about making the instrument cluster fully configurable via idrive with digital instruments that look exactly like analog instruments and with high quality casings for each dial. Perhaps BMW could have an "App store" where you can download new instruments or designs so you can change the setup to fit your style and temper. The sky is the limit but we need to wake BMW up so they start moving forward rather than backwards on this important interior design and feature element.

If you have some inspiration for BMW then please share and I would also love to see links to aftermarket BMW instruments.

pradden

I would love it if my 06 525 had an actual water temp gauge ...It makes me nervous to not have a real-time look at your engine's temp status.

Here is one of my all time favorite gauge clusters, the almighty Acura NSX:


I love the layout. Simple and to the point. But I don't think BMW will be putting this many gauges in a 5er.

NavarroOne

It's nice. I always rather liked the Mustang instrument cluster; basically any vintage.

pradden

Has anybody here modded an actual water temp gauge into their dash, or in a pod on the a-pillar? Or would it be considered silly for a luxury car such as E60?

DavidF

Just an observation/clarification: The pre LCI instrument cluster also has the cruise control indicator that flies around the perimter of the speedometer. But, it is not LED but rather a white "needle/bar"

NavarroOne

Much obliged, missed that fact, thanks for clarification.

nomis_nehc

Yes. It's actually a tick -- more like a sticker. It is running on gears, however, in the LCI it's fully on electrical motor. It's pretty cool, just a bit more pain to take apart.

rbcook

No offense meant, but I think the "swinging/sweeping" gauge effect at startup is really corny. To back you up, I think the E60 gauge cluster is fine as is, although a temperature gauge would be nice. Blacked-out gauges(like the Subaru you reference) started with the Lexus LS400 back in 1989(don't beat me up over the EXACT year), and those gauges were really cool at the time. The cold-cathode bulb inside was interesting, in that it made the gauges look black when not lit up, but then really bright when powered on. New car gauges don't use that cold-cathode tube anymore, because of the mercury content. Everything is now LEDs, which are nice, but don't really have the POP of the cold-cathode backlit gauges when initially turned on. My Infiniti I35 had the cold-cathode backlit gauges, which was actually one of the few things I liked about that car. As far as I know, E60's use simple incandescent bulbs for the gauge backlights, which matches the rest of the car interior very well.

That's my 2 cents on car gauges! LIke I said, just my opinion on the swinging/sweeping gauge startup - to each their own!

NavarroOne

Many members here have played with the KI diagnostic feature


Perhaps if that could simply be set in iDrive to run at startup; possibly in a quick 5 second version, instrument only, some owners would turn it on. It already exists so why hide it so well. Mercury free fun!

You are right on the "to each their own"; that's why I suggested configurable instruments. What everyone who chipped in thus far have agreed on, or not object to at least, is that the E60 lacks a coolant temperature gauge. The quality of materials also seem to be a common observation; a little more Apple, a little less Kia.

NavarroOne

This thread has a good snapshot of an '08 US model LCI (obviously gasoline powered) which shows mpg and has a different redline from my lci cluster included above.

https://5series.net/forums/topic/113...gopid__1342634