idrive irony
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 392
Likes: 1
From: Connecticut, USA
My Ride: 07' 550i sport; Sapphire Black/Auburn; sport package; steptronic; navigation with R.T.T.I.; heads up; cold weather package; Logic-7; BMW MOST ipod kit; Motorola V3 snap-in adapter; rear heated seats and rear shades; anthracite headliner; sirrius sat. radio; M-aero kit; OEM style 166 Wheels with 245/35-19 front and 285/30-19 rear Michelin PS2s.
idrive is far from perfect. Depending on which version you have, it can be slow to load music and phonebooks and take a while to boot up, but on the whole its an incredibly modern, elegant and thoroughly efficient means of interacting with your car's non-driving functions.
My lease is up in a month, and the new 5 is a year+ away and I now have the flexibility (got the wife a 4.8 X5) to go with a sports car. The Z4 and M3, IMHO, are the only sports cars BMW makes. Z4 is a no go for various reasons. I like the M3 particularly the convertible DSG, but the lease rates are not very attractive, at all. So I really am strongly considering a non-BMW for the 1st time in 8 years!
As I made a mental list of things I love about my car, idrive was on the very top. I love modern cars with a million features, but not a million buttons to go along with them (look no further than the Panamera interior). Also, the screen presents a graphic/visual link to your car that creates a certain dimension that doesn't exist with non-media screen cars.
So, I just thought it worth noting that the bane of all BMW reviews and test drives for the last 7 years in reality is the glue that binds this BMW lover to his beloved machine and I suspect that is true for a great number of people who have actually lived with idrive on a daily basis and not evaluated it on a sliver of time during a magazine test drive.
Long live idrive........
DRP
My lease is up in a month, and the new 5 is a year+ away and I now have the flexibility (got the wife a 4.8 X5) to go with a sports car. The Z4 and M3, IMHO, are the only sports cars BMW makes. Z4 is a no go for various reasons. I like the M3 particularly the convertible DSG, but the lease rates are not very attractive, at all. So I really am strongly considering a non-BMW for the 1st time in 8 years!
As I made a mental list of things I love about my car, idrive was on the very top. I love modern cars with a million features, but not a million buttons to go along with them (look no further than the Panamera interior). Also, the screen presents a graphic/visual link to your car that creates a certain dimension that doesn't exist with non-media screen cars.
So, I just thought it worth noting that the bane of all BMW reviews and test drives for the last 7 years in reality is the glue that binds this BMW lover to his beloved machine and I suspect that is true for a great number of people who have actually lived with idrive on a daily basis and not evaluated it on a sliver of time during a magazine test drive.
Long live idrive........
DRP
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 10,496
Likes: 2
From: SoCal
My Ride: 2008 550I LOADED, all options except HUD and NV
+1 Agreed, I love the iDrive. It is the best system out there for customizing many of the non-driving features. I am an IT professional so it took me all of maybe 30 mins to get used to it and customize everything I wanted. Great system and I hear the newer ones are much better. Stick to BMW.
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 11,084
Likes: 0
From: Thousand Oaks, California
My Ride: 2008 550i Jet Black on Black Leather, SAT with Paddles, Logic 7, Comfort Seats, NAV, Sport Package, PDC, Xenons, Sirius, Trinity 12W LED Angel Eyes, RPi GT Exhaust, M rear spoiler, ACS Roof Spoiler, Tinted Tail Lights, Bimmian Carbon Fiber Pillar Trim, Bimmian Shadow 550i emblem, RPi Scoop, E60 Forum Cling, Mtec bulbs in fog lights, Mtec 2W LED for License Plate Light Bulbs, K&N Filter, Bimmian LED Smoked Side Markers, Blackout roundels, Carbon Fiber Kidney Grills.
Retired Rides - 1989 325i convertible, 1995 M3, 2002 X5, 2005 545i, 2008 X5 (Lemon)
Most people who DON'T have an IDrive, claim it is useless or unwieldy! 
For those of us who use them daily, it is hard to live without! 
For those of us who use them daily, it is hard to live without!
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,718
Likes: 1
From: Massachusetts, USA
My Ride: 2006 525XI, Jet black on Dakota beige. Premium and winter packages. I consider myself a purist and intend to keep my car absolutely stock and shiny.
2008 328I Convertible, Sapphire black on beige interior. Premium package, NAV, iPod adapter.
Retired: 2002 325I, Titanium silver on black leather. Premium package. Absolutely stock and proud of it.
I love idrive, however, I shudder at the thought of $2k for replacement.
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