// The view from the ist (xA) is about eye level with most small trucks and older SUVs,
and in normal driving, with clear, commanding views of the road ahead.

Unfortunately, the ist (xA) was designed for shorter Japanese drivers because
the rear view mirror is always in your way when looking towards the right - in this
photo, you can see how difficult it is to spot anyone entering the crosswalk from
that side. You really do get to crane your head around in this car to see past the rearview mirror.
A few inches higher and the mirror would have been in the perfect position.

BUT WAIT!  Holy Cow!  I just looked at it again today to see how I'd detach the mirror
to move it up a bit, and noticed it was mounted on a fully articulating, height-adjustable
arm!  Oh, wow!  You really never find height adjustable rear view mirrors anymore, even
in more expensive cars.  The ist (xA) is really a "Made In Japan / ie. overdesigned / thought-out" vehicle!

Anyways, a push and tug later, the mirror is now a few inches higher and out of my
way.  Very nice! 

The central dashboard is just silly and car makers should be banned from ever putting
the dials anywhere but front & center! You can see what your field-of-vision will be like
if you look at the dashboard in this photo - you definitely will have a hard time keeping
track of traffic straight in front of the car by the time you read the somewhat hard-to-read
dials.

You'll either put yourself into an accident looking
at them - you'll be looking at traffic one or two lanes to the right instead of straight ahead -
or you'll simply learn to avoid looking at them completely. Not very smart when fighter
planes have everthing that's important dead front and center, especially so when rush
hour traffic in Southern California stops faster than a dead duck without warning (or a quack).

Then again, go ahead! Look!

Those tow truck drivers need to make their ends meet from rush hour bumper bashes.

Car makers should also be banned from getting too creative with the colors on the dials -
the ist (xA) uses a gray on white that is much tougher to read with a passing glance than
the white/red on black dials usually found on most cars, more so vs. the brilliantly lighted
dials on the higher end Lexus and Acura sedans, which have exceptional visibility and
readability at high speeds.

Note the 1-2 o'clock speed marked on the ist (xA) dial - 80 mph. You can quickly guage
what the fastest, comfortable speed for a car is by the 1-2 o'clock reading on most cars.
(Assuming the spedometer starts around 8 and ends around 4 o'clock.)
3 o'clock is about where the ist (xA) will run out of engine power, and that's in the 100mph
range here. A turbo will correct this deficiency.

The ist (xA) even has a 85 mph maximum speed due to tire limitations as stated in
the manual, so before you drive too fast, replace those tires with high-performance,
low-profile, high-speed rated alternatives before taking the ist (xA) up to speed! //