BigL

MT article

Rudy

Just another example of an automotive journalist who can't open his mind enough (and spend just a short amount of time learning it) to let go of the whole iDrive controversy...

I did like the illustration though...who's going to be the first to grab it for their avatar?

providenceleaf

I read this article last week. I can't believe that they are still bashing the idrive. Don't you think that it's funny that many other car makers are going towards a similar idrive design? I was one of those people that thought the idrive was a disaster when it first came out. I kept reading all the magazines and kept believing. Then I finally got to use one for a couple of days and didn't think it was too bad. Now months after owning my e60 I can't live without it! The last 3 series loaner had the "traditional" setup and I couldn't easily find anything on the dash. It was annoying!

I feel in order for anyone to get the true value of the idrive they need to drive with it for a few weeks then got back to the old way to see the benefit. Anyway, now I'm done with that subject

GeneArch

I just had to....

MiamiPhill

1) Bashing I-Drive is their binki and they won't give it up.
2) If BMW sucks so much then why does all the manufacturers they list use BMW as their standard.

Richard in NC

I certainly disagree with MT. Just to validate my opinion on iDrive, I spent considerable time playing with competitive models. The worst: M45. The big knob on the center of the dash can't be reached without leaning forward. It has no tactile feel, has sub buttons on the knob that you can't read what they do (especially while driving, and it has many other buttons arranged around it that seemed hap-hazzard. Other models had tiny little joysticks that would be a real pain to use in traffic. Cars without a menu system, now have 100s of buttons that make it even worse to learn. On the other hand, within my first hour with iDrive ('06 650i), I had it mastered, sort of.... There still is room for improvement but the concept and execution is better than most.

Some NECESSARY improvements are:
More nav functionality (apparently in the '09 7 and others)
Faster scrolling of long lists (seen on an '08 M3)
Easier to navigate screens. I hate having to bump up and down thru the nav menu to get from "perspective" up to "new destination" and vice versa.

PS: It does seem that EVERY magazine in the last 5 years, still gives BIG deductions for iDrive, yet never add points for voice control, blue tooth, iPod integration, etc that so few other cars have.