rollee

no matter how the layout, there too many buttons in the cockpit. i don't like buttons, looks very cluttered and most are absolutely useless.
the idrive is an ingenius invention to clean up the dash, though not perfect i think its great and are in the right direction.

the very first day, it took me a few traffic lights to master the idrive system, without touching the manuel.
two friends of mine tried the idrive out of curiosity for its notorious negative publicity, both took literally a minute or so and are at ease with most of the main controls.

i don't understand what the fuss on the idrive is all about, unless the individual in question has computer phobia.
i reason most of the 'older' people who can afford the car (target customer) does not touch computers in general? or use computers the way 'normal kids' work them?

BTW
those air / temp controls settings need not be adjusted after the first time, just turn those two simple knobs for temperature on either side ,set to auto way you go.

the heated seat backs are great!

to change cd tracks need not the idrive either, there is < > next to the cd slot or on your steering wheel.

i think the best thing that happens to driving are the steering wheel control buttons.

i just discovered the hour chime and safety walk away headlight functions, they are very handy.

Hormazd

BAD RAP
Unfortunately the I-Drive does have a bad a reputation. There is nothing I cannot accomplish deftly on my car. Voice activation has allowed much convenience and an automatic climate system with hard contols makes life easy. The press won't let go and some of them are just plain computer deficient. That said I think they need to also accept that even they, the self appointed gods of automotive destiny with there mighty pens, need to pull their thumbs out of their !@#$%s and RTFM.


FAIR RAP
But then we must give the devil its due. Frankly if I did not have voice activation many things would actually be painfully tedious. Like switching from an FM station to your preset AM station to listen to the market report news or traffic info. Something that we all do regularly. Instead of one button you have to slide down and hold, then one slide up and then rotate and push down. Or with Voice press the button, wait for the tone, then issue "AM Presets" Then wait for the system to verify the command before letting you listen to AM. This as inconvenient as it is would be tolerable if the system was more responsive. BMW must nail the performance of the interface before enhancing it. I hear here about Birds eye view NAV maps in V16x etc. I don't care. I want the system to respond to the I-Wheel instantaneously and also boot up immediately. Fix that first BMW or this is far from the "Ultimate" solution.

JayEll

FYI .... according to BMW GB, the system isn't even called iDrive. Apparently iDrive was initially quoted by BMW as a new concept of driving when the 7 series came out. The "dash board computer" was part of this new concept. The press got hold of it and it's been known as iDrive ever since...

I don't know how true this is ..

Merv the Derv

I don't understand what you mean by boot up time! I have the smaller screen version and it works instantaneousley. Does the Pro version take time to work then?

ISUK

In US spec cars there is a start up screen showing a legal disclaimer which they have to acknowledge before they get into the normal menu screen. One of the penalties of being in a country where a lot of people like to sue corporations for their own lack of responsibility. Following yesterday's European court ruling on the McLibel two it's probably going to happen here in the not too distant future.

marty530d

God forbid!

igor

Even with Voice Command it takes quite a lot of time to do some simple operartions (like to change CD; moreover when some of your passengers is talking and the system fails to reckonize your command) when it would take an instant to do in
the current(old) 3-series (I could do it without even taking my eyes from the road).

rfg17

The vent settings control is a replacement for the red/blue vent settings dial between the vents on the E39s.

My .02:

iDrive has its plusses and minuses, like most things. Plusses are reducing the number of buttons for minor functions, and allowing a place for personal choice where in the old days you'd have to have the dealer set up (like the behavior of the locks). Biggest minus IMHO is that there's no assistance for initial setup, you just have to explore each of the menus in turn.

What would help this is something you find in a lot of computer software: a setup wizard that could walk you through each screen. I find the choices of where then menu lands when you press the controller to be a bit odd. You can also easily miss alternative second level options if you forget to turn the knob. A setup wizard would help this out.

In practice, with all the shortcuts, I don't find myself using the iDrive controller all that much. That said, there are some user interface quirks, for example, I find setting radio presets a bit unintuitive. Like most things, it takes time to get used to and time to develop with experience.

I think the initial reason iDrive got a bad rap in the press was that iDrive 1.0 on the E65 7s had eight top level menus, which was tough to deal with. Unfortunately, first impressions don't seem to be revised, so the press keeps beating up on it.

wiszmaster

Opinions are like assholes - everybody's got one, and they are all full of shit.

this just happens to be my opinion

reducing the number of buttons is great, as long as you don't have to go 3 menu levels deep, plus having to deal with SLOW response time for menu changes, and selection.
In that case, i really like the single button for single function strategy better. you click the button, and the one selected function gets executed. and for the records, Audi's MMI is FAST!



I do have to full agree with you on this. It is very nice to be able to set wether or not you want a single or 3 flash turn signal, if you want the car to self vent at specific times, or if you want the car to lock the doors after you drive off or not & such. like you said, to everything there are positives, and negatives. in most senarios one goes 3 steps forward, and 1 back.

i just cannot stand, and completely despise the attitude of some members about critique. Yes, it is a BMW, and NO - it is NOT perfect. Most us here have spent quite a bit of money on these vehicles, however they are not perfect, in a matter of fact, most new jap vehicles are more reliable - not sure about comfort & quality, however more reliable w/ less issues.

just my opinion & my $0.02 - sorry if i got anybodies panties in a bunch. its the internet.

urbo73

Don't worry about getting anyone upset. I took care of that the other day with AS

Even though I love iDrive for its simplicity and elegancy, I have to admit that BMW could do a better job. And they are, but the issue is that by the time all the software updates come out and everything works as it should, I probably won't even have my car anymore! So in a way, I DO feel like I'm testing software for BMW. We all are! One day it may be perfect, but until then..

I would much rather have BMW focus on fixing issues, rather than adding issues/features in new software updates.

That said, I knew what I bought and the potential for issues (so far I just had my phone disappear on my this morning and a couple of spontaneous reboots over the last month). I accepted that coming into the game. Still at times, with all the posts here regarding problems which are software based, I can't help but be annoyed at BMW for not QA'ing its cars more. While the concept of iDrive is a great one - software that can improve your car - we're not there yet IMO. There are still bugs that need to be fixed. THEN go and improve or add other features.