[RachelS]

Navigation - Was it worth it?

If they don't change the format, NO – IT WAS NOT WORTH IT!!!

What I have learned about BMW Navigation.

I have had Navigation in several other cars and also the portable Garmin too.

BMW Navigation is VERY VERY primitive and very hard to maneuver.

The following I think could make it better:

Enter destination of city, town and state by ZIP CODE.

Enter information for business by PHONE NUMBER.

More categories of restaurants or name your own. WHERE IS MEXICAN FOOD?

While navigation, when destination approaches, what side of the street it is on, e.g. left or right side of the road.

Display the address on the screen as destination approaches.

Display a phone number too.

Find business on your route as you travel e.g. so you don't go out of you way to find a gas station.

The ability to find the next rest stop on a HWY while traveling. COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS FEATURE IS NOT HERE.

Search for names of business by partial name search.


I have a Chrysler 300 and Mercedes...they all do the above...

Sorry if I _itch…but for 2 grand, it should remind you of appointments…oh that is also on the other cars too…..

How can I send this to BMW..

[DaveCM5]

Originally Posted by RachelS

Navigation - Was it worth it?

If they don't change the format, NO – IT WAS NOT WORTH IT!!!

What I have learned about BMW Navigation.

I have had Navigation in several other cars and also the portable Garmin too.

BMW Navigation is VERY VERY primitive and very hard to maneuver.

The following I think could make it better:

Enter destination of city, town and state by ZIP CODE.

Enter information for business by PHONE NUMBER.

More categories of restaurants or name your own. WHERE IS MEXICAN FOOD?

While navigation, when destination approaches, what side of the street it is on, e.g. left or right side of the road.

Display the address on the screen as destination approaches.

Display a phone number too.

Find business on your route as you travel e.g. so you don't go out of you way to find a gas station.

The ability to find the next rest stop on a HWY while traveling. COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS FEATURE IS NOT HERE.

Search for names of business by partial name search.


I have a Chrysler 300 and Mercedes...they all do the above...

Sorry if I _itch…but for 2 grand, it should remind you of appointments…oh that is also on the other cars too…..

How can I send this to BMW..

Hi Rachel

This is the first car I've had with Navigation, so maybe I don't know all the features that are out there.

But the BMW Navigation is just a part of the IDrive setup. So you're getting more than just a navigation funcion for the money. Hopefully in a future upgrade BMW will include all those other things you listed in the navigation.

Have you tried putting a different navigation DVD into the drive to see if it would work? This would be interesting.

BMW called me and left me a number to call them to offer improvement suggestions on the car. The number is 800-539-5354.

-Dave C. '06 330i

[RachelS]

OH THANKS FOR THE NUMBER!!!!! I will call them today


The NAV in the BMW is set up to read only BMW discs.

[CC 330i]

Hopefully the system is upgradeable, and perhaps they will add more functionality as the months go on.

[Gnosis]

But the BMW Navigation is just a part of the IDrive setup. So you're getting more than just a navigation funcion for the money

May I ask exactly what it is you think that you get? IMO the I-drive is just another control system for the functions you already have (Except NAV then of course).

I personally hate the I-drive. A car should be initiutive and easy to configure. But it's simply too slow and complicated.

And it's expensive as well... Can you tell I didn't order with it?

[DaveCM5]

You get to configure things that you cannot without it. You can set air conditioning venting and fan programs and set different weights on the floor, panel, and defrost vents. You can program headlight, pathway lighting, and interior lighting delay times. You can turn on or off many features such as the turn signal functions (push a little for 3 flashes).

There are TOO MANY things to list. The IDrive/NAV combo is WELL worth the extra $2K. There is no possible way you can come to appreciate all it does with a 20 minute test drive.

You should have ordered it... you're going to be missing out on alot that this car has to offer.


-Dave C. '06 330i

[johnfkitchen]

Integration. That's what I think iDrive provides. Entertainment, phone, Nav and climate control, plus voice commands - all integrated.

For this, I'm prepared to commit the learning time and the price.

I have been using a non-integrated DeLorme GPS system, and its user interface is very complex. But I still use it. And not just to get to planned destinations.

It's been said elsewhere in this forum that a great feature of GPS Nav is its application to exploring.

I like side roads. But many go absolutely nowhere. With the Nav in front of me, I can get an idea about whether a certain road is worth exploring.

Some side roads often provide an alternative way out, and again, the Nav can let me visualize my exploration far more conveniently than a paper map.

Recently we went exploring the jagged coast of Maine, way up near New Brunswick, and the GPS made this just so much fun!

(Can you tell I did order it? )

[Gnosis]

You get to configure things that you cannot without it. You can set air conditioning venting and fan programs and set different weights on the floor, panel, and defrost vents. You can program headlight, pathway lighting, and interior lighting delay times. You can turn on or off many features such as the turn signal functions (push a little for 3 flashes).

There are TOO MANY things to list. The IDrive/NAV combo is WELL worth the extra $2K. There is no possible way you can come to appreciate all it does with a 20 minute test drive.

You should have ordered it... you're going to be missing out on alot that this car has to offer.

Yeah well - you're right. But it's just that I don't think I need or want any of that. And I've driven a great deal with the I-drive in the 5-series. It just isn't that well thought out IMO. Some common adjustments, like airflow, I want to be able to just push a button to adjust. I don't want to have to go inte sub-menues and all that. If it was more carefully thought out and more intutive to use I might have considered it. And it's too expensive as well. I just wouldn't use it enough to justify the pricetag. Plus there are better after market NAV systems out there if I wanted one of those.

But if you're a gadget freak I suppose it makes more sense to buy it.

[silverado]

If you have PDC (Parking Distance Control) you also get a visual representation of the space behind you so you know where things are behind you, not just beeping.

[silverado]

Let me add that while I agree that it is worth the money, I also think that its navigation sofware could use improvement. Does anyone know under which category I could find post offices?!

[Nathan]

I love it, i know there are better options out there, but it is a small price to pay to have it all integrated. Don't expect any changes or new features to the system, unless it comes in a system upgrade. I had an x5 for three years and no improvements were made. iDrive does have more capabilities, but i just don't see them adding much more.

I would rather have a limited system completely integrated rather than a great full-featured system non-integrated. Pick your battles i guess. I have grown to accept the fact that you can't have everything, or i'd have a Moderna by now.

[RachelS]

post office is under public places and just under that.

I have to play with it to find post office, but it does work and finds you the closest

[DaveCM5]

Originally Posted by Gnosis

But if you're a gadget freak I suppose it makes more sense to buy it.

Well, I have to admit that I am a gadget freak...so I'm sure that justified some of the worth as well.

-Dave C. '06 330i

[deutschmann59]

You bet it was worth it. I'm a tech freak too, so I got my 325i more or less loaded. I would have liked to have gotten the 330i, but I was able to get the 325i pretty much loaded for just a little more than the price of a base 330i. I guess it all comes down to personal preference as to what's more important...more power or more toys.

[JBOO]

Love it, although I wouldnt mind upgrading to some of your recommendations.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by sharp1183

You bet it was worth it. I'm a tech freak too, so I got my 325i more or less loaded. I would have liked to have gotten the 330i, but I was able to get the 325i pretty much loaded for just a little more than the price of a base 330i. I guess it all comes down to personal preference as to what's more important...more power or more toys.

And it seems BMW is aiming directly for you!

I get the feeling us Gen X'ers just got left behind. Too young for baby boomers and too old for Gen y'ers.

[Big Foot]

An earlier poster stated that if you have both iDrive with Navigation and PDC, then you can see the objects behind you.
This is he first I have heard of this.
I read the US Owners Manual and the Product Brochure, and this is not mentioned.
I have orded a Canadian 330 with both iDrive/Navigation and PDC, so I hope this is true.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Big Foot

An earlier poster stated that if you have both iDrive with Navigation and PDC, then you can see the objects behind you.
This is he first I have heard of this.
I read the US Owners Manual and the Product Brochure, and this is not mentioned.
I have orded a Canadian 330 with both iDrive/Navigation and PDC, so I hope this is true.

You HOPE it's true?! Dude, I'm offended!

First of all, I didn't say you see the objects behind you. I said you see a visual representation of the objects behind you. It's sort of like a radar display that shows you what region behind you has an obstacle.

This is in the manual. See page 77/78 or the two attached pictures.

[Big Foot]

I stand corrected.
I misread your post and assumed you were refering to a back up camera.
The Canadian PDC only works at the rear of the car. (I got that from the Canadian Product Brochure

[silverado]

Same as the US; you can only get rear PDC.

[bookman2]

I thought long and hard about idrive/Nav before ordering my 330i, but I realized that I wouldn't use the features enough to justify the expense. Furthermore, I wasn't completely sold on the esthetic aspect of its intergration with the dash.

[voltron1011]

I chose NAV (and xenons) over the sport package because it is integrated. I can always put SP rims, springs, and seats in later. I cannot, however, put in a NAV dashboard and all the neccesary wiring harnesses. I also refuse to put one of those Garmin BRICKS on my dashboard with pigtail cords running all over my car. Everyone who owns a stand-alone nav system, do they take it out everytime they park the car? If not, they can kiss their $1000+ bucks away when someone breaks their window and jacks it. It's all about integration. I can overlook a few minor flaws (ie phone numbers, etc), just as long as it functions correctly on a daily basis.