Why Do Speedometers Display Top Speeds That Are Significantly Higher Than The Cars Capabilities?

Although the Volkswagen Up only goes up to 160 km/h, its speedometer ends at 220 km/h. The difference of 60 km/h is not very small. Why is that? CNN tried to answer that question.

Car manufacturers seem to want to put the most commonly used gears in a central and easy-to-read place. This means that they prefer to place the speed between 100 and 130 km/h centrally at the top of the instrument so that the numbers are distributed symmetrically across the dial.

There is also some prestige because having a speedometer with 220 km/h on a VW Up suggests that the little car can do much more than the engine allows. There are also some savings because many manufacturers keep the same speedometers on the weakest and most powerful models.

Volkswagen Up

• Read More: Why Visibility Is Sometimes Better In Smaller Cars Than In Large SUVs