Guest

More buttons is not necessary IMO. We already have the buttons on the steering wheel as well as voice commands. It's just a matter of memorizing the commands.

DRIVER

damn the guys at road & track also put the 5 in sixth place last month. the only car it beat was the volvo!!!!! what the hells so special about the F**kin cts anyway the only reason the 5 does so bad is because theyre not used to the i drive system

katmai

Not really. By having few more buttons and dials to the dash, they are not going take away the whole idea of idrive . There are hundred of customizations that you can select within i-drive. Think of it this way, i-drive (a computer with operating system) can be accessed via rotary mouse, buttons on steering wheel and dash and voice activation. Most of settings are choose and forget. We already know the design of a complete clean dash without buttons did not work too well for 7 series (E65). When the 7 series came with a valet cheat sheet, you have to know something is missing here. A/C controls and limited radio/stereo controls are on E60 dash.

By adding commonly controls such as AM/FW/CD, the design of car will be more user friendly to a larger population. If short cut keys (buttons) reduce drivers attention in traversing i-drive menus, this will actually improve the safety for everyone on the road. I just do not see buttons and i-drive a conflict. I know BMW design studio prefer the clean sheet look.

Let's call those buttons "short cuts" for idrive, if it makes marketing people happier.


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But by adding more buttons, I think it takes away the whole idea of iDrive. The point of iDrive is to keep the dash clean of buttons but replace it with one center knob. If you had all the buttons for radio, NAV, and whatnot then there is no reason for iDrive at all.
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Hormazd

Katmai,

It seems that a main peave that everyone has is the entertainment source button. I must admit that at first I found it really annoying to have to slide down and hold then slide up twice then scroll right or left and then push down. (FM to AM)
But now that I know my car I find the voice command "AM" or "FM" followed by my station choice far easier than my wifes Honda Odyssey where I must push a button to change the entertaiment source and then another one to scroll through presets. BMW also offers the option to program a steering wheel button for next Entertainment source.

I have thought very objectively about the button scenario. Having lived in an E60 with NAV for 7 months I find the ACURA RLs button implementation quite pointless.

Hormazd

UUronL

I don't know that iDrive can take all the blame. At least with the C&D comparison, with the exception of the Jaguar (which got last place) and the 530i, all the cars were either entirely new models, or had new engines. The competition is -stiff- in the space and getting stiffer. Why else would the 5 be getting all new engines across the board if this wasn't true?

Hormazd

I don't know that iDrive can take all the blame. At least with the C&D comparison, with the exception of the Jaguar (which got last place) and the 530i, all the cars were either entirely new models, or had new engines. The competition is -stiff- in the space and getting stiffer. Why else would the 5 be getting all new engines across the board if this wasn't true?
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They clearly blamed the engine for the poor ranking.

gwf545

I've always thought trade magazines are highly biased by advertising $'s spent by the vendor's whose products they review. That and the "free" samples thay get for long term "evaluation". I suspect that BMW has been providng neither in quantitites sufficient to grease these "reviewers". This is not unlike the stock market equities analysts issues that arose in the late 90's. Remember Jack Grubman? The prosecution rests.

katmai

[/quote]


Katmai,

It seems that a main peave that everyone has is the entertainment source button. I must admit that at first I found it really annoying to have to slide down and hold then slide up twice then scroll right or left and then push down. (FM to AM)
But now that I know my car I find the voice command "AM" or "FM" followed by my station choice far easier than my wifes Honda Odyssey where I must push a button to change the entertaiment source and then another one to scroll through presets. BMW also offers the option to program a steering wheel button for next Entertainment source.

I have thought very objectively about the button scenario. Having lived in an E60 with NAV for 7 months I find the ACURA RLs button implementation quite pointless.

Hormazd
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Hormazd

I agree with you that many of us who lived with our car for weeks, months or year can operate with ease via i-drive rotary mouse or voice command. Personally, I'm very good at using technology gadgets.

I do feel the designer left out some frequently access features via buttons. Those controls are for occassional drivers and sometimes for primary drivers. There are times that I can not use voice control effectively due to passenger conversations. It takes more than a few minutes for a new driver to figure out some of the frequently access features. It's unnessary frustration, if certain things are different from a normal car.

Katmai

drmarco

AAH!!! Good chance to rant a little!
The "car mags" have always troubled me. Their editorial perspective seems more driven by corporate relationships than by fidelity and truth.
When I was a kid, I looked at these "rags" as the definitive authorities of automotrivia. Now I see them as insulting. It is as if they think everyone had >80k to spend on a car, and if you're not in the latest AMG Benz, you must be some pathetic loser.
They obviously have their favorites.
I have driven in some of the cars that edged the BMW out. Acura feels cheap and insubstantial, MB - more like my grandfathers car in terms of styling and aggressiveness.
BMW is best, hands down. No other car like it for the money.
Just my (admittedly emotional) opinion.
Marco

lavish12

The buttons on the steering wheel help alleviate having to use the scroll button to switch between radio stations and entertainment sources. I think this is even easier than the voice command