I have mixed feelings about the design of the S5's HVAC controls, as they relate to modulating fan intensity. On one hand, the layout seems to involve an unnecessary step. Instead of just twisting a knob to control how hard the fan blows, you have to press a button; lift your gaze to a screen that shows a digital image of the control knob; and then twist the physical knob to modulate the fan speed, guided by the digital image that's presented. Kind of tedious and distracting, especially when you consider that there's a time-tested, simpler approach.
On the other hand, just look at the digital image. Cool, huh? Makes me feel like I'm living in sci-fi movie with impeccable art direction. And obviously, another plus is that you get a cleaner-looking center stack. Beauty has its cost, I suppose.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 10,650 miles
coletrickle says:
01:23 PM, 10/22/09
When are these automakers going to stop with the gratuitous use of complicated all-in-one electronic devices?
I-Drive sucked and still sucks.
This thing sounds like it sucks too.
They're all completely unnecessary and I suspect that automakers are addicted to them because it helps them justify $60K price tags ("yeah, but our cars have a very advance digital communication and control system that is operated completely by this one knob!!!").
It all probably sounds compelling to a first time buyer during the test-drive, but once you have to futz with this crap every single day it gets tiresome and tedious.
ssaxsma says:
01:28 PM, 10/22/09
Since my vehicle has automatic climate control, as does the S5, I've never used the fan controls as long as I've owned it. A secondary control such as this probably doesn't deserve its own separate knob, so I think Audi's smart in not wasting dash space on one.
nealibob says:
01:31 PM, 10/22/09
I think stuff like this would be fine if they got rid of all center-stack controls and put in a very large touchscreen. If I could do anything with two or three touches of the same screen, I would not mind having to do it in more than one step. I guess the problem is keeping the display high enough to see without looking too far away from the road, while low enough to easily reach.
I actually like iDrive, mainly because of the additional functionality it enables. I agree the interface is not the best, and it probably makes using the radio while driving a much more dangerous proposition than it would be in most cars, but it is not that bad and it is getting better with each iteration.
altimadude00 says:
01:45 PM, 10/22/09
It may function badly, but I'm glad that it still looks pretty. I mean, that's what most important in this car, right?
adavis2493 says:
01:49 PM, 10/22/09
The thing i hate about the Audi HVAC Unit is that when you want your heated seat turned on or adjusted, when you click the heated seat button, the entire HVAC unit turns on.
Other than that, the unit is great to use. But, it is really kind of ridiculous that I have to feel A/C or Heat when all I want to do is change the hotness of my seat.
desmolicious says:
01:53 PM, 10/22/09
It goes up to 12? Couldn't they have just made 10 louder?.....
hybris says:
01:54 PM, 10/22/09
On a Audi you crank it not just to 11 but you can crank it to 12! LOL.
But really I personally don't mind a button heavy dash so long as the grouping is well done, of course I don't drive $60K luxury anything so I may not have a leg to stand on.
brn says:
02:13 PM, 10/22/09
Fancy touch screens are no replacement for knobs and buttons. This thing sucks.
yellowbal says:
05:17 PM, 10/22/09
Hmm... with buttons and knobs, you can adjust by feel while driving. With a display or touchscreen, you would always have to take your eyes off the road.
johnthacker says:
07:02 PM, 10/22/09
"Fancy touch screens are no replacement for knobs and buttons. This thing sucks."
It's not a touchscreen. It's controlled by a knob near the gearshift. Presumably if one owns one, you get used to controlling it without looking down or anything.
bimmerjay says:
12:43 AM, 10/23/09
@coletrickle,
I suspect you haven't used the new iDrive because it's astonishingly easy and intuitive, particularly when compared to the last gen system. It's also fast and the Voice Command is really quite good.
Fan speed control like this is unnecessary and a little overcomplicated (for the record BMWs do not have fan speed in iDrive, it's on the dash with the rest of the climate controls). However, systems like MMI, COMAND, and iDrive are necessary to manage the myriad of functionality that high-end cars are becoming equipped with. Numerous programmable features and customizable settings, a zillion audio options, Bluetooth, highly advanced nav systems... a centralized interface is hands-down the best way to manage all of these functions. A Luddite certainly isn't going to be happy in a $50K+ car.
brn says:
07:14 AM, 10/23/09
johnthacker, that certainly is a different story. I tried looking at the pictures on Edmunds to see what you were talking about, but it's difficult to tell which knob it is.
