I think it is an option on the humble Passat too.

Similar to the display on some Citroen C4 models too.

When I initially saw this before release I thought it was fantastic but it does have serious drawbacks. When I am going somewhere unfamiliar, when I really use navigation, I am usually not alone and have a copilot so to speak - the wife. She usually monitors the nav screen which allows me to concentrate on the road/traffic/signs etc. Moving the screen to in front of the driver really is a retrograde step in this regard.

My car has a small display in the drivers instruments to give me next turn info at a glance which is all the attention we should be doing when driving. My wife's car goes one better and next turn info is displayed in a heads up display where you can still see most of the road ahead even if not actively focused there.

This new Audi dashboard although graphically looks great is just another distraction for the driver and a very fancy one at that. Don't we have enough of this kind of thing as manufacturers try to entice us to buy their cars with new tech to differentiate themselves from other brands.

And it WILL crash, no doubt at all. Leaving you with no instruments at all? Surely there is a legal requirement (and a decent use case) for an analogue speedo at least?

As others have said a HUD would be more useful I think. But it IS pretty....

<br>
Rich.
Kit: TomTom iPhone WEurope on iPhone6s+ / iPad Pro
w/ Interphone BT headset on a Honda Blackbird (should change this really - the bike, not the headset)

They do quote that "The A4 also includes a large screen mounted centrally on the dashboard so that passengers can view navigation, enter destinations and select media" so could use traditional method if you desired

Good for the new A4 but as far as I am aware the TT doesn't have a central screen.

It's still a big distraction for the driver to play with. I hope it's not adjustable while driving.

The Audi version could be better, but I have been driving a C4 Grand Picasso with a digital dash since 3rd April 2014, and it is stunning. Regarding computer crashes, I have yet to experience that "pleasure." The display shown in this week's PGPS Newsletter is the same as what I see, and I have to agree that I don't use the gps within the main screen, purely to reduce distraction. I have a totally competent co-driver next to me who can see the normal 7" dash-centre gps and warns me when necessary. Both gps displays can be active at the same time.
Audi is great but Citroen beat them to it this time. And it hasn't faltered yet (that may be in the pipeline, as with all electronics).

IPAQ H2210 1993.... GO LIVE 1005 Europe 2011, 1005 Camper 2015, 5200 WFi 2016 and TT still can't get metric speed limit info right in the UK. 70mph is NOT 115kmh. It is 113 as my old IPAQ knew so well!

My new Volvo XC90 has a similar arrangement. A 12.3" driver display provides speed, rev counter and other functions - including a duplicate of the sat nav map & details from the central iPad style display. The display can also be programmed to show telephone call details, numbers etc and a host of other functions controlled from the steering wheel button sets.

One of the most useful functions is the system that recognises speed limit signs and displays the appropriate symbol on the speedo part of the display - you have the option then to turn on the 'speed limiter' so the vehicle does not exceed the restricted speed or ignore it and suffer a flash of red lights should you exceed the limit. The indicator is fast to change when going from one speed zone to another - and it can be de-activated if you don't want to be reminded what you should be doing.

Benefit is that you don't have to take your eyes off the road other than for a quick glance - just as you do now with electro / mechanical instruments. A head up diplay is an (expensive) option to improve matters further.

Not sure what happens if there is a failure of the display, though !

This reminds me to this old project I once run in to it http://www.zcarcockpit.fr/EN_index.html , maybe that guy is behind this new one dashboard
ciao
Davide

There's a new generation of drivers who are used to continually taking in and processing much more information than most of us old fogeys who I suspect make up the majority of the PocketGPSWorld readership. Just look at a Formula 1 steering wheel nowadays.

My concern would be that electronics in cars dates much more quickly than the cars themselves. Probably not an issue for the first owner, but I've been looking at Porsche 996 Turbos (from 2001-2006), and the sat nav and media systems looks really dated compared with the rest of the car. My 2001 BMW M5 is still a fantastic car, but it has a factory-fitted cassette (!) slot, and I use a TomTom PND on unfamiliar journeys rather than struggle with the built-in sat nav.

Unless Audi continue to provide software updates for the system (and why would they?), then it will very soon look incredibly out of date. Just look at smartphones, where most people upgrade them every 6 months or so.

Philip