[Romanian nightmare]

I have a 2007 and it is working fine with no issues at all....

[tomz17]

Originally Posted by stealth63

I'm looking at a few 08's with Nav. I have seen a few post stating that the older system is bad. So my questions is how bad is it? Is it usable but just not as good as the new one or is it downright unusable. I don't really care if the car has nav or not, but most seem to have it. Do people that have it regret getting it?

I havethe 08 Nav... I see nothing wrong with it. The new one IS slicker, but I really can't complain about the 08.

[CoconutPete]

I don't mind mine. I'ts not the fastest thing in the world, but it certainly isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

I read all the negative reviews about it and had to chuckle the first time I played with it. I can definitely see how it would be hard to operate if you are not technically inclined and like to live life in slow-mo. Then again... if that's you - what are you doing w/ an iDrive car?

Originally Posted by Genek335

when you have experienced the 09+ navi its hard to settle for the 07 or even 08. the older ones are a curse to operate and get frozen pretty often i hear. its just an overall problematic sytem

I hear the newer ones have squirrels living in the center console that come out and bite your thumb if you don't push buttons fast enough. Does that make it true?

[stealth63]

Originally Posted by CoconutPete

I hear the newer ones have squirrels living in the center console that come out and bite your thumb if you don't push buttons fast enough. Does that make it true?

You have it all wrong, the dealer told me it was hamsters because they are smaller and more efficient.

[rocco]

Ok, I hate to be so bold, but I'll just lay it out plainly .... if you're an idiot, you're probably going to find the <09 iDrive difficult to use. If not, the only thing you'll find is that it's not as "pretty" as a third-party product or the current iDrive interface. Hope that helps with your decision...

[stealth63]

Originally Posted by rocco

Ok, I hate to be so bold, but I'll just lay it out plainly .... if you're an idiot, you're probably going to find the <09 iDrive difficult to use. If not, the only thing you'll find is that it's not as "pretty" as a third-party product or the current iDrive interface. Hope that helps with your decision...

It does allot. Its good to hear some encouraging things from the people who actually have it. From what I read here i'm not to worried at all. The journalist reviews were what made me a little worried.

[victor328]

I have an 08 version and I love it. Recently my girlfriend won a TomTom GPS and since she already has a GPS she gave it to me so that I could use it in my other car. Now that I have used both I much prefer the BMW system. The main advantage is that you can control everything with the I-drive knob, with the other systems you have to go through a whole bunch of menus and you have to stretch out to reach it. I love the fact that you can zoom in and out by just turning the i-drive.

[anerbe]

09+ Idrive > 06+08 Idrive >>> MKIV > MKIII

The new Idrives are nice, with a considerable upgrade over the 06-08's, but I find the largest jump came when changing from the MKIV and previous systems. With the knob dials that only rotated, any map functions took forever. The lack of voice integration also make it troublesome to navigate. I never used the phonebook, because hitting arrows to scroll thru contact pages sucked.

[Xwahoo]

My wife and I picked up an '08 E92 335i with iDrive (the "old" version) in Houston and proceeded to travel to Dallas and then Atlanta over the next two days. We figured it out along the way and it wasn't that bad. We didn't have Nav disks so no nav on that trip but we figured out the basic iDrive operations (radio, A/C, DRL, etc.). After 8 months, I still push when I should twist, etc., but overall I have no problem functioning with it.

[rocco]

Originally Posted by victor328

I have an 08 version and I love it. Recently my girlfriend won a TomTom GPS and since she already has a GPS she gave it to me so that I could use it in my other car. Now that I have used both I much prefer the BMW system. The main advantage is that you can control everything with the I-drive knob, with the other systems you have to go through a whole bunch of menus and you have to stretch out to reach it. I love the fact that you can zoom in and out by just turning the i-drive.

+1.

Wife had a Garmin, an expensive one that was very highly reviewed. Simple functions like changing perspective, zooming in/out, seeing entire route, etc, were more painful than iDrive ('08). I LOVE being able to zoom and quickly change perspective on iDrive, and I always have a map pointed north (unless I'm actually using Navi, in which case it's the next turn) in the smaller window to see if/where there is traffic.

I understand, as one user mentioned above, that the original iDrive didn't have the number of control options (just scroll) which may have earned it the bad reputation (that has forever stuck).

[BMXtreme]

I heard horrible stories about the iDrive before I have mine, but now that I have it, i don't think it's that bad. Probably not the best but works very well for what I need it for.

[quantumx]

Originally Posted by stealth63

It does allot. Its good to hear some encouraging things from the people who actually have it. From what I read here i'm not to worried at all. The journalist reviews were what made me a little worried.

Journalists and car reviewers alike sometimes bash things to a point where it makes you really question the purchase, but I'm glad I didn't listen to them for the 335is purchase. All the articles I read said the car was very rough and so on. After test driving it myself, I found it to be a very smooth ride. I guess at the end of the day, you need to decide for yourself. Read reviews after!

[N55]

I had the 08 platform for a year and it was not that bad for 6 months. The other 6 months was horrible because for some reason the NAV DVD would always cut out and say please insert disc. (While the disc was always in there) I would have to take the disc out and insert it multiple times before I got it working. Sometimes I had to pull over (While using nav) and restart the car which was a huge PIA.

Now that I have a 2011 with I-Drive I LOVE it, the buttons on the knob makes it easier. Also the Nav maps are on the HD so there is no lag compared to the 08.

If I still had my 08 and IF BMW offered an upgrade to 09 nav for $1000 i'd do it.

[cmattone93]

is there a way for me to upgrade my 08 335xi navi to the new navi?! anyone have input or a link i can check out. thanks

[Mike van D]

Agree with N55, older nav was a pain in the... In addition to restates, sometimes the nav DVD would just spin and spin even after vehicle was shut off. This was a 2008 328i.Loved the car, hated the nav.

[wrickem]

In my '07 the nav was fine. It always worked and it always got me where I wanted to go. Within 30 minutes it was very easy to use.

Now, I have an '11. it's glitzier, but I have to think more about how to use some of the functions and which button to use.

And the new "lady in the dashboard" does not mute the stereo when she tells you where to turn like the old lady did. I liked the old lady better. The new one just likes to have a yelling contest with the sereo.

[byee]

i had the exact same question as OP when i was in the market for a new car. i was on the fence about getting a CPO '08 328i coupe, or waiting for more '09s to come on the lot. in the end i ended up getting an '08 because the 'perfect' one came by.

i was afraid that i'd be 'missing out' on all the features of the '09 iDrive, but to be honest i'm perfectly fine with the '08 version. yeah it might not be as fancy looking, but it plays music off my iPod/iPhone, has bluetooth to make phone calls with easy buttons on the steering wheel to activate it, and it works. it took me maybe a few drives before i figured out all the common commands i could say as well as how many clicks to spin the wheel without looking, but it's perfectly fine to me.

if i had an '08 and '09 side by side and for close to the same price would i take the '09? of course, but there weren't any and i don't feel like i had to 'settle' for an '08. no regrets on my end.

[SupremePower3335]

I had the 2006 Version in my 330i. One of the biggest reasons I bought a 2011 was I REALLY the new iDrive. I went by many opinions on this site. I have to say that while it is "better" the old one is still fine. The ONLY thing that is better is the control of media device is the USB control from the iDrive. If you find one you like it's not worth it to pass it up for the new iDrive. Save yourself some money if the right vehicle comes across.

[thurston]

It def gets the job done, so it's worth having it. The '09 and beyond is a lot better. Get an '09 if you can reach a little deeper into your pockets.