[SmoothStyle1]

I've had my car for just under a month and now that I'm fully comfortable with the iDriv/Nav, I have to say that BMW could have done a much better job with the map/navigation features. My majors issues are as follows:

1) Not allowing for street names to appear in "perspective" view. I used to have a $200 Garmin Nuvi and it displayed street names in perspective. Why not BMW?

2) No "night mode" option. Again, my $200 Nuvi automatically switched to night mode, why not BMW? The daytime/default map colors can be distracting at night. Night mode solves this problem.

3) Not aligning the street names with the actual street orientation in "north facing" or "direction of travel" mode. The computer places the street names horizontally on the screen attached to the street at either the beginning or end of the street name. Even if you have diagonal streets on the map, the street names are placed horizontally. Why not align the street names with the streets?

4) Not informing the driver if the final destination is on the right or left side of the street. It would be nice if the voice command stated "arriving at destination on the right/left" as opposed to simply "arriving at destination." In a dense metropolitan environment it can be distracting to have to search both sides of the street as you approach your destination as opposed to being told which side of the street your destination resides.


Not sure if BMW has addressed the above issues with the 2009+ models that are based on a hard drive, however, based on the limitations I've observed in the version I have in my '07 335i, BMW would have been better off simply outsourcing the map design and navigation interface to Garmin.

[VTECaddict]

The navigation pretty much sucks. It's slow. It's really limited in terms of features. POI search doesn't work that well, so you need a destination address to work it. There's no waypoints. No searching POI's along route. Voice commands are very limited and they also don't work properly most of the time.

That said, it would still be an option box I check in the future. Not sure how much the 09 CIC iDrive has improved, but the CCC iDrive is basically 7 years old (debuted in 03 on the E60).

[tgb1974]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

Not sure how much the 09 CIC iDrive has improved, but the CCC iDrive is basically 7 years old (debuted in 03 on the E60).

The CIC iDrive is absolutely amazing. It is very fast, as all of the data is stored on a HDD rather than a DVD, and the screen itself is large with crisp resolution. The traffic data is helpfully displayed. That said, there still are some annoyances. Street names still do not appear on the screen in any map view; you need to use the "split screen" function to display your position at the same time as the map. There is a night mode, but it does not automatically switch from day to night view when the car's headlamps are on. All in all, the current navigation system is several orders of magnitude improved from the CCC navigation system. Just my $0.02. Cheers.

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by SmoothStyle1

I've had my car for just under a month and now that I'm fully comfortable with the iDriv/Nav, I have to say that BMW could have done a much better job with the map/navigation features. My majors issues are as follows:

1) Not allowing for street names to appear in "perspective" view. I used to have a $200 Garmin Nuvi and it displayed street names in perspective. Why not BMW?

2) No "night mode" option. Again, my $200 Nuvi automatically switched to night mode, why not BMW? The daytime/default map colors can be distracting at night. Night mode solves this problem.

3) Not aligning the street names with the actual street orientation in "north facing" or "direction of travel" mode. The computer places the street names horizontally on the screen attached to the street at either the beginning or end of the street name. Even if you have diagonal streets on the map, the street names are placed horizontally. Why not align the street names with the streets?

4) Not informing the driver if the final destination is on the right or left side of the street. It would be nice if the voice command stated "arriving at destination on the right/left" as opposed to simply "arriving at destination." In a dense metropolitan environment it can be distracting to have to search both sides of the street as you approach your destination as opposed to being told which side of the street your destination resides.


Not sure if BMW has addressed the above issues with the 2009+ models that are based on a hard drive, however, based on the limitations I've observed in the version I have in my '07 335i, BMW would have been better off simply outsourcing the map design and navigation interface to Garmin.

The '09 is vastly improved, and I like it about as well as I like the other systems we've owned in my immediate family (Garmin Nuvi, OEM Acura, OEM Infiniti). But, many of the problems you describe above have not been resolved.

