Why?

[ENK1]

Well, I now have 100 miles (really "racking them up" in three weeks) on my new 650i Coupe and am an unhappy Camper. I sold my 930S Porsche Turbo when I bought this car and feel I made a big mistake. I need some opinions from you guys.

Unquestionably the 650i is a gorgeous and incredibly well made car, but you don't drive it - it drives you. I'm not used to all of the automatic computerized functions and to be quite honest, wonder why they are there? I'll probably never use 75% of them. Auto rain sensing wipers. HUH? IDRIVE, double HUH?

Is it just me that feels the IDRIVE is an overdone piece of nonsense, or am I in the minority? Wouldn't it be easier to just push a button to turn on the radio, or the nav, or whatever, instead of wasting time with all of those insane menus and control buttons? Is it just typical Teutonic over engineering or what? Are all of the new cars this much over computerized?

Help - I need some hand-holding and probably a 12 Volume User's Manual!

(Incidentally, isn't the steering wheel button supposed to move the wheel in and out as well as up and down - or is mine not functioning properly already?) Thanks for allowing me to vent.

Ed

[cobradav]

I won't argue the merits of iDrive. Works fine for me, although a little slow, but I like the clean uncluttered look without buttons. Between being used to the system, voice commands and steering wheel buttons, I rarely have to take my eyes off the road.

I assume you found the proper button, just behind the left spoke near where the cruise stalk goes into the column. If so, yes it contols up/down, in/out.

As I do not track car, or street race, I do not object to the car controls as provided. I know enough to leave DSC on unless I really have the location and space to take it off. On the big 6 I like the ARS, but do believe on a smaller, lighter car probably would not as I would probably like more feel.

Yep, not a Porsche, but after 28,000 miles in 17 months I am glad.


_______
US '05 645 Coupe, Silver Grey, Chateau, Sport, Premuim Audio (Logic 7), HUD, Cold Wx Pkg, SIRIUS Sat Radio, Delivered w/CIP 15.2, Aux Input, using Cingular Motorola v551 (v557 as of 1/7/06) Bluetooth implementation w/ snap in adapter, V1 - not hardwired. Status Born on 1/25/05, baby delivered 2/25/05, broken in 3/25/05 Upgrade to CIP 16.2 on 3/15/05, upgrade to CIP 20.02 on 3/17/06 w/MP3 enabled - Great, great BMW!!

[ENK1]

Cobradev:

Thanks for the reply. I actually agree with most of your well-reasoned thoughts. Guess it's just my sour mood today and having grown up in the muscle car era.

By the way, apparently it is something in the steering wheel switch or adjustment mechanism - I am using the proper switch.

I'll let you have further thoughts on IDRIVE after 10,000 miles (probably 2 1/2 years from now!).

Ed

[goalie27]

The Porsche does what its supposed to do extremely well. So does the 650i. The BMW is more of a GT, among other things. I wouldn't form any hard opinions after 100 miles, especially if you've never used anything like an iDrive device before. Even the passengers in my car have been able to use the 650i's iDrive device without too much difficulty, so you'll be a pro at it soon enough (iDrive is MUCH better today than it was in 2002). After a while, you'll wonder how you lived without some of the nice features of the BMW. As has been noted elsewhere, the button that controls the steering column's tilt also controls the telescoping feature, too -- if it's not working properly, have it checked by the dealer.

[ENK1]

Joe B:

Great reply. You're correctamento. I'm thinking more clearly today. Thanks.

Ed

[dhp]

Hang in there. You'll end up loving your new car. It's a paradigm shift. The techy I drive is pretty much bull though (it's obviously faster to just turn on the f'ing radio), but it offers a lot and it's not no frustrating once it becomes familiar (in about 9 months). It is taking me a long time to understand my M6, but it's a great car. I started with a 7 series, so the tech confusion is less that you're experiencing.

[awz]

I'd recommend dedicating one or two uninterrupted hours in your driveway to getting familiar with I-drive. Just get out the manual, turn on the ignition, and step through all the menues. Refer to the manual as needed and try out all the menues using the controller. I did this when I first got my coupe and it made a huge difference in how I felt about the car. You'll soon be comfortable using a combination of dash controls, steering wheel buttons, voice commands, and I-drive to make the car do what you want. You may even feel, as I do, that BMW has given you a beautifully gift-wrapped package of modern technology that enhances the GT driving experience. I, too, came to the 6 from a Porsche 911. Even two years later, I sometimes miss the Porsche, but overall, I wouldn't go back.

[marc.scroggins]

I have a deposit down on the M6 Convertible (I drive a 645 convertible currently) and would love to hear your thoughts on the M6 Couple. What do you like about it/not like, etc.

Any insight would be much appreciated since I most likely won't be able to test drive before I plunk down the cash!

Thanks in Advance.

[ENK1]

AWZ:

I have done what you suggested and on Tuesday took the 650i