Find a person who likes iDrive and I'll show you 48 others who think it stinks. Although I've pretty much gotten the hang of it, that doesn't mean I like it. You can get the hang of cleaning toilets, too.
But this morning I've found something iDrive is good at, very good at actually. The iPod connection and control is probably the best I've come across. Although the iDrive and its menus are overly complicated for simpler tasks like changing a radio preset or stereo mode, they are a good match for controlling an iPod's more complicated arrangement of playlists, albums and artists. They are also accessed pretty quickly (some systems have annoying loading times) and you can also control it while driving, unlike our Scion.
The Scorsese video below is a small glimpse of how quick and easy this iPod connection is. And no, there is no excuse for having Avril Lavigne on the iPod artists list (I actually paused on it in disgrace), even if we do come from the same Canadian province.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 4,165 miles
canadaphant says:
09:26 AM, 03/26/08
As long as you aren't from Napanee...
jriz says:
09:48 AM, 03/26/08
Mississauga.
vacagrande says:
10:40 AM, 03/26/08
...and you even picked the best song on the album. Good call. Edmunds people seem to have great taste, I recall someone taking a long-term car to a Tool concert a while ago.
bimmerjay says:
10:46 AM, 03/26/08
Having owned and operated many iDrive-equipped vehicles, I can easily list off the real problems with it. But the bottom line is that iDrive, COMAND, MMI, and the rest without snazzy names are the best way to integrate the myriad of features now offered on luxury cars. I love my iDrive simply because it gives me the ability to do a zillion things I could never do before. And the recent builds offer programmable shortcuts, hot keys, and Voice Commands to simplify many of the common tasks.
When I get a stuck in a rental car or something I feel like I'm back in the stone ages.
scorp76 says:
10:59 AM, 03/26/08
It surprises me that after 6 years these moronic complaints about iDrive are still around. I bet if I talked to those same '48 people' I'd discover they weren't even BMW owners. Some people just have a slow and simplistic learning curve, so it takes them a little longer to master it, while some people pick it up with ease and therefore have no complaints.
ewilfong says:
12:09 PM, 03/26/08
Picking something up with ease does not automatically make that something pleasant, and James made that very point.
dougtheeng says:
12:45 PM, 03/26/08
For those of us who have never experienced iDrive, it would be nice to see a video showing some of the complicated basic functions that you mention - radio preset or stereo mode, etc.
desmolicious says:
01:31 PM, 03/26/08
Yeah, I don't get the complaints about I-drive. You can just talk to it and it does what you want it to do if you can't be bothered to twirl the wheel. I think doug makes a good point, put up a video to show how diffcult it is to use so I can see what I've been doing wrong all this time...
scorp76 says:
02:45 PM, 03/26/08
"Picking something up with ease does not automatically make that something pleasant, and James made that very point."
And having difficulty understanding something doesn't automatically mean that it's UNpleasant, and Scorp76 made that very point.
texases says:
02:52 PM, 03/26/08
Gotta love the iDrive battles. My question to iDrive apologists/enthusiasts is this - why are none of you writing for any magazines? I have never read a single positive review of iDrive, even from the mags that otherwise love BMWs.
p.s. the "Roundel" doesn't count.
mercedesfan says:
05:06 PM, 03/26/08
I actually agree with the general sentiment of people here that iDrive really isn't that bad, or at least that was until I became acquainted with the new version of COMAND by Mercedes. That system is so far above BMW's that it is shocking. Of course someone had to do it first, and for a first generation technology iDrive is actually pretty impressive.
ahightower says:
07:25 PM, 03/26/08
A $70K, 16 mpg iPod docking station. The ultimate accessory.
scorp76 says:
08:40 PM, 03/26/08
"Gotta love the iDrive battles. My question to iDrive apologists/enthusiasts is this - why are none of you writing for any magazines?"
I don't know about the others, but for me, it's because I wanted a real job.
"I have never read a single positive review of iDrive, even from the mags that otherwise love BMWs."
So what. I've never read a review about a lexus that made even remotely interested in buying one, but they still sell for whatever reason.
Forget reviewers, they dont count; read from actual OWNERS (like bimmerjay above), who drive them day in, day out. They're the ones who love it and after used to it, hate driving cars without iDrive.
desmolicious says:
04:46 PM, 03/27/08
As an actual owner of a bimmer w/ I drive here's my take... I don't think it's amazing and I don't think it's junk.
It just does the job as intended and I just don't understand the complaints. I never picked up the owner's manual, just sat there for a few minutes seeing what everything does.
I guess someone needs to show me what the problem is?