miss525i

My reply is going to be short
Simply love it

Hormazd

Bitch and moan about I-drive, but you browse through a manual quickly to learn how to use a new mobile phone, TV, DVD player and you click on help to learn new software. Setting the clock on a non I-drive BMW is not intuitive. Nor are many functions. Now if you really want to set your presets while driving on the freeway, thats fine, but since I do this only once every few months, I'll take the lack of buttons any day. To fiddle with the vent settings aor AC or Radio on the E90 without I-Drive requires you to look down. I missed the ergonomics of I-Drive.

Oh and by the way the Acura RL is no more intuitive.

DaveH

Good analogy, and I agree.
But some TVs and DVD players are easier and more intuitive to use than others. All I'm saying is that iDrive is on a par with the worst. I'd like it to compare with the best, then it would do justice to the rest of the car.

vstegmann

Hi Dave,

maybe I'll say my points to what you've found on the web (btw, here, in this forum, are pleased users)...
That's a personal statement. In "Motorvision" on the german television they found the systems equal. On the MMI they were irritated by the "circle letter entry" which they found irritating during drive...

I guess that's the point. It's a personal thing whether you like MMI or iDrive more. Both systems are equal in handling (in the MMI I had to search also for the setups etc. - it's faster and nicer (from the look), but not perfect).

What I like about the iDrive is a controller you can push in directions to scroll a map. What I liked at the first glance at the MMI where the buttons (which often attracts users as it appears "simpler"). But - again - after some days of iDrive I wondered: "Why has the MMI all these buttons??" An experience which the short term tester shurely will not have.

One more thing Dave. You like to compare with the best... that's definetely not the MMI. The BEST is not out yet. I can imagine easily a "very good" symbiosis of MMI and iDrive. But it will never be perfect for everybody....

regs
Volkmar

DaveH

Right again. I'd hate BMW to see MMI as the holy grail. I want them to combine the best elements of iDrive, MMI and others, to produce the definitive control system. They won't please everyone, of course, but that's no reason not to try.

Carbon Black

So various views then.

Cheers.

needforspeed

I've only had my 5-series a week and generally like technical gadgets.

Theres nothing difficult about the operation of the i'drive... but I think it is more complicated than necessary and effectively a gimmick.

I really like the way you can scroll through radio stations and it also works well with the bluetooth phone system in respect of pre-set a-z lists..

It probly also makes more sense with satnav, which I don't have. But... my tomtom satnav is touchscreen and very quick to identify locations, the satnav on the i-drive is fine, but the selection system is (lets be honest) a bit sluggish - just like trying to dial a non memorized number with the phone kit (much simpler to get the phone out and dial it on the keypad). I can also download poi data to my tomtom eg speed cameras.

In short - it's a nice idea - but it makes the simple complex - for instance with the basic air con system one of my 5 main i-drive menus controls.... wait for it.... the temperature of the central vent. Is this really a technological improvement over the knurled wheel I had in my e46 coupe?

The screen also bugs me when driving - so I switch it off

Freewilly

I love new gadgets. I spend more time on iDrive than the road in front of me for the first 2 weeks.

Other than it looks nice, iDrive takes longer and more steps to operate in different functions.