Everyone will find a difference in their preference, but I find the varios without a needle to be wunderschoen.
There's Air-Glide S and ClearNav square display vario in the 29 (only needles are on ALT and ASI in that one) and we put an S100 in the Duo.
Once you're at one with the audio you don't look at the thing as much anyway.
But some pilots miss glancing at the angle of the mechanical needle.
An interesting combination is the LX S3 or S7 (depending on your needs) which have an orange mechanical needle, plus a display in the middle. Flown with both, and set them up to sound just like a Cambridge 302.
A great feature in new varios is the AHRS. Besides the backup for the once in a million cloud encounter, the compass is more accurate than any mechanical compass I've ever seen, even in turns and varied speeds.... You may be able to throw the mechanical thing in the bin, but read your aircraft's documentation first.
Jim