Is the NAV option worth it?

[Xantia]

It depends what you want. If you're only interested in the navigation part, then an after market product may be better. But don't forget to add up all the service subscription costs (traffic info) that are included in the BMW navigation option.

Also, if you want to have all the other iDrive features , then you have no choice.

Personally, I love the iDrive because the of way it is integrated with everything else. I have it on my 335i and the 128i Convertible (on order). One thing which is rarely mentioned here is that the iDrive system turns on automatically for a variety of functions. For example, when you turn on automatic AC, the iDrive screen shows you the options. And the user interface is far from being as bad as some try to make you believe.

This being said, there is a lot more that could be done with iDrive if BMW wanted. And it would be easy to make the UI better too.

[drand]

Originally Posted by Xantia

It depends what you want. If you're only interested in the navigation part, then an after market product may be better. But don't forget to add up all the service subscription costs (traffic info) that are included in the BMW navigation option.

Also, if you want to have all the other iDrive features , then you have no choice.

Personally, I love the iDrive because the of way it is integrated with everything else. I have it on my 335i and the 128i Convertible (on order). One thing which is rarely mentioned here is that the iDrive system turns on automatically for a variety of functions. For example, when you turn on automatic AC, the iDrive screen shows you the options. And the user interface is far from being as bad as some try to make you believe.

This being said, there is a lot more that could be done with iDrive if BMW wanted. And it would be easy to make the UI better too.

I agree, it isn't worth it for the navigation features by itself, it is everything else that makes it worth while.

[Alext]

Thanks for the reply.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by Alext

Is the BMW on-board navigation system/iDrive-type display worth spending the extra dollars on or is it better to get an aftermarket nav system for a fraction of the cost?

I asked the same question on the board a while back as well. I don't really need nav where I live, but I thought it would be nice for my Euro Delivery trip. I decided to go with a Garmin Nuvi 370 that comes with both North American and European maps. I was hoping there where going to be some "hacks" for the iDrive system that would have made it more appealing to me. The ability to read other DVD media for example. It would also be cool if new menus could be added potentially showing gauges on the LCD that are not included in the cluster such as, boost gauge, oil pressure, EGT, etc.

Now that I've ordered my car without iDrive, something like that will probably become available.

[crzy4135i]

Originally Posted by Alext

Is the BMW on-board navigation system/iDrive-type display worth spending the extra dollars on or is it better to get an aftermarket nav system for a fraction of the cost?

I have a tomtom 910 that I paid ~$800 for when they first came out. I still ordered nav with the 135i because I like the fact that it's built-in and displays ipod and cellphone info. If it didn't have those two extra features I probably would've passed on it.

[robert.payne]

I have had a garmin nuvi 350 for a couple years now and absolutely love it. It's small, portable, easy to add custom POI files to, fast, reliable, and an all around great product. My wife's 335i has the BMW navigation. In my opinion, the garmin absolutely blows the BMW navigation away.

However, I still ordered the navigation for my 135i because I love all the other features of the idrive unit; ipod integration, radio functions, bluetooth features, etc. The navigation works just fine, but it's the other features that reeled me in.

my two cents,

-robert