i-drive feedback....

majin ssj eric · 12-21-2007, 02:55 AM

So, does anyone here know why the car rags hate on i-drive so much? Several of you guys have it, is it really that bad? Just wondering because I decided two cars ago that I would never again get one without nav and, seeing as how the only way to get nav on the 3-series is with i-drive, I'm kinda stuck. I saw a couple of demonstrations on youtube and it looked pretty cool to me.....

I hope this isn't a

DUKE2008 · 12-21-2007, 03:04 AM

IMHO, if you are under 50 and grew up knowing how to use a computer, iDrive shouldn't be hard at all to figure out. Both my parents have BMWs with iDrive (they're in their 50s) and can use it easily. It is very intuitive, and after messing around with it for 30 minutes or so, you'll get the hang of it.

Comet · 12-21-2007, 03:24 AM

can't live without iDrive
ppl have this negative image of iDrive cuz the first time it was released it was slow and dodgy.. or so I read.. but when a friend of mine got iDrive on his car and I saw it, I decided to try it for myself and loved it

typeszh · 12-21-2007, 04:22 AM

Idrive takes a little time to get use to but it isn't as bad as the magazines say it is. I'm not sure about others but for me I-Drive can be a bit sluggish at times.

sinnet112 · 12-21-2007, 05:16 AM

The newest Progman got rid of much of the sluggishness, but it may be too little too late for the reviewers to change their minds. I personally like it a lot, and can live with its slowness at times.

martieg · 12-21-2007, 06:36 AM

The reason of their rant is that iDrive has the steepest learning curve of all car user interfaces out there.

However that learning curve shouldn't take you more than 2-3 hours. Honestly.

Once you know how to use iDrive, it's the most intuitive and easiest system to use.

I have driven several cars recently - BMW without iDrive (loaners) and other cars, and I always miss my iDrive.

japac1 · 12-21-2007, 07:23 AM

I agree with everyone's thoughts. I-drive is very easy to learn and very intuitive and I doubt I'd get another Bimmer without it...

wrickem · 12-21-2007, 07:30 AM

It takes about half an hour to learn if you have half a brain. I like it because there's not buttons all over the console and around the screen so it is a much cleaner look than in most cars.

DBville · 12-21-2007, 07:32 AM

Menu structure is deep and can be confusing, partly because of the number of menus and what it can do - music, navigation, bluetooth (phone book), climate control, car settings, trip computer, and a lot more. All through one interface, and one menu system. It is all integrated. The magazines started complaining about it when it was new, not as good as it is now, and slowwwweerrrr. Since then, they have never taken the time to learn it. With the amount that it does, it will take a learning curve.

I was not sure I wanted it - expensive, "hard to learn", and bad press. We are very glad we got it. Wouldn't get another BMW without it.

SteveMD · 12-21-2007, 09:18 AM

I disagree. It is awful and if you dig deep you will find that I was a fierce advocate for it when we first got our E90.

Since then I have been in many other cars with similar interfaces. iDrive is truly the worst. Even the Nav on our family's '03 S Class is better. So are systems on 'lesser' vehicles like the 07 Camry and a buddies Buick Ranier SUV. There's now no excuse.

Recently I timed a few voice commands. The command 'Sat Channel One Hundred Twenty Four' took 16 seconds from the moment I started talking to the moment I heard 124. Way to long especially if you are listening to music. Other commands take just as long leaving you with long periods of silence - and that is assuming that it recognises you command the first time.

It's clunky, illogical and a PITA to program any destination in the Nav.

And before you bitch at me, I have two engineering degrees, currently work in IT and have owned the car two years - long enough to get to know iDrive.

When EVERY review of the system is negative, (find a positive one that wasn't written by JSpira) you have to give up the fanboyism - hard though that is, and succumb to the realization that they are right. It stinks as an interface.

PS, try that new Ford system. It is as good as it appears in the commercials.

<Flak Jacket On>

exo-ak-dk · 12-21-2007, 09:36 AM

I disagree with people who thinks that the Idrive is Awful and etc.!

