TBell

I?ve had my ?05 530i for nine days now and I?ve already logged 1200 miles. I drive about 40K miles per year, so I?ll get to spend a lot of quality time behind the wheel thinking about how BMW could improve things. What follows is a list of some thoughts and some constructive criticism. Some of these suggestions may be a bit na?ve, but perhaps some out-of-the-box thinking could lead to some significant improvements.

First, let me preface this list by saying that I love the car. Its handling, at least in my novice hands, is better than any other sedan in its class. In my opinion, the interior styling beats Audi and Mercedes hands-down. I?m a big fan of BMW?s driver-centric focus as evidenced by a standard manual transmission (Audi has alienated many driving enthusiasts by no longer offering a manual transmission in the new A6), the ability to turn off traction control, and rear-wheel drive. My inability to turn off traction control in my old car, a front-wheel-drive Volvo S80 T6, drove me crazy as I tried to claw my way up my steep snowy driveway in the winter.

Entertainment

- The number of presets in any entertainment source (e.g., FM, SAT) should be user-definable. I could use at least 30 presets on my satellite radio.
- Why is satellite radio not an option I can choose using voice commands? If someone orders satellite radio with the car, then the voice command software should allow the user to select satellite radio.
- When I play a station from my list of Presets and then go to ?All Stations?, the list of stations starts at ?001? instead of the station I?m listening to. This is a nuisance because I have only 12 presets. I select, say, a rock station, but then decide I want to listen to another rock station not on my presets. I have to remember the station number and scroll down to that number to find other stations with similar music.
- I should be able to randomly mix FM, AM, and SAT on my list of preset stations.
- The up/down station select buttons on the steering wheel are counterintuitive. ?Up? selects the next higher number on the list of presets, but the presets are listed on the screen from top to bottom in order from lowest to highest. As witnessed with the 7 Series? I-Drive, the ?intuitiveness? of the user interface is the major metric for a good design. Sometimes, interface designers spend so much time staring at their design that they can no longer tell if it?s intuitive or not.
- Using voice commands, I should be able to select SAT stations by name instead of number. Names are easier to remember.

Navigation

- The Navigation system gives some strange directions sometimes. Some algorithm improvement would definitely be useful here.
- Why can?t the Navigation database be automatically updated via BMW Assist? Here?s the concept: the navigation data is loaded into an internal hard drive onboard the car at the factory instead of existing on a DVD. Every, say, 30 days, the car automatically calls BMW Assist and transmits the date of the last database update. The network then transmits all database changes since the last update.
- Similarly, there should be a way users can tell BMW that a new road has opened so that BMW can update its database. In my mind, there could be a ?Record Navigation Notes? feature. If I?m driving along and I notice a new road has opened, I hit ?Record? and say something like ?The new Route 3 extension has opened?. The GPS system appends where I am when I record the note. The note is then broadcast to BMW Assist. If more than, say, three users record the same note, whatever work is needed to update the database is initiated.

Communication

- Since cell phone technology is changing so rapidly, BMW should publish standards about its internal software that relates to cell phones so that manufacturers can write code to get phones to work sooner with BMW cars. Similarly, why not allow other companies to build eject boxes for the E60 so that these boxes come to market faster? Ideally, as soon as a mobile service provider offers a new (Bluetooth) phone, it also sells as an accessory an eject box for BMW cars. At the same time, it delivers to BMW source code that, if integrated into I-Drive, will take advantage of that phone?s special features. For example, my phone has ?pause 3 seconds? and ?wait for send button to be pressed? keys that can be included as part of phone numbers but do not ?translate? into anything I-Drive recognizes.
- Based on feedback from people I speak to via the cell phone, BMW needs a better microphone to pick up my voice. My voice is reasonably loud, yet, at highway speeds, people I?m speaking to say that I sound a bit distant and faint. How about a small directional microphone? Better filtering of outside noise? Technology in this arena is well-developed and easily transplantable into a car.

Instrumentation/Interior

- I need more places to store stuff like sunglasses. The combined space in the small compartment beneath the cell phone box in the center console and the door pocket is too small.
- The Heads-Up Display is very nice as I keep my eyes on the road more. I would appreciate a tachometer, though.
- The car should set its clock via the GPS system. The car could even automatically update its time for daylight savings and change time zones using its location. Imagine crossing a time zone boundary and having a chime sound and a message appear: ?Time zone changed to Central Standard Time?.
- I frequently notice up to a one-second delay in I-Drive reaction time after I push the button. BMW should get that reaction time down to a negligible amount (less than 0.1 sec?) to give I-Drive an ?instantaneous response? feel.
- The speedometer reading is much too overly optimistic. While I recognize that BMW can not underestimate the car?s speed, showing ?75? when the true speed is a lot closer to ?70? is unforgivable in a car otherwise noted for its precision. Using position and velocity information from the GPS as well as the usual sensor information, BMW should be able to overestimate the car?s speed by a much smaller amount (say, 0.5%) with high confidence.
- Why are ventilated front seats unavailable here in the US?
- A narrower (i.e., less visually obstructing) column between the driver?s door and the rear passenger?s door would be welcome. As a tall driver, I have to put my seat back far enough that, when I turn my head to the left, I stare straight into the column.
- There seems to be little difference in the speed settings on the rain-sensing windshield wipers.
- Cup holders. I won?t even start.
- Get rid of the initial ?lawyer screen? (Press the Accept button?). It?s a sad commentary on how much the threat of lawsuits has altered our lives. I?m an adult, and I know what I?m doing.

