I really hate this trend to do away with temperature gauges. In the past 2 years, they have proved invaluable with identifying faults in all 3 of our family's cars.
Younger daughter's Fiesta bought used (7 years old): After 4 months in her ownership it lost all the water as the water pump sprung a serious leak one day - noticed by her as the "gauge next to the fuel gauge went right up to the top, and a red light came on; what does that mean, dad?" Lucky to escape without any apparentengine damage.
The Scenic last year

ne day,wife noticed that the temperature gauge had gone up well above the usual mid-point. Investigation showeda fairly serious waterleak which was traced to a split in the thermostat housing. Driven immediately to local garage for that diagnosis; Rectified next day without any engine damage.
The Galaxy: Last year I noticed the temperature gauge having a "song and dance" - was fluctuating all over the place on almost every journey, literally from bottom of gauge to mid-point in a fraction of a second, then back again. Caused by faulty temperature sensor.
With no gauge and just a warning light, it's unlikely that any of the above 3 faults would have been caught so quickly as they were, if at all.
Also, I don't like to work the engine hard or rev it too much until it's warmed up, and with no temperature gauge, it's hard to work out when that is.
Edited by: IvorETower