Tell me which car have a sophisticated and intelligent computersystem like the bmw Idrive and have responstime of 200 m/s! And SteveMD i dont believe you, because your Idrive must been broken or you can not use it! when you tell the Idrive a command it actually adapt the word 12000 times in a second!
No ferrari, lamborgihni and other hot and expensive cars have such a sophisticated system! If you are fast enough and say 12000 voice commands i a second the car actually will be able to respond your voice commands!

parachute · 12-21-2007, 09:47 AM

Those that talk bad about the NAv is because they can't afford it!

akhter · 12-21-2007, 10:01 AM

it drove me crazy at first cos i couldn't find anything...took me a week for fully figure out although i never gave it more than 10mins at a time. i am used to it now and its not so bad. as some other said, it has a steep learning curve but rewards the patient with advanced features...

MCS · 12-21-2007, 10:08 AM

I have ai dirve an dlike the flexibility and options it give.

My Hangup is that for whatever reason, the software hangs on you from time to time. - ne regularity, but it occurs every 3-4 months or so and I can;t listen to the radio, use nav, or get past the first screen.

Damn computers...

SteveMD · 12-21-2007, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exo-ak-dk

I disagree with people who thinks that the Idrive is Awful and etc.!

Tell me which car have a sophisticated and intelligent computersystem like the bmw Idrive and have responstime of 200 m/s! And SteveMD i dont believe you, because your Idrive must been broken or you can not use it! when you tell the Idrive a command it actually adapt the word 12000 times in a second!
No ferrari, lamborgihni and other hot and expensive cars have such a sophisticated system! If you are fast enough and say 12000 voice commands i a second the car actually will be able to respond your voice commands!

Yes. mine is broken and I do not know how to use it.

You are telling me that the iDrive could respond to 12000 voice commands in a second? I just demonstrated how it took 16 seconds to simply change the sat radio channel.

That Danish crack must be pretty good dude. Send some over.

SteveMD · 12-21-2007, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parachute

Those that talk bad about the NAv is because they can't afford it!

Clearly not the case here. Just being honest.

poiney · 12-21-2007, 10:55 AM

It isn't reliable. When they get the electronics working properly, we can discuss other issues like the below-average user interface, etc.

runnerx · 12-21-2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comet

can't live without iDrive

My family absolutely love it. My wife even said that iDrive will be a must on our future Bimmers.

Ninjaneer · 12-21-2007, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinnet112

The newest Progman got rid of much of the sluggishness, but it may be too little too late for the reviewers to change their minds. I personally like it a lot, and can live with its slowness at times.

+1

Agreed, progman updates helped a ton. Apart from the Nav I enjoy being able to visually and easily access all the different settings.

ChrisMT79 · 12-21-2007, 11:19 AM

Horn tooting around here are we? My dad, and 3 best friends are all engineers at ford here in the good ole motor city with advanced degrees. Have used fords and my idrive. Both different, but liked mine just the same. I have a 2008 not that that should matter. Very easy to use, very precise. I love it!

sky · 12-21-2007, 11:20 AM

I have the I-drive in my 335 and a Garmin Nuvi 660 in my e46 330. The
Garmin is by far, the better of the two systems. Try doing a POI search
with the I-drive...it takes much longer. Try finding Pep Boys or Autozone...
I couldn't. If BMW could only fix the POI search by just spelling out the
name and not catagorizing it, it would work much better. The I-drive's
other functions other than the nav, works okay.

Lassaxi · 12-21-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMD

Even the Nav on our family's '03 S Class is better.

Is this a joke?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMD

So are systems on 'lesser' vehicles like the 07 Camry and a buddies Buick Ranier SUV. There's now no excuse.

This clearly must be a joke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMD

I have two engineering degrees, currently work in IT and have owned the car two years - long enough to get to know iDrive.

Ok, now I'm actually puzzled. You have two engineering degrees and you think the '03 COMAND system is better designed than the current generation iDrive?

You didn't have a hand in designing Windows Vista, did you?:

12-21-2007, 02:55 AM	#1
majin ssj eric Captain 85 Rep 812 Posts Drives: 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Sedan Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Saint Simons Island, GA iTrader: (0)	i-drive feedback.... So, does anyone here know why the car rags hate on i-drive so much? Several of you guys have it, is it really that bad? Just wondering because I decided two cars ago that I would never again get one without nav and, seeing as how the only way to get nav on the 3-series is with i-drive, I'm kinda stuck. I saw a couple of demonstrations on youtube and it looked pretty cool to me..... I hope this isn't a
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12-21-2007, 03:04 AM	#2
DUKE2008 New Member 3 Rep 15 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 335XI Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	IMHO, if you are under 50 and grew up knowing how to use a computer, iDrive shouldn't be hard at all to figure out. Both my parents have BMWs with iDrive (they're in their 50s) and can use it easily. It is very intuitive, and after messing around with it for 30 minutes or so, you'll get the hang of it.
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12-21-2007, 03:24 AM	#3
Comet Troll Harder 403 Rep 596 Posts Drives: 997 GT3, 997 4 GTS, X6M Join Date: May 2007 Location: Montreal, Beirut iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 Porsche GT3 [8.00] 2012 Porsche 4 GTS [5.34]	can't live without iDrive ppl have this negative image of iDrive cuz the first time it was released it was slow and dodgy.. or so I read.. but when a friend of mine got iDrive on his car and I saw it, I decided to try it for myself and loved it __________________
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12-21-2007, 04:22 AM	#4
typeszh Second Lieutenant 2 Rep 233 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (1)	Idrive takes a little time to get use to but it isn't as bad as the magazines say it is. I'm not sure about others but for me I-Drive can be a bit sluggish at times.
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12-21-2007, 05:16 AM	#5
sinnet112 Major 31 Rep 1,118 Posts Drives: 2009 E89 Z4 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NJ iTrader: (1) Garage List 2007 335i Coupe [0.00] 2007 328xi Sedan [0.00]	The newest Progman got rid of much of the sluggishness, but it may be too little too late for the reviewers to change their minds. I personally like it a lot, and can live with its slowness at times. __________________ Z4 sdrive30i \| Deep Sea Blue \| Ivory White Nappa Extended Leather \| ZSP
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12-21-2007, 06:36 AM	#6
martieg Texas 332 Rep 769 Posts Drives: 330i Black Sph PP/SP/NV/MTk Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	The reason of their rant is that iDrive has the steepest learning curve of all car user interfaces out there. However that learning curve shouldn't take you more than 2-3 hours. Honestly. Once you know how to use iDrive, it's the most intuitive and easiest system to use. I have driven several cars recently - BMW without iDrive (loaners) and other cars, and I always miss my iDrive.
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12-21-2007, 07:23 AM	#7
japac1 Major 22 Rep 1,100 Posts Drives: 2015 M4 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Keller, TX iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 335xi [0.00]	I agree with everyone's thoughts. I-drive is very easy to learn and very intuitive and I doubt I'd get another Bimmer without it... __________________ [FONT="Garamond"]2007 E90 335 xi, Monaco Blue, Beige, Prem, Cold, Step, Navi, Sat, iPod
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12-21-2007, 07:30 AM	#8
wrickem Big Beaver Smile 2144 Rep 3,799 Posts Drives: What he wants to Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: lambertville nj iTrader: (0)	It takes about half an hour to learn if you have half a brain. I like it because there's not buttons all over the console and around the screen so it is a much cleaner look than in most cars. __________________ ______________________________________________ Current- '21 430 , '19 911, 07 M6 ,'17 Jeep Wrangler, "23 Bronco OBXluxsquatch Last edited by wrickem; 09-22-2011 at 11:11 AM..
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12-21-2007, 07:32 AM	#9
DBville Private 2 Rep 84 Posts Drives: Not yet Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Birmingham, AL iTrader: (0)	Menu structure is deep and can be confusing, partly because of the number of menus and what it can do - music, navigation, bluetooth (phone book), climate control, car settings, trip computer, and a lot more. All through one interface, and one menu system. It is all integrated. The magazines started complaining about it when it was new, not as good as it is now, and slowwwweerrrr. Since then, they have never taken the time to learn it. With the amount that it does, it will take a learning curve. I was not sure I wanted it - expensive, "hard to learn", and bad press. We are very glad we got it. Wouldn't get another BMW without it. __________________ ----------------------------- '08 E90 335i Sparkling Graphite PCD 11/28
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12-21-2007, 09:18 AM	#10
