[RetSurfer]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

I think the theory as to why it is more efficient is due to the fact that the air mixes throughout the cabin so while there is a more local effect on the front it still has to deal with the hotter/colder air in the entire cabin. In doing that the fans would have to run at a higher speed for a longer period than of both the front and rear fans were working. There also would be some impact on the compressor having to run longer. As I’m sure no one else here has, I have never done any testing in a controlled environment to verify that theory.

Logically I totally agree with the sync being on for longer drives, since you want to equalize the whole interior. I would think the rear should slow down after a few minutes.
For shorter drives, say under 10 to 20 minutes, I’m not sure the rear being on would matter as much…

[DaveDBD]

I want max cooling to me as driver and maximized battery range which means turning off rear HVAC. The 50e manual even says turn off fans to lower battery drain.

Try using voice control for many functions instead of the screen.

eg Increase/decrease ACC distance, turn on heated steering wheel, etc.

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

I’ve never been a fan of any cruise control on cars that use radar is the worst design ever it’s either speeding up, slowing down and you typically drive slower. I never use it.

Maybe 20 years ago that was a problem but the current BMW adaptive cruise works extremely well.

[mobsync]

Originally Posted by tooloud10

Maybe 20 years ago that was a problem but the current BMW adaptive cruise works extremely well.

Yeah, you can either choose to hate it or choose to accept and live with it. If you opt for the 2nd choice, I bet you'll learn to love it.

[RetSurfer]

It took me a LONG time to get comfortable with the adaptive cruise control on my 2017 Jeep, probably about a year. Now I will never buy another car without it…

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by mobsync

Yeah, you can either choose to hate it or choose to accept and live with it. If you opt for the 2nd choice, I bet you'll learn to love it.

I had it in three new car and all the same don’t think I would ever get use it . But I do try to use when I’m on a road way that’s flat for miles but. Being in a mountain state or slightly hilly you find people driving at all speeds making it a stressful to use , and to be able to relax

[mobsync]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

I had it in three new car and all the same don’t think I would ever get use it . But I do try to use when I’m on a road way that’s flat for miles but. Being in a mountain state or slightly hilly you find people driving at all speeds making it a stressful to use , and to be able to relax

But this is when ACC is most useful. You can set your speed and not have to worry about running over someone in front of you. When you do come up on a slower vehicle just move over into the passing lane and let the ACC system do its thing. That's much more relaxing to me than having to work the gas pedal and brake for the whole trip.

(btw, before you go any further this is a hill I will die on.)

[MG21]

I really hate the touch screen idea but I think it’s the future.

I’m on the fence on ordering new or slightly used 22 or 23 if I can get a deal.

Is there much difference in performance in the 23 and 24 40i?

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by mobsync

But this is when ACC is most useful. You can set your speed and not have to worry about running over someone in front of you. When you do come up on a slower vehicle just move over into the passing lane and let the ACC system do its thing. That's much more relaxing to me than having to work the gas pedal and brake for the whole trip.

(btw, before you go any further this is a hill I will die on.)

Die on ?

[BigEvan1923]

It took me about one 5 minute drive to acclimate from iDrive 7 to iDrive 8 - it’s faster and more attractive overall. There’s very little to complain about, I barely fiddle with Hvac on my X7 M50i, so the on screen Hvac doesn’t really bother me that much. Not great but not a deal breaker. lack of presets are the only real annoyance (but there’s ample room for digital customization and the voice assistant is dare I say - impressive).

It’s more refined in a bunch of ways, sometimes it tries to do too much (ambient lighting / layout configs in speedo limited by drive modes vs manual selection…). Overall it’s extremely usable and will probably get better with 8.5

[MG21]

I also hate the new front end. 23 looks better imo. But the wife likes the grooklyn gray.

