It hasn't taken eight years, though, for most auto critics and "real" owners to develop at least healthy skepticism — if not outright revulsion — for the alleged benefits offered by the Big Knob. And despite disparagement from day one, BMW has obdurately stuck with iDrive — and the idea has spawned more than a couple of direct (and not entirely better) competitors.
Over the years, though, BMW has subtly revised and reconfigured iDrive, largely to address some of its more fiendish shortcomings, such as the infamous requirement to sift through a menu or three to effect a simple operation such as changing the radio station.
Now, iDrive reputedly is all it can be, thanks to a new design — and a new supplier. At the Convergence 2008 conference here, Preh Inc. touted its development of an all-new iDrive design, one that the company claims makes iDrive the "killer app" it always was meant to be. The latest (and we'll-see-about-greatest) iDrive layout is launched with the all-new 2009 7 Series, just as was the original iDrive.
Preh says there now are seven unique buttons or switches surrounding iDrive in order to facilitate quick transitions between functions. And the Big Knob still has "haptic" feedback to inputs in addition to the ability to be rotated, tilted and depressed. And to be truthful, for the '09 7 Series, primary audio and climate-control functions are removed from the new iDrive, anyway. This all presumably will make it easier to change the radio station.
One cool touch — figuratively and literally: The Big Knob is ceramic-based, adding a unique heft and slight chill to the touch at normal temperatures.
Preh also is the supplier for Audi's Multi Media Interface, a competitor for the previous-generation iDrive that many believe to be better-executed.
Inside Line says: Like it or not, human-machine interface is here to stay. Now everybody's trying to make it actually work. — Bill Visnic, senior editor, Edmunds AutoObserver
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