SteveMD Colonel 201 Rep 2,485 Posts Drives: 2016 F10 535i MSport Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Raventown! iTrader: (3)	I disagree. It is awful and if you dig deep you will find that I was a fierce advocate for it when we first got our E90. Since then I have been in many other cars with similar interfaces. iDrive is truly the worst. Even the Nav on our family's '03 S Class is better. So are systems on 'lesser' vehicles like the 07 Camry and a buddies Buick Ranier SUV. There's now no excuse. Recently I timed a few voice commands. The command 'Sat Channel One Hundred Twenty Four' took 16 seconds from the moment I started talking to the moment I heard 124. Way to long especially if you are listening to music. Other commands take just as long leaving you with long periods of silence - and that is assuming that it recognises you command the first time. It's clunky, illogical and a PITA to program any destination in the Nav. And before you bitch at me, I have two engineering degrees, currently work in IT and have owned the car two years - long enough to get to know iDrive. When EVERY review of the system is negative, (find a positive one that wasn't written by JSpira) you have to give up the fanboyism - hard though that is, and succumb to the realization that they are right. It stinks as an interface. PS, try that new Ford system. It is as good as it appears in the commercials. <Flak Jacket On> __________________ 2006 E90 330i (retired) 2009 E90 335i (retired) 2012 E70 X5 50i M Sport (retired) 2016 F10 535i M Sport Last edited by SteveMD; 12-21-2007 at 09:38 AM..
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12-21-2007, 09:36 AM	#11
exo-ak-dk Black Magic Wheels - BMW 36 Rep 1,090 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Denmark iTrader: (0)	I disagree with people who thinks that the Idrive is Awful and etc.! Tell me which car have a sophisticated and intelligent computersystem like the bmw Idrive and have responstime of 200 m/s! And SteveMD i dont believe you, because your Idrive must been broken or you can not use it! when you tell the Idrive a command it actually adapt the word 12000 times in a second! No ferrari, lamborgihni and other hot and expensive cars have such a sophisticated system! If you are fast enough and say 12000 voice commands i a second the car actually will be able to respond your voice commands!
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12-21-2007, 09:47 AM	#12
parachute parachute 98 Rep 539 Posts Drives: BMW 335i Coupe Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: TN, USA iTrader: (2) Garage List 2011 335i [0.00] 2006 325i [0.00]	Those that talk bad about the NAv is because they can't afford it! __________________ 335i Coupe - LeMans Blue 325i Sedan - Mystic Blue (Retired)
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12-21-2007, 10:01 AM	#13
akhter Lieutenant Colonel 437 Rep 1,694 Posts Drives: 911 992 C2S Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hong Kong iTrader: (0) Garage List 2014 BMW X5 M Sport ... [0.00] 2007 335i M Sport E90 [10.00]	it drove me crazy at first cos i couldn't find anything...took me a week for fully figure out although i never gave it more than 10mins at a time. i am used to it now and its not so bad. as some other said, it has a steep learning curve but rewards the patient with advanced features...
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12-21-2007, 10:08 AM	#14
MCS e90 newbie 38 Rep 448 Posts Drives: 2012 M3 E93 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern NJ iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	I have ai dirve an dlike the flexibility and options it give. My Hangup is that for whatever reason, the software hangs on you from time to time. - ne regularity, but it occurs every 3-4 months or so and I can;t listen to the radio, use nav, or get past the first screen. Damn computers... __________________ E93 IL Blue M3 ZPP, ZCW
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12-21-2007, 10:55 AM	#17
poiney Captain 38 Rep 798 Posts Drives: 328i coupe Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: SJ iTrader: (0)	It isn't reliable. When they get the electronics working properly, we can discuss other issues like the below-average user interface, etc.
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12-21-2007, 11:19 AM	#20
ChrisMT79 Lieutenant Colonel 371 Rep 1,517 Posts Drives: 2015 F80 M3- Alpine White Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Everywhere iTrader: (6)	Horn tooting around here are we? My dad, and 3 best friends are all engineers at ford here in the good ole motor city with advanced degrees. Have used fords and my idrive. Both different, but liked mine just the same. I have a 2008 not that that should matter. Very easy to use, very precise. I love it!
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12-21-2007, 11:20 AM	#21
sky Enlisted Member 0 Rep 41 Posts Drives: Join Date: Mar 2005 iTrader: (0)	I have the I-drive in my 335 and a Garmin Nuvi 660 in my e46 330. The Garmin is by far, the better of the two systems. Try doing a POI search with the I-drive...it takes much longer. Try finding Pep Boys or Autozone... I couldn't. If BMW could only fix the POI search by just spelling out the name and not catagorizing it, it would work much better. The I-drive's other functions other than the nav, works okay.
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