[Janjohn]

I also read an article, but I don’t remember the source, that despite the loud outcry against less than popular design changes such as enlarged kidney grilles, or the “bangle” butt” that BMWs still sell. Another case of “if you don’t buy it, somebody else will”. As long the car, SAV, or wagon is fun to drive and goes exactly where you point it, bimmers will continue to sell, in my humble opinion.

[Phillies8008]

Originally Posted by Janjohn

I also read an article, but I don’t remember the source, that despite the loud outcry against less than popular design changes such as enlarged kidney grilles, or the “bangle” butt” that BMWs still sell. Another case of “if you don’t buy it, somebody else will”. As long the car, SAV, or wagon is fun to drive and goes exactly where you point it, bimmers will continue to sell, in my humble opinion.

Oh, for sure – I don't think the lack of an iDrive controller is going to, on its own, cause someone to decide not to purchase. As terrible an idea as I think removing it is, it wouldn't really stop me from buying. But it would lessen my overall satisfaction with the vehicle, at least to some degree.

That being said, stuff like this is sometimes a "death by a thousand cuts" thing, where losing this feature, then that one, then the next can cumulatively add up to someone moving on from a brand. Just hard to tell which particular straw broke the camel's back.

[agorski]

If you look closely at videos of iDrive X, you'll notice that the screen layouts have totally changed. Mainly because there are no lists anymore. The iDrive controller required everything to be in lists, limiting what you could do with screen layouts. Eliminating the controller frees the interface from that limitation. So I'm reserving judgment until I can try it for myself. But to my eye, the new layouts look much cleaner and easier to grok.

[Janjohn]

Originally Posted by agorski

If you look closely at videos of iDrive X, you'll notice that the screen layouts have totally changed. Mainly because there are no lists anymore. The iDrive controller required everything to be in lists, limiting what you could do with screen layouts. Eliminating the controller frees the interface from that limitation. So I'm reserving judgment until I can try it for myself. But to my eye, the new layouts look much cleaner and easier to grok.

Agreed. In my humble opinion, if they take away the iDrive controller they had better vastly improve the voice control and intelligence of the Personal Assistant. Just say’n.

I find it extra hassle to memorize how to ask, and what things I can ask the Personal Assistant to do.

[kilowatt88]

What i find most ironic is how they spent so much effort on the whole "do not use your phone while driving" campaign only to come up with touch screens that are horrible for anything other than pure enterntainment.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by kilowatt88

What i find most ironic is how they spent so much effort on the whole "do not use your phone while driving" campaign only to come up with touch screens that are horrible for anything other than pure enterntainment.

Not exactly.

Here is from the horse's mouth:

[kilowatt88]

Sorry, ipad on wheels do not appeal to me. That design.... horrible.... cheap like Tesla model 3....

[Janjohn]

Originally Posted by kilowatt88

Sorry, ipad on wheels do not appeal to me. That design.... horrible.... cheap like Tesla model 3....

Just my humble opinion but it takes time to become comfortable with the appearance and design of new BMW layout and far longer to become comfortable with iDrive9. We’re (especially me) dedicated hours to become familiar with it and we’ve been bimmer owners since 2009. Learning the latest controls and all the personalizations available is like an online class in graduate computer engineering.

My consolation is that this will be our last BMW X3 purchase because bimmers last forever and I’m old.

[kilowatt88]

Controls should be intuitive. The menus and limitations of touchscreens at motion are a hard no for me. I just ordered the last 8 series to retain the at least somewhat functional physical buttons, and this will be my last BMW (unless BMW comes to senses soon)
I hate the touchscreen on my LCI X7 with a passion, especially doing anything (for example turning on/off heated seats) while in MOTION!
Its unsafe and inconvenient.
It seems BMW is now catering to the Chinese market with "hello Kitty" design language in every car

[Janjohn]

Originally Posted by kilowatt88

What i find most ironic is how they spent so much effort on the whole "do not use your phone while driving" campaign only to come up with touch screens that are horrible for anything other than pure enterntainment.

I think I may have figured out my discomfort with iDrive9. I remember the big deal about posting the logic flow diagrams as we wrote code. The iDrive apps have way too many of drill down menus that finding the way to do something or fix something that even BMW support has problems figuring it out.

Essentially don’t throw out the computer because the operating system is poorly designed. Learn it and we may learn to live with it. I really don’t think it affects the reliability of the vehicle. Personally I think BMW might want to hire some better software and application designers or at least give us a logic flow of how the apps work.

I bought the X3 for the vehicle not the software. This is the perfect example of why BMW Corporation stills sells vehicles in spite of appearance changes, interior changes, or iDrive updates. It still “drives like a bimmer”.