Miscellaneous

- The Sport Package is very nice! The ride is tight without being harsh and the handling fantastic. A nice (and humorous) touch would be to include a cargo net for the trunk as part of the Sport Package.
- While at work on a hot summer afternoon, I?d like to send a command to the car to start ventilating the interior for up to 30 minutes as I expect to be leaving work within that time period. Although I could preprogram this in the morning, my departure time is always uncertain until about 2-3 hours prior.
- I?m very tall (6? 6?/1.99m), so more seat travel and greater steering wheel extension would be helpful. Several years ago, Ford introduced an option in which the brake/accelerator pedal assembly in its F150 could be adjusted electrically like the steering wheel. Though the system was designed primarily for very short drivers, such a system for taller drivers would be great to see in the E60. Of course, I recognize my height puts me in a pretty narrow category of drivers, but the world?s well-fed population is getting taller.
- Please import the 530d and 535d into the U.S.! We want both fuel economy and performance!
- The Active Headlights are great, but they should swivel more.
- The E60?s rear-end styling, to me, leaves something to be desired.
- Some people (like me) would be interested in being ?beta testers?.
- Someone who drives as much as I do would appreciate a larger fuel tank for better range.

cocogigio

That's a good balanced review of the 530. I agree with some of your observations. BMW is smart to offer three types of transmissions - auto manual and SMG. Audi is definitely going to alienate drivers by eliminating manual on the A6. Your observations on the cell phone interface issuse and interior storage space are right on. Still, I agree that this is the best driving sport sedan in the world!

andy545

Yep, pretty comprehensive..agree with the entertainment points.

Hormazd

Nice wish list. Some of your requests are fixes that will be delivered while you still own the car. Some are already available. A software update will fix I-drive response time, and auto wipers. Future updates will probably improve the BT phone link and improve the communications. Mine sounds fine. I think it also depends on the phone you have and the network you use. Try adjusting the volume when in a call and speaking softer.

I think BMW are working on many other items some are already available. E.G. In Europe you can log onto an account on the Internet and send addresses and Memos to you car. Then when it starts it downloads the messsages. So requesting the car to ventilate from you office PC or PDA should be in our future.

Ventilated seats are available now in the US. They cost an arm and a leg though.

The lawyer warning is only in the US and as long as we, the American Consumer continues to threaten with frivolous class action suits against BMW, it will stay there.

jtp1947

I think you (we) are beta testers already!

Busta

nice writeup..you make some excellent points in communications especially. I also agree that "lawyer screen" needs to go.

Guest

1. The integration of Satellite radio into the iDrive presets may be limited somewhat by differences between the current Satellite radio providers. In any event, it has become reasonably clear to me that the BMW iDrive concept will soon become an automobile standard (MB, Audi, & Infiniti have already copied it). If so, then all providers of entertainment and communication devices will be able to write to a common standardized interface, thereby enabling a more seamless connection to the car (such as uniform voice commands & preset integration). It is not cost effective for any single manufacturer, such as BMW, to develop one-off integrations for each entertainment or communication device (thus, some will not do it at all, while others may charge the proverbial "arm & leg" for each integration as an option to defray their development costs).

2. Automatic Nav Updates -- this idea is not new -- Acura is already moving in that direction and Sun Microsystems proposed the general concept at least a decade ago. For that matter, every car can be assigned an IP address and hooked up to the Internet at all times through a broadband Satellite Internet connection (in which case, one could use MapQuest or other Internet based map programs). However, your suggestion may come to reality in the next few years, but there is no free lunch and auto manufacturers are likely to charge a monthly access fee to get automatic updates to navigation and other frequently changing programs -- this fee (e.g., US$50/month) is likely to exceed the cost of an annual replacement DVD for the navigation system.

3. Lawyer stuff -- neither the iDrive disclaimer nor the "optimistic" speedometer are likely to be changed. As I understand it, various European laws mandate that the speedometer must always indicate at least the true speed of the car, so all manufacturers intentionally overestimate the actual speed to comply with such laws (i.e., this has been the case for BMW cars for decades). As noted in an earlier reply, the large number of ambulance chasing lawyers in the US will force BMW to keep this disclaimer because BMW does not want to be bankrupted when some idiot causes a multicar collision while fooling around with iDrive.

4. Fuel tank -- no doubt, a larger fuel tank (say 20-40 liters more) would be a great convenience for all of us. This is one of the reasons I may not upgrade from the 545i to the M5 in a couple of years -- at the much lower mileage of the M5 with the same size gas tank, you would have to fill up every 150-200 miles....

soc_fans

What a nice write-up. I gave up reading halfway though. Haha

vern

Imo if BMW did the things you are posting you could bet on a nice price increase.Plus just a lot of things that could go wrong,We have enough already.How about telling us the things you enjoy in the car and stop whinning.
vern

nickferr

Vern,

He wasn't whining, he made good points and suggestions for improvements. The car is the best in its class imho, but it isn't perfect. Constructive criticism is a good thing.

You should just ignore posts you don't want to read and stop whining yourself.

Nick