Am i going to regret no iDrive?

[xjet04]

One of the many reasons I got out of my non IDrive 135i was because I wanted IDrive pretty badly. I'm now in a loaded 128i and have no regrets. I had driven enough other Bimmers that had IDrive that I knew I had to have it. I don't really have much need for the Nav part, but just being able to navigate through my IPod so easily was pretty much worth the price alone. I have a LOT of music. And I enjoy having the album artwork up on the screen next to my moving map. It is just plain cool.

The ease of being able to navigate through all the other systems of the car with IDrive is also very nice. I like having my toys and am okay admitting it.

The other lesson I learned when I bought my last car off the lot, is that it will almost always be a compromise and it will almost always come with some regrets. The only way to avoid that is to order the car exactly how you want it. The wait is terrible, but it is worth it in the end.

Just something to consider.

[MPowerF1]

Just throwing my 2 cents into this convo...

I originally ordered my 135i without iDrive and quickly switched to include for a number of reasons.

1) I actually use the nav. While obviously no one is going to use it for driving around the same 'ol neighborhoods, it is very valuable when driving around streets and cities I've never been to. While I lived in So Cal for more than 10 years, I didn't spend a lot of time in LA. As a result, the nav was awesome when trying to get from one place to another when I really had no idea where I was going. With entering addresses so easy (either through voice command or sending the address from a phone), it really is very helpful. It's also so much more safe than me bumbling around with my cell phone waiting for Google Maps to load.

2) Music interface. This was really the driving factor behind the decision. One thing I had on my 2010 GTI that I couldn't live without was A2DP for my phone. In order to get this, I was going to need BMW Assist (with the upgraded comms interface) and nav was only a little more than that. In addition, I used to have the same interface in my old MINI as the standard BMW unit. While it works well, I know that having a lot of music to search through is made a million times better with iDrive. Same goes for satellite music where I can set favorite artists/songs and also use rewind features and things of those nature.

3) Ease of navigation. Just so much easier to get through lists and pages for the radio and phone with more than 2 lines of red on black text. It saves a lot of distraction that way.

4) Extra random features. I already mentioned the extra features you get with the satellite radio, but you also get the hard drive to store music on. You get a greater array of BMW Assist and Online features. You get voice command (which I find works rather well). You end up getting a lot of tiny features that aren't mission critical by any stretch but are cool to have nonetheless.

5) Future-proof. The reality is that cars sold in the next few years aren't going to be sold without such technology. Even the F20 now comes with iDrive as standard. I reckon that in the resale market, it'll be easier to sell having the modern technology included than not having it.

Ultimately, it's not something that I'd fight tooth and nail to have. But the reality for me is that the car didn't up being that much more expensive and it's a really nice luxury to have. I ordered my car from scratch and wanted to get it exactly as I wanted it so that four years from now I'm not looking over my shoulder at a new BMW thinking what if... But if this stuff isn't of value to you (and I'm sure that's true for a lot of people) then I wouldn't waste your time looking for a car with this option.

[BFD99]

I have it on my 08 and use it all the time, mainly for the ipod feature. I wouldn't own a BMW without it. I'd highly suggest it.

[infinitekidM2C]

I dont need the added weight or cost...what with smart phones i've got everything i need.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

I dont need the added weight or cost...what with smart phones i've got everything i need.

If it weighs as much as a bag of groceries, I'd be surprised. On a Lotus I can understand the concern, but on a car that weighs as much as ours, it sounds like a cheap excuse.

[ken1137]

My $0.02.

Nav: I dont need it. I have a very nice Garmin Nuvi.
iPhone: I use the standard Iphone cable for my tunes.

I had it in my 328 and it was ok but the Nav was not as good as the Garmin Nuvi I use. My focus has always been just the performance of the car so all my funds have gone into mods. Yeah, it was nice to see all music choices on the screen with the ability to move around easily.

So, I assume you would be happy either way. As one previous post said, "those that have will recommend and those that dont will say its not necessary". To each their own.

[infinitekidM2C]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

If it weighs as much as a bag of groceries, I'd be surprised. On a Lotus I can understand the concern, but on a car that weighs as much as ours, it sounds like a cheap excuse.

im not cheap

[Vorsprung_CJB]

I hate having a big, distracting screen in the middle of my dash which also looks ugly. Not to mention its a pain to use and difficult to keep updated. I can play all my music through the USB with the normal radio and in a pinch I can use my phone for NAV. In a 7-series its one thing but in a driver focused car like a 135 I can do without.

[ejm3]

I don't have it mostly because I was cheap and didn't want to spend the money.
I can still use my iPhone by plugging it in, I have my music on a 32BG USB drive that works fine. I have bluetooth for my iPhone.

