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Bear scribbled:

Cool, so long as it does appear

 

Bear scribbled:

Did Mr Eriksson design BMWs I Drive system then?

 

From what I hear the 5 series got the workable, point and click version,
however the initial launch in the 7 series had way too much complexity,
and wasn't intuitive[1], thus causing all the bad press.

I played with the 520's version about a year ago and it was perfectly
usable.

[1] It's probably been made more user friendly / dumbed down by now.

 

Bear says...

Our MD has a mew shape BMW 730 Diesel with i-Drive and he loves it now
he's had it a while. He says it took some getting used to but makes
driving so much more relaxed.

 

Bear says...

Not quite. He hated it round town and in normal driving mode, but
absolutely loved it once the sport mode was selected and it was being
driven hard.

 

Still don't really see the point in it.

How many options does a car actually need?

 

Bear says...

All cars got too complicated for me once they started putting 5 speed
gearboxes in them.

 

SteveH says...

Just one, the ability to not be Italian built.

 

No, still don't get it.

Climate and a decent stereo are the only things that are vital to a
car.[1] The rest are just there to make you feel as though you got value
for money when buying an expensive car.

[1] Ignoring the obvious like engines, wheels etc....

 

Bear says...

I drove Minis for donkey's years. To my mind they made them over-
complex when they put rocker switches on the dash, a column mounted
ignition switch/steering lock and the wiper switch on a column stalk. I
used to swop them back to the way the old ones were.

 

September this year?

How different (or better) is the C600 compared to the C500?

 

SteveH says...

You've never had use of a Golf SDi then. I miss the simple things like
electric windows, air-con or sunroof etc. This car left the factory
with no central locking ffs, it had to be fitted at the dealers. It's
once you've done 50K miles in something like my car that you realise
just how handy those options really are. Thankfully I do have a height
adjustable driver's seat and adjustable steering column.

Ok, so the car is a company car and the tax is dirt cheap, and for that
I am eternally grateful because if the choice was mine I wouldn't have
a car at all.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean about central locking and electric windows.
They're on the essential list, but I sort of assumed that all cars came
with them these days (apart from stuff like the Perodua Nippa). Other
than that, I have to have climate and the stereo. Sunroof isn't needed
if you have climate. I like the 'MFA' on the dash of the Passat, but
don't miss it when I drive the 156. Adjustable everything as you get
with i-Drive just seems pointless.

The cars I most enjoy driving are the ones with the least toys,
generally.

 

It doesn't *need* any, which is why there's a market for a £5K town car.
However there's a thing caled luxury, and that's where adjustment,
configuration and personalisation comes into play.

 

Still doesn't make sense to me - you can have luxury without lots of
electronic gadgets.

It's nice to have some level of personalisation in a car - I'm thinking
the climate control and stereo controls, but the complexity of i-Drive
just makes no sense to me at all.

 

SteveH says...

You don't do 60K plus a year in the same car, that's when all the toys
make sense.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, SteveH

I can clear the confusion up.

Steve, it seems that there are some (non-Italian) vehicle manufacturers
who can make electrical stuff that *doesn't* detonate within the first
month of ownership.

Now, given this revelation, can you see the point now?

*Excellent*.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets
and Ducati Race Engineer.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

That's true, I don't. I'm going to hit close on 30k miles in this Passat
this year, and it has all the toys I could possibly want.

 

Not really, given that I've racked up 20k miles in a Passat since
December.

Hmmmm.

 

Magner[/QUOTE]

Bulmers with a different label.