[JulieDriving]

• I routinely use nav, due to my work. At least once at week.
  
  
• 3 years ago, bought the top-rated, most-full-featured Garmin nuvi available. Cost me $$ (and price has dropped++ since then), but I've always felt I got my money's worth, because I thought it was awesome. I still think my Nuvi is awesome.
  
  
  Cons:
• The BMW's nav graphics are too "busy" and the color contrasts are not that great (Garmin graphics are simplier and easier to follow, IMO).
  
  
  Pros:
• However, overall, I find the BMW Nav better. Including the route guidance (a little more sophisticated, with more and slightly better-timed warnings). And the in-car satellite locking is such a big improvement!
  
  
  Of course, I don't have the newest Garmin... but with map updates, I never felt my Garmin was the least bit outdated, and before I got iDrive, I didn't know any better!
  
  
  
• For sure, newer GPSs will keep surpassing the current features I have, but if it performs as well as it does now, it'll still get the job done in a few years (like our Garmin, which we don't intend to replace anytime soon), and I suspect I'll still be just as happy with it then. As long as I don't go testing newer and newer Garmins until I am ready to move on from this car, lol!
  
  
• Besides Nav, the new system is fast and very intuitive IMO.

p.s. on the 2010 model I'm driving, it announces whether your final destination is on the left or right.

[lionheart90k]

i have an 07 which is using the old CCC but i have no problems switching from day to night modes... street names do appear for me on perspective view.. and the only prob is # 3,4 for me... but names are on the map and its figured out easily once you daily drive the car! number 4 is definitely irritating.... but i'll live with it gladly.... i love my 335i

[SmoothStyle1]

Originally Posted by lionheart90k

i have an 07 which is using the old CCC but i have no problems switching from day to night modes... street names do appear for me on perspective view..

Huh? There is no "night mode" on the '07 version. How can you switch to something that doesn't exist? Am I missing something here?

Also, in perspective mode, the only street names that show up are the major interstates and state routes. The local roads do not show up. Again, am I missing something here?

[Thunder Dump]

It might be the level of zoom, but at 400ft (what I usually leave it on), all streets show names in Perspective View on my '09 E93. Also, there is a night mode that is not just a dimming of the display, but a different color scheme and lighting altogether. As for #4, the navi does tell you if your destination is on the left or right--but only at the very end (the last thing it says) and by that point you're already on top of your destination so you really don't have time to plan for a left or right turn.

[SmoothStyle1]

Originally Posted by Thunder Dump

It might be the level of zoom, but at 400ft (what I usually leave it on), all streets show names in Perspective View on my '09 E93. Also, there is a night mode that is not just a dimming of the display, but a different color scheme and lighting altogether. As for #4, the navi does tell you if your destination is on the left or right--but only at the very end (the last thing it says) and by that point you're already on top of your destination so you really don't have time to plan for a left or right turn.

Right, it seems as though the current version of the Nav has addressed many of the issues that the previous generation had. My comments were specifically relegated to the previous generation.

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by Thunder Dump

It might be the level of zoom, but at 400ft (what I usually leave it on), all streets show names in Perspective View on my '09 E93. Also, there is a night mode that is not just a dimming of the display, but a different color scheme and lighting altogether. As for #4, the navi does tell you if your destination is on the left or right--but only at the very end (the last thing it says) and by that point you're already on top of your destination so you really don't have time to plan for a left or right turn.

Here is something bizare (and I say this with trepidation, because you are usually the correct one when we disagree about Idrive features), last night I noticed the little destination flag on my map was actually off to the side of the road, instead of in the middle. In other words, the little flag was on the left where my destination was in a stunningly precise location. So, maybe something has changed with the latest updates.

That was running 1.46 with the address sent via GoogleMaps

[Thunder Dump]

I don't have 1.46 yet so you might be right.

[Kilgore Trout]

It could also be a feature of data sent via googlemaps.