But without the NAV screen the interface on the standard radio is terrible. If you have a lot of music on your device it takes forever to scroll through the artists A-Z.

Overall I have many of the electronic bells and whistles I really want/need but the interface without the NAV screen is awful.

Is it worth the money? Its up to you.

[KingOfJericho]

You might be right... having your nav, music, vehicle status, traffic, phone, etc on separate -sometimes even handheld- devices and locations would DEFINITELY help you focus on the driving... totally see your point.

[TX78666]

Originally Posted by Chaseyo

hey guys,

final thread i swear! so im getting this 135, 2011 2nd hand soon. it has EVERYTHING, even most performance parts.... but satnav/idrive... I had the satnav in my 2011 Golf GTi, but never used it..To be honest i just liked having the screen for ipod etc..

Am i really going to regret spending a nice amount of money on the car and not getting idrive? because it seems nice.. but also gimmicky at the same time.

Am i loosing any major features? The car still has full ipod control right? just not as easy with the small screen...

So confused...

Oh and you cant retro fit it can you?

Love chase

I would regret getting it, personally. I've been biased against it since the introduction, though, when someone I knew was tasked with designing a kiosk for BMW, to help "train" people on how to use the stupid thing. Plus, I like the lines of the dash MUCH better without it.

Never regret anything, if you can avoid it.

[TX78666]

Also, I generally know where I am going, I like my ipod on shuffle, and I never talk on the phone, in the car or out of it. Approximately once a year I need nav, and I throw the Tom Tom (or whatever it is - I use it so little, I can't even remember) on the dash.

[BrokenVert]

Ive never like it. Its why my 135 doesnt have it.

My dad loves it though. He has it on his activeE and hasnt looked back, but I still cant stand it.


The point is the only way for you to know is to try it yourself

[BMW86]

Seems like I was right when I said the majority of people that have it LOVE it. The guys that don't have it, don't like it and some even HATE it.

[KingOfJericho]

Anyone that has trouble using the system might be a little slow. The 2009+ system is as intuitive as an iPod.

[Gnip Gnop]

I wish I had it for the ipod and the gps....but I really don't like the look of where bmw placed the screen, which is why I would not get it.

[Venom]

I am glad my car doesn't have iDrive (it's an 08) but if I was getting a new 135i I would get the iDrive option. It has steadily improved from what I've seen. My 2c.

[Bimmer-Bob]

I had a 528i loaner recently, and I though the iDrive system with Bluetooth was pretty slick. A few minutes after leaving the dealer, I was streaming music from my iPhone through the car's audio system.

But, ultimately, I still don't regret not getting it. It's a very expensive option, and if you're driving your car (with your iPod hardwired to the car, and in a city you're familiar with) it doesn't seem as necessary to me. When I go out of town, I use my Garmin, which was less than 1/10 the cost of iDrive and works very well. In a rental car, I could see something like iDrive being great, though.

[david986]

I have to say, when I got my 135 I had to special order it to NOT get iDrive (but I did get everything else). I've used the old interface and the new, and while I do see that they've made great strides, both systems are bad - poor hardware and worse software.
As far as the music, I admittedly don't have an apple device but I do connect my Android and listen to my music on there - playlists, shuffle or navigating on the device. Not hard to do at all and can be done without even looking at it.
For the nav, lets face it - you will probably use your phone before you'd use the iDrive. And you have the compass in the mirror which should orient you as long as you have some situational awareness. Not a big loss.
Plus the interior lines are so much better without the screen and control knob. Go for the performance car. Your gut was pushing you to that one for a reason.

[BMW86]

It seems like the Nav system is an issue in the USA. The NAV works well really well in Australia, I've found some shortcuts that I never knew existed. I've driven to Brisbane to Sydney and it worked really well, even in the Sydney CBD.

[Pangloss]

I decided against it because of the expense and my very short commute time, but I imagine my next car will likely have it. There are just too many command and control features being added into those things for a geek like me to keep avoiding them. They're really not just about navigation anymore.

This subject also underscores the current luxury industry debate over expensive option packages. Lexus commands a lot of attention in that department, and if they made cars that were perceived as competitive with the Germans on a driving level then I think we'd be looking at very different picture.

But even so, with all the lower-cost cars moving toward heavier electronics/entertainment packages, I think we're probably going to see these things become standard equipment in the near future.

[zamboni]

Originally Posted by BFD99

I have it on my 08 and use it all the time, mainly for the ipod feature. I wouldn't own a BMW without it. I'd highly suggest it.

Right on BFD it's not just the nav you also get lots of other features like music data & many other vehicle status info display on the idrive.
On my next F30 I would get it with idrive & heads up display.