I-Drive - How intuitive do you think it is?

[StuB]

Yesterday I took the E60 to collect my 12 year old daughter from the stable and on the way back she asked if she could 'play' with the i-Drive.

I suggested that if she could set the navigation to 'Home' she could have a treat when we got home. After about 30 seconds of working out when to press down, rotate, push/pull she'd done it!

When I asked if she'd been watching me use it and had just copied me, she just said 'No, but it's so obvious isn't it?'! I was surprised and impressed.

So next time someone tells me how 'stupid/useless/confusing' the i-Drive is, I'll just tell them a 12 year old girl had no problem at all

[m12_nathan]

It is very easy to use, unless you are a top gear presenter and have to find a story somehow.

[dazren]

Like most PHers I've not read the manual, even so I found it very intuitive, although how do you turn the navigation off mid route? (ie clarkson was onto something when he reviewed the E60 M5).

DAZ

Edited by dazren on Monday 4th December 11:47

[john_r]

m12_nathan said:

It is very easy to use, unless you are a top gear presenter and have to find a story somehow.

- My 10 yr old son worked out the I-Drive instantly... When I picked up the M5 the sales guy went through the I-Drive like I was some kind of idiot. Not that I noticed; I just kept looking at the 'Start' button...

[john_r]

dazren said:

Like most PHers I've not read the manual, even so I found it very intuitive, although how do you turn the navigation off mid route? (ie clarkson was onto something when he reviewed the E60 M5).

DAZ

Go left from map to side menu - it's one of the image options (an 'x' in a square I think?).

Clarkson made himself look a complete prat for the M5 review... "It's horrible in town, I can't use the SatNav, I-Drive is dreadful, too many buttons and settings, etc"

He was desperate for a story and tried to drive the car like it was fully automatic to try and prove it was jerky and unresponsive. And as for too many buttons... there's only 3 - suspension, traction and power! This coming from the man who purchased a Ford GT40 with Mondeo switchgear and electrics; which according to press reports has boken down on average every 35 miles or so!

Edited by john_r on Monday 4th December 11:57

[dazren]

Thanks John. The indicators were another thing that drove me nuts until I asked the owner of the car what was going on and once explained it was logical and very easy.

[StuB]

dazren said:

Like most PHers I've not read the manual, even so I found it very intuitive, although how do you turn the navigation off mid route? (ie clarkson was onto something when he reviewed the E60 M5).

DAZ

Or on the 'business' satnav, go back into your current destination, click down and there's a checkbox for 'guidance', which switches it off.

[apache]

Had it on a rental in Germany and found it was really good, the satnav was crap though

[Donut]

dazren said:

Thanks John. The indicators were another thing that drove me nuts until I asked the owner of the car what was going on and once explained it was logical and very easy.

As John said, just click on Route Guidence and remove the tick, click on it again and it will guide you again.

Clarkson clearly missed the Continue Guidence YES? NO? when he re-started the car in his review

[taffyracer]

Used it a few times in a colleagues 6 and it's quite straight forward but compared to my E46 i found the sat nav and the software in general really slow and frustrating

[blackspider]

You would be suprised how many customers I get coming in to ask how it all works,and salesmen and technicians.The main one is "how do you pair the phones then?"

Good news is the next generation are gearing up for 1Gb data transfere...

[markda]

I always find it slightly annoying when I borrow my dad's 5! That said, he's a complete technophobe, yet he whizzes around the system like a 11 year old on a mobile phone! A great advert!

[Zod]

It's a great excuse for journalists and BMW haters to complain about modern BMWs. There are some functions on it that would be better served with buttons/dials/sliders (such as hot and cold air distribution), but otherwise, it is entirely intutitive. COmbined with voice input it makes controlling secondary functions while drivng a breeze.

With the HUD, iDrive, voice control and steering wheel buttons, I virtually never need to take an eye off the road.