2009 iDrive Navigation Review

Big Windy · 09-26-2008, 12:35 PM

Gents,

Well, after some time behind the new navigation system featured in Gen 2 iDrive (or whatever we are calling it), I figured I'd post a review with some pics. As you would expect, the new navigation system is much more sophisticated than generation 1. Most importantly (and what all of you want to know), is that the new system allows you to search for any POI without having to pick a category first. By selecting ALL categories, you can search through a list of POIs, or you can type the POI in yourself and see what the system comes up with. It is truly handy, and we are very fortunate that BMW didn't stick with the very restrictive confines for POIs that we encountered in Gen 1. A couple of other pros/cons:

PROS

-Exit Ramp mode- truly sweet. I don't have a pic of this (but I know there was one in the original press release), but it is a really cool graphic that is very functional. It is amazing that the system can give you such a detailed picture of what the offramp or transition really looks like.

-Route modes- the nav will give you up to three selections to choose from so that you can pick the route of your fancy. It will highlight all three routes in different colors on the map so that you can see the differences, and it will also give a route time with each selection so you can know which is faster and which is slower. Awesome feature!

-Screen capabilities- besides the improved graphics, the full screen and split screen content features are really functional. You can put virtually anything on the split screen, and "night mode" is awesome too.

CONS

Navigation voice volume- this is a HUGE mistake on BMW's behalf. I commented earlier that the nav voice is a bit more realistic sounding in this version. However, I uncovered a serious mistake in the programming of the system today. When trying to make the guidance voice louder, I realized that the guidance volume is not indepedent from the stereo volume. As you know, the volume is adjusted by turning the knob while the lady is giving some route guidance. However, in turning up the lady's voice, you also turn up the volume of the stereo as soon as she is done talking. I tried it a million different ways by having the radio off or on mute, and there is no way around it...as soon as the CD or radio comes back on, it is way louder than you initially had it. I am going to report this to my dealership so that BMW can work on a software fix. It is incredibly obnoxious because you can never hear her voice unless you want to have the radio on very loud. How did BMW miss this????!!!!! I confirmed with a friend in a 335i with the new iDrive as well, in case you think I'm full of BS.

-Traffic Info- doesn't work for me here in Germany. Something about US spec vehicles not having the right coding or something. Anyway, it is probably not a CON in the US, but I can't use it here so BMW obviously overlooked something.

I don't know how to do captions on the pics, so I hope you can figure out which is which. The system is really good at finding POIs both manually (with you inputting the name) and by searching through the categories. Frankly, if you know what you are looking for there is no reason why you would not go directly to manual search and punch in what you are looking for.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the shots.

Big Windy · 09-26-2008, 12:46 PM

here is a shot of when the system gives you route choices. the pic doesn't show the colors that well, but you can see that they are outlined on the map with different end times for each.

eclipsisNA · 09-26-2008, 12:57 PM

Don't you have to press in, hold, and turn the volume dial up if you want to increase the nav woman's voice and not turn up the stereo?

BK · 09-26-2008, 01:18 PM

All of the things you've described about the nav -- all great. Of course, those all should have been standard with the original nav, because other car nav systems already had those options.

Resolution of the graphics looks 1000x better.

I hope they get the volume issue sorted out (or I hope you were doing it wrong, as Xcellere suggests).

apw2607 · 09-26-2008, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcellere

Don't you have to press in, hold, and turn the volume dial up if you want to increase the nav woman's voice and not turn up the stereo?

No.

Voltigeur · 09-26-2008, 01:37 PM

-

@Big Windy: very much appreciate the review - helpful.

apw2607 · 09-26-2008, 01:37 PM

Thanks for the review. Sounds like they have fixed the POI issue. Ashame it involves a entirely new platform though ;-) Oh well. The price you pay for technology improvements I guess.

I'm sure the volume issue can be addressed via a software fix.

southlight · 09-26-2008, 01:38 PM

What more can I say than...I am jealous.

Best regards, south

eshaun · 09-26-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Windy

...

-Exit Ramp mode- truly sweet. I don't have a pic of this (but I know there was one in the original press release), but it is a really cool graphic that is very functional. It is amazing that the system can give you such a detailed picture of what the offramp or transition really looks like....

Look forward to trying it out in person...at least I have this mode to look forward to

Big Windy · 09-27-2008, 11:10 AM

Guys,

After some experimenting and

, I figured out a bit of a work around. I admit that I was partially wrong in my initial assessment that you can't make the nav lady louder. The manual outlines that the new iDrive has a menu that allows you to adjust the volume of Nav, PDC, and (OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS) the "gong" seat belt/warning noise. The menu basically has a volume adjustment for each one of those three settings and you can set their volume in relation to the CD/audio sound. Unfortunately, there are minimums and maximums for both (so you can't eliminate the gong altogether), but this setting is still good enough to give some juice to the navigation voice. This helps drastically in being able to hear the nav over the CD. However, it still does not make sense that when you adjust the volume during guidance that it, in turn, bumps the volume of the audio source as soon as the guidance is complete.

Anyway, I definitely needed to clarify this because I should have read the manual beforehand and figured this out before my initial post. Being able to nearly silence that damn gong is a godsend, btw. I'm sure many will appreciate that...

booforty · 09-27-2008, 12:05 PM

Nice write-up!

///M_Wraith · 09-27-2008, 07:45 PM

Wow, that looks great. Much improved over the original system.

MTROIS · 09-27-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Windy

Guys,

After some experimenting and

, I figured out a bit of a work around. I admit that I was partially wrong in my initial assessment that you can't make the nav lady louder. The manual outlines that the new iDrive has a menu that allows you to adjust the volume of Nav, PDC, and (OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS) the "gong" seat belt/warning noise. The menu basically has a volume adjustment for each one of those three settings and you can set their volume in relation to the CD/audio sound. Unfortunately, there are minimums and maximums for both (so you can't eliminate the gong altogether), but this setting is still good enough to give some juice to the navigation voice. This helps drastically in being able to hear the nav over the CD. However, it still does not make sense that when you adjust the volume during guidance that it, in turn, bumps the volume of the audio source as soon as the guidance is complete.

Anyway, I definitely needed to clarify this because I should have read the manual beforehand and figured this out before my initial post. Being able to nearly silence that damn gong is a godsend, btw. I'm sure many will appreciate that...

Big Windy, first a big thanks for your review....although I am stuck with version 1 anyway (but I do not mind)!

You full of BS?!!?!! Naaaa, your reputation is too good for our mind to even start thinking about something like that!!

On the other hand, there is one feature I really wish existed (or really wished I knew about... in case I missed in my manual too

): the reverse direction!! Imagine you are going from A to B...but A is a random location where you were when you decided to go to B... whenever your final location is C (you follow me??). So basically, I'd like to go to B, go back to A and then go to C... (that happened to me today while driving in the mountains I had to go to a dealership to get oil and then wanted to come back on a beautiful road....but could not find it anymore... just annoying).

Actually, we should start a thread of the "desired features" for iDrive 3 so that wir werden ein bischen die BMW-Ingenieure hilfen!

BK · 09-27-2008, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTROIS

On the other hand, there is one feature I really wish existed (or really wished I knew about... in case I missed in my manual too

): the reverse direction!! Imagine you are going from A to B...but A is a random location where you were when you decided to go to B... whenever your final location is C (you follow me??). So basically, I'd like to go to B, go back to A and then go to C... (that happened to me today while driving in the mountains I had to go to a dealership to get oil and then wanted to come back on a beautiful road....but could not find it anymore... just annoying).

Some navs have the ability to set "waypoints" -- so you could, for example, route from A to C, but tell it you want the route to go through B. Another common feature is "tracking" -- like leaving a breadcrumb trail behind, which either ticks the map with dots or leaves a highlight on the road as you drive over it. Not sure if the new BMW system does either of these, but they are relatively common features in other cars' (and portable) nav systems.

rsmamg · 09-28-2008, 01:18 AM

thanks for the review.. very helpful.. does anyone know if an 08 idrive can be updated with this newer version?

M3WC · 09-28-2008, 04:19 AM

Why do the graphics still look half-ass compared to other brands Navi units?

Big Windy · 09-28-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTROIS

On the other hand, there is one feature I really wish existed (or really wished I knew about... in case I missed in my manual too

): the reverse direction!! Imagine you are going from A to B...but A is a random location where you were when you decided to go to B... whenever your final location is C (you follow me??). So basically, I'd like to go to B, go back to A and then go to C... (that happened to me today while driving in the mountains I had to go to a dealership to get oil and then wanted to come back on a beautiful road....but could not find it anymore... just annoying).

Actually, we should start a thread of the "desired features" for iDrive 3 so that wir werden ein bischen die BMW-Ingenieure hilfen!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BK

Some navs have the ability to set "waypoints" -- so you could, for example, route from A to C, but tell it you want the route to go through B. Another common feature is "tracking" -- like leaving a breadcrumb trail behind, which either ticks the map with dots or leaves a highlight on the road as you drive over it. Not sure if the new BMW system does either of these, but they are relatively common features in other cars' (and portable) nav systems.

Well, I don't know if this will make you hate Gen 1 more, but Gen 2 does have the ability to set "waypoints" so that you can do exactly what you described. When you go into NAV, you use the OPTION key to select "plan trip with multiple destinations" and it is incredibly simple to build a route however you choose. Any destinations that you have previously entered can be called up easily for each leg of the trip. You can also set the system to reverse directions so that you can get home after going somewhere. A really nice feature!

BK · 09-28-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Windy

Well, I don't know if this will make you hate Gen 1 more, but Gen 2 does have the ability to set "waypoints" so that you can do exactly what you described. When you go into NAV, you use the OPTION key to select "plan trip with multiple destinations" and it is incredibly simple to build a route however you choose. Any destinations that you have previously entered can be called up easily for each leg of the trip. You can also set the system to reverse directions so that you can get home after going somewhere. A really nice feature!

Very cool!

I am far from a Gen 1 hater -- I actually like my iDrive a lot, but I am a longtime GPS user and can see the places it needs improvement. Gen 2 is obviously much better. That's great news for BMW. Let's hope the mag reviewers start giving it the props it deserves.

apw2607 · 09-28-2008, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmamg

thanks for the review.. very helpful.. does anyone know if an 08 idrive can be updated with this newer version?

No one knows, but over the last couple of days I've being looking at the technical training info that BMW have now provided on the CIC. At first glance I would say that unless BMW offers a official retrofit (which they won't I'm sure) ... you won't be able to upgrade.

There are many things that have changed, including the interfaces, the wiring harness, the fact the HD radio is now part of the CIC ... etc, etc. Then there is the issue of coding, and not just that, but the authorization keys to enable the coding and features on the car.

Big Windy · 09-28-2008, 01:40 PM

I'm sure that somehow a retrofit will be possible, but it is going to be very costly.

Big Windy · 09-28-2008, 01:44 PM

Can anyone confirm the direction that the steering wheel up/down buttons on Gen 1 change tracks? I discovered today that Gen 2 has the up button changing to the track backwards and the down button changing the track forwards. I thought that the Gen 1 was different from when I had it on my 335i...

apw2607 · 09-28-2008, 08:59 PM

Gen 1 idrive, up moves to the next track. down moves to the previous track. Same for telephone address lists and pre-sets on Sirius, Fm, Hd radio, etc.

09-26-2008, 12:35 PM	#1
Big Windy Major General 152 Rep 5,124 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	2009 iDrive Navigation Review Gents, Well, after some time behind the new navigation system featured in Gen 2 iDrive (or whatever we are calling it), I figured I'd post a review with some pics. As you would expect, the new navigation system is much more sophisticated than generation 1. Most importantly (and what all of you want to know), is that the new system allows you to search for any POI without having to pick a category first. By selecting ALL categories, you can search through a list of POIs, or you can type the POI in yourself and see what the system comes up with. It is truly handy, and we are very fortunate that BMW didn't stick with the very restrictive confines for POIs that we encountered in Gen 1. A couple of other pros/cons: PROS -Exit Ramp mode- truly sweet. I don't have a pic of this (but I know there was one in the original press release), but it is a really cool graphic that is very functional. It is amazing that the system can give you such a detailed picture of what the offramp or transition really looks like. -Route modes- the nav will give you up to three selections to choose from so that you can pick the route of your fancy. It will highlight all three routes in different colors on the map so that you can see the differences, and it will also give a route time with each selection so you can know which is faster and which is slower. Awesome feature! -Screen capabilities- besides the improved graphics, the full screen and split screen content features are really functional. You can put virtually anything on the split screen, and "night mode" is awesome too. CONS Navigation voice volume- this is a HUGE mistake on BMW's behalf. I commented earlier that the nav voice is a bit more realistic sounding in this version. However, I uncovered a serious mistake in the programming of the system today. When trying to make the guidance voice louder, I realized that the guidance volume is not indepedent from the stereo volume. As you know, the volume is adjusted by turning the knob while the lady is giving some route guidance. However, in turning up the lady's voice, you also turn up the volume of the stereo as soon as she is done talking. I tried it a million different ways by having the radio off or on mute, and there is no way around it...as soon as the CD or radio comes back on, it is way louder than you initially had it. I am going to report this to my dealership so that BMW can work on a software fix. It is incredibly obnoxious because you can never hear her voice unless you want to have the radio on very loud. How did BMW miss this????!!!!! I confirmed with a friend in a 335i with the new iDrive as well, in case you think I'm full of BS. -Traffic Info- doesn't work for me here in Germany. Something about US spec vehicles not having the right coding or something. Anyway, it is probably not a CON in the US, but I can't use it here so BMW obviously overlooked something. I don't know how to do captions on the pics, so I hope you can figure out which is which. The system is really good at finding POIs both manually (with you inputting the name) and by searching through the categories. Frankly, if you know what you are looking for there is no reason why you would not go directly to manual search and punch in what you are looking for. Anyway, hope you enjoy the shots. Attached Images
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09-26-2008, 12:46 PM	#2
Big Windy Major General 152 Rep 5,124 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	route choices here is a shot of when the system gives you route choices. the pic doesn't show the colors that well, but you can see that they are outlined on the map with different end times for each. Attached Images
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09-26-2008, 12:57 PM	#3
eclipsisNA Colonel 350 Rep 2,937 Posts Drives: 2013 Estoril 328i M Sport Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Beverly Hills, CA iTrader: (6) Garage List 2014 BMW 428i [7.76]	Don't you have to press in, hold, and turn the volume dial up if you want to increase the nav woman's voice and not turn up the stereo?
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09-26-2008, 01:18 PM	#4
BK Smiling politely 165 Rep 7,931 Posts Drives: 330i Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Washington DC iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 330i [9.00]	All of the things you've described about the nav -- all great. Of course, those all should have been standard with the original nav, because other car nav systems already had those options. Resolution of the graphics looks 1000x better. I hope they get the volume issue sorted out (or I hope you were doing it wrong, as Xcellere suggests). __________________ E90 330i Black Sapphire 6MT \| 991.1 C4 Platinum Silver 7MT
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09-26-2008, 01:37 PM	#6
Voltigeur MacroRisk 109 Rep 2,523 Posts Drives: M3 E92 ED'09 / 335d Sport DD Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: TX iTrader: (0)	- @Big Windy: very much appreciate the review - helpful. __________________ Just thinking of something not so witty ///M3 E92 '09 Jerez Black \| 6MT \| Ext Fox Red \| Tech \| Prem \| 19s \|Heated Seats \| iPod \|Smartphone \| Euro Deliv June 09 Sold: 540iT / 530i / 323i
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09-26-2008, 01:37 PM	#7
apw2607 Colonel 581 Rep 2,105 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 50e M-Sport Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Coast, USA iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the review. Sounds like they have fixed the POI issue. Ashame it involves a entirely new platform though ;-) Oh well. The price you pay for technology improvements I guess. I'm sure the volume issue can be addressed via a software fix.
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09-26-2008, 01:38 PM	#8
southlight Moderator / European Editor 1502 Rep 6,754 Posts Drives: X3M Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	What more can I say than...I am jealous. Best regards, south __________________ Those forums...WHY NOT? JOIN THE 6MT CLUB GROUP
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09-27-2008, 11:10 AM	#10
Big Windy Major General 152 Rep 5,124 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	Guys, After some experimenting and , I figured out a bit of a work around. I admit that I was partially wrong in my initial assessment that you can't make the nav lady louder. The manual outlines that the new iDrive has a menu that allows you to adjust the volume of Nav, PDC, and (OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS) the "gong" seat belt/warning noise. The menu basically has a volume adjustment for each one of those three settings and you can set their volume in relation to the CD/audio sound. Unfortunately, there are minimums and maximums for both (so you can't eliminate the gong altogether), but this setting is still good enough to give some juice to the navigation voice. This helps drastically in being able to hear the nav over the CD. However, it still does not make sense that when you adjust the volume during guidance that it, in turn, bumps the volume of the audio source as soon as the guidance is complete. Anyway, I definitely needed to clarify this because I should have read the manual beforehand and figured this out before my initial post. Being able to nearly silence that damn gong is a godsend, btw. I'm sure many will appreciate that...
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09-27-2008, 12:05 PM	#11
booforty Major General 337 Rep 8,811 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 E92 M3 [0.00]	Nice write-up!
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09-27-2008, 07:45 PM	#12
///M_Wraith New Member 0 Rep 8 Posts Drives: 2008 M3/4 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ iTrader: (0)	Wow, that looks great. Much improved over the original system.
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09-28-2008, 01:18 AM	#15
rsmamg Flying First Class 30 Rep 582 Posts Drives: M Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	thanks for the review.. very helpful.. does anyone know if an 08 idrive can be updated with this newer version?
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09-28-2008, 04:19 AM	#16
M3WC Brigadier General 3645 Rep 3,244 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: ...location...location iTrader: (0)	Why do the graphics still look half-ass compared to other brands Navi units?
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09-28-2008, 01:40 PM	#20
Big Windy Major General 152 Rep 5,124 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	I'm sure that somehow a retrofit will be possible, but it is going to be very costly.
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09-28-2008, 01:44 PM	#21
Big Windy Major General 152 Rep 5,124 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	Can anyone confirm the direction that the steering wheel up/down buttons on Gen 1 change tracks? I discovered today that Gen 2 has the up button changing to the track backwards and the down button changing the track forwards. I thought that the Gen 1 was different from when I had it on my 335i...
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09-28-2008, 08:59 PM	#22
apw2607 Colonel 581 Rep 2,105 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 50e M-Sport Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Coast, USA iTrader: (0)	Gen 1 idrive, up moves to the next track. down moves to the previous track. Same for telephone address lists and pre-sets on Sirius, Fm, Hd radio, etc.
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