The vast majority of people on the planet have been driving manual transmission cars for most of the automobiles history and they never had tach's. Only in the US did most people since the 60's drive auto's and even on Mercedes Tach's only started to be included with the 116 and 107's. Even the 108's etc didn't have them.

They might be a "cool" feature but unless you are on a racing track they are as irellvant as a heater in Phoenix and AC in Alaska.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Actually I'll go further. As I drive my 240D stick in Phoenix as one of my daily drivers, the other being my 2000 Sonoma, also a stick, the technique with the 240D is simple. You slam the acellerator to the firewall in 1st, 2nd and 3rd until you reach about 40 - 45 mph. Any lighter on the pedal and eventually you're going to get hit from behind. Once you reach 40 to 45 you can ease up on the pedal.

I'd suggest that especially for a learner looking at what a tach is doing instead of what's going on around them is going to lead to disaster sooner rather than later. If you really think you need to look at an instrument to tell you when to shift the speedometer has markings on it to indicate what speed not to exceed in various gears.

But once again, this is pointless. A couple of trips in a car is all it takes even for a novice to get a feel of engine/vehicle speed in relation to shifting.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Alaskan here...It does get up to the 90's in summer and the AC on both the Benz and the Mazda are out, making hot summer days quite unpleasant. At least the windows still roll down in both cars...

My first cars were stick and did not have a tach either, but my Mazda has a tach and it makes driving the stick a little more pleasant. Easier to keep the revs down when the engine is cold (I try to not go over 2k for the first 5 minutes) and when flooring the damn thing I can shift exactly at the point where the rev-limiter cuts in, which is slightly above red line. Powerrrrrrrr!

For a beginner that grew up in automatic cars, I'd say at tach would be nice to have. Not necessary, but nice.

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"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

Well, I got the car out of the shop today so there's good and not so good. No new brakes as indicated (5,000 miles remaining) not a big deal. Door locks fixed for $79, fuel leak found that was barely a leak and fixed. Dash lights have various causes, still not working. Cruise, no luck there but who cares? The AC compressor has a slight leak but r134a is cheap. Overall the condition is excellent other than that. Not bad for a 35 year old car.