[gadgetfreak2024]

I’ve lived with it for a few days now. Initial impression — and this is from a guy who believes in technology for technology’s sake (you should see my smarthome setup) — is that this is a bit of a silly design. It’s not awful, but just not ideally designed. I’m pleased when I encounter a button provide some sort of shortcut to what I need — like, for instance, lighting controls with the button to the left of the steering wheel.

The sprawl of identialcally shaped and similarly colored app icons is not great while you are learning the vehicle and 50mph.

I know this is the current fashion (and maybe eventually it reverts back to some middle ground), but it you really need to have software excellence to make it work, and software is clearly not BMW’s core strength — yet. I hope they get there, and I will absolutely learn to grow comfortable with this system over time. But I find myself making excuses to my family about why it is better to lose the buttons. But they are pretty weak excuses at least for me. But I’m sure others find it to be ideal — so as they say, YMMV.

[Davesrb]

I jump back and forth between iDrive 7 and 8. I like the large screen, especially for navigation, and high resolution of iDrive 8. But for pretty much everything else, I prefer the iDrive 7. Maybe it's just familiarity since I have used iDrive 7 since 2019, but I find it much more intuitive than the iDrive 8.

That being said, It did not take me long to get used to iDrive 8. I hope the 8.5 upgrade will resolve some of the issues and make iD 8 more intuitive.

[mojoJJ]

I use this screen protector and keep a micro fiber cloth in the glove compartment to wipe the screen.

ID8 screen protector

[B///MWGuy]

They should make more hand gesture recognition...it shoudlnt cost too much and allow us to control without looking.

Voice activation is terrible when you're in conversation or there are folks asleep in the car...
And looking away to tap the screen is also terrible.. (not to mention when you're in rough road and car is shaking)

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by B///MWGuy

They should make more hand gesture recognition...it shoudlnt cost too much and allow us to control without looking.

Voice activation is terrible when you're in conversation or there are folks asleep in the car...
And looking away to tap the screen is also terrible.. (not to mention when you're in rough road and car is shaking)

Give it time and I’m sure some of this will revert backwards into buttons

[realdah]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak2024

I’ve lived with it for a few days now. Initial impression — and this is from a guy who believes in technology for technology’s sake (you should see my smarthome setup) — is that this is a bit of a silly design. It’s not awful, but just not ideally designed. I’m pleased when I encounter a button provide some sort of shortcut to what I need — like, for instance, lighting controls with the button to the left of the steering wheel.

The sprawl of identialcally shaped and similarly colored app icons is not great while you are learning the vehicle and 50mph.

I know this is the current fashion (and maybe eventually it reverts back to some middle ground), but it you really need to have software excellence to make it work, and software is clearly not BMW’s core strength — yet. I hope they get there, and I will absolutely learn to grow comfortable with this system over time. But I find myself making excuses to my family about why it is better to lose the buttons. But they are pretty weak excuses at least for me. But I’m sure others find it to be ideal — so as they say, YMMV.

You mentioned that "software is not BMW's core strength", however, it really depends on which car manufactures you are comparing to.
My impression is another way around, I think the software design & experience for BMW is one of the best amoung these brands (Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Lexus etc).

In a long run, only big car manufactures have ability to build excellent softwares, the small brands will be far lag behind in software including these super luxurious brands.

Think about what happens to smart phone market, even billionaires have to use the same iphone or some android phones (only they can put super expensive accessories) because these are the best they can buy, which is a privilege for average ppl like us.

[drbluedevil]

Originally Posted by realdah

You mentioned that "software is not BMW's core strength", however, it really depends on which car manufactures you are comparing to.
My impression is another way around, I think the software design & experience for BMW is one of the best amoung these brands (Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Lexus etc).

In a long run, only big car manufactures have ability to build excellent softwares, the small brands will be far lag behind in software including these super luxurious brands.

Think about what happens to smart phone market, even billionaires have to use the same iphone or some android phones (only they can put super expensive accessories) because these are the best they can buy, which is a privilege for average ppl like us.

I bet the number of billionaires using android instead of Apple can be counted on one hand.