Speedometer hard to read??

[batclam]

I have a Mazda 3i Grand Touring Hatch automatic. My car has the instrument cluster with the large round speedo in the center. I find it difficult to read the speed indicated on the dial. The needle is chrome, the hash marks are silver, and the dial background is silver. To top off all the silver there is an LED at the tip of the needle indicator. All of this combines to wash out the position of the tip of the needle against the background. All the shiny metallics combined with the LED at the tip of the needle washes out at least three hash marks on the dial face which is about ten miles an hour or so. On this particular model the is no other speed indicator to look at. The NAV has no current speed indication nor is there a digital one on the cluster anywhere that would indicate current speed. Am I the only one who has this problem? The second question is will the instrument cluster from the automatic 4 door version of the Mazda 3 be a direct swap? The reason is that the automatic 4 door Mazda 3 has the cluster with the digital speedo and the analog tach in the center position.

 

[gregbayato89]

don't you have the digital display upfornt? but this is the newer modeL? 2014 GT? then it should have the digital display in-front of you, like a civic

 

[bustamelon]

I'm curious about this too. I test drove a Sport, which IIRC had the tach dial in the center, with a digital MPH in the lower right corner of that, and again digital MPH to the left along with digital tach and a "reminder" to shift, from/to which gear #s.

Now when I google, I'm seeing all different configurations, one of which is as the OP describes. Analog speedo in the silver dial. It IS hard to read. And no digital speed readings whatsoever. Mysterious.

 

[djsyndrome]

In the US, the gauges are determined by engine size, not trim:

3i SV, Sport, Touring and Grand Touring have the central analog speedometer and the small digital tachometer to the left (the exception is the iSV Auto, which has no tach).

3s Touring and Grand Touring have the large central tachometer with the small digital speedometer to the lower-right of the tach face, like the old RX-8

 

[bustamelon]

Gotcha. That's kind of silly, since the S only comes in auto (up to now)

 

[richanton]

sGT manual

Gotcha. That's kind of silly, since the S only comes in auto (up to now)

Just got a message from a dealer I was negotiating with. He just was notified by the factory that the sGT manual is definitely coming soon, but no exact date yet.