09+ CIC I-drive difference between each model years

[jaehshim]

I'm wondering about 09+ I-drive system updates/differences.

Mainly 09 vs 10 vs 11 vs 12.

How are they different? How are they updated from each year?

I have 09 I drive, am happy with "new" HD system with upgraded multi buttons on the center console.

I don't use bluetooth, satelite or HD radio, I don't use "connect drive" thing that lets you use phone messages facebook and all...
All I use is Navi, various car set-ups (Mdrive), CD and Aux.

I found out my 09 can upgraded to the software/map to latest spec.
Should I upgrade to 2012 i drive spec?

[jphughan]

Pretty much everything that's changed from 09 onward with CIC is covered in the list of things you say you don't use, so I see no reason for you to worry about getting something newer than 09. The only other notable change is not having to use the Y-cable for iPods, which allows digital audio transfer as well as album art, which was introduced as of 9/2010 production along with all of the other changes you mentioned (except BMW Apps, i.e. Facebook/Twitter, which became an option as of 3/2011 production).

As for updating your maps, yes that's possible but you might even want to steer clear of that, because as of 2010, BMW has switched map providers from Navteq to TeleAtlas, and a lot of people who have upgraded have noticed that routing has gotten much stupider and some roads that have existed for a long time are missing in the map data. I have no complaints about my 2011, but I don't use nav that often and I never used an earlier model year's map software so I can't comment directly. BMW blames the map provider for the decreased performance, and the map provider blames BMW's routing engine.