Quote:
Originally Posted by -EndOfAnEra-
DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT BMW!!
If BMW abandons the extremely intuitive, extremely safe iDrive controller which can be operated entirely by feel for a touch screen/voice controlled system which abandons utility for "style" I am out.
Forget about titanic grilles, questionable styling choices, ///M saturation and Asian market shifts. This is the only item for me, 100%, that would make me leave new BMWs behind forever.
This interface is unacceptable for the safety of myself, my family, and all the families on the road killed by driver distraction. It will become acceptable only when level 5 autonomy exists and is proven. Until then, it is patently DANGEROUS!
Even iDrive has become more geared to style than feel. My E90's iDrive controls were much more intuitive simply because you could feel the individual buttons unlike the membrane pad on my G20.
If this happens, my G20 will last until it dies or until I trade "down" for an older M car. This is so depressing for me, and I can't even talk about leaving BMW because Audi, Porsche, Mercedes and Tesla are all the same now or very soon!
 
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Couldn't have said it better myself. Their current interiors are so intuitive and functional and still give you all the tech you could want.
They've already sacrificed some utility for style like you said with the new, flat center console buttons, I much prefer the contoured buttons in my G30, lets you easily find them by touch. But with the new interiors they managed to update the design while still retaining all those components.
They even went to the trouble of minimizing the look of the HVAC buttons by putting them in a single row under the vents, so why remove them now? There's zero functional or stylistic benefit to replacing buttons with just blank dash space.
I've always preferred BMW's incredible consistency and iterative improvements vs. MB and Audi who completely change it up every few years with no consideration to if it's actually better (MB's new touch pad and Audi's new screens which are lower in the dash). They're abandoning what distinguishes them with a design like this. I've provided this feedback to them directly, you should do the same.