I won't say it sucks anymore, but I will say that I still prefer the old fashioned method.
1487 says:
07:19 AM, 10/23/09
Its interesting how the auto media is slowly reversing course on iDrive and other complicated driver interface systems. German automakers are much more concerned with features looking and feeling complex and high tech than ergonomics. The fact that this "looks cool" is obviously what Audi was concerned about when designing such a ridiculous interface for controlling cabin temperature. NONE of these systems improve the user experience. Sure they are better than the first iDrive but they are all inferior to simple, straightforward controls that need one step.
" In addition, the actual air handler is only about 5 years old so it should be in relatively good working order."
Why not just have regular automatic climate control buttons like other cars? Isnt that even easier? I heard on some of these cars you have to go through the screen to adjust heated and cooled seat setting. STUPID.
super_ongoy says:
08:33 AM, 10/23/09
Idrive ain't so bad and most crucial functions (audio, ac, eject) can be done without it. The only time I truly need it is when I have to reset tire pressure and to fine tune things.
But I'm sure I forgot to pick up a peon when my 7 was delivered to me. I don't think I should be driving this thing and turning knobs. I should have a peon driving for me and whenever I need to adjust the audio volume or the temperature, I should be able to just smack the peon and yell at him. If I had my own peon, I would dress him up in a dwarf outfit so it would be more conducive for smacking. Maybe it was an option I accidentally left out.
benson2175 says:
10:33 AM, 10/23/09
This does seem overly complicated. But then again it's a German luxury car, some over-complication of the HVAC controls is a given. My Benz has two buttons on the HVAC controls that the owners manual actually recommends not using. One of them is 'off' and the other I'm not sure what it does but it has to do with cold air blowing at your feet. It's still ten times the car of any competitor I've owned in the past and I wouldn't change it for anything. I certainly wouldn't trade it for a some car with cheap idiot proof fisher-price quality knobs; you know who you are.
majin_ssj_eric says:
08:20 AM, 10/24/09
Like ssaxsma said, who needs a fan control in a car with auto climate control? I have never used the fan speed buttons in my G37 in 2 years of ownership. Now if the S5 had manual HVAC controls this would be a problem, but it doesn't....
allthingshonda says:
09:20 AM, 10/24/09
I agree with others the fan speed control is very rarely used with auto climate controls so this is not really an issue. The only controls the driver would use on a regular basis would be temp and defrosters.
cr_driver says:
09:51 AM, 10/26/09
I`ll pass, what a way to make things complicated and for what? Sucks audi, can´t u do better than that?
And saying that just because it has auto climate controls the fan speed control is rarely used is another statemente not true....why, easy, it all depends on the driver`s habits. I know people with auto AC that never use the auto setting LOL.
csr1978 says:
12:15 PM, 11/18/09
I have a question on the iPod interface.
I have noticed that in the BMW i-Drive, the data is limited to 255. As in only the first 255 artists are available in "Artist" mode. Only the first 255 songs are available in the "Songs" list. This can be very upsetting when you have a classic iPod with 2000 songs (or 8000+ for that matter) and you want to listen to Led Zeppelin, Toto or ZZ top but your scroll wheel stops you at Coldplay after an hour of twisting that i-Drive wheel.
Does the Audi have full control? Can I get to ZZtop or Frank Sinatra easily? How "full control" (quote from the brochure) is it? Does it give you options to make a genius playlist, or change the shuffle from all song to albums on the fly? Can you give a rating of 4 stars as the song plays?
Bottom line: If music is important to my in car experience, am I better off paying $55 for the 3.5mm headphone jack adapter and a $20 Geffen car charger that pauses the iPod when the car turns off, and controlling my iPod the old fashion way?
Perhaps the 2009 version is different than the 2010. I noticed it has SD card slots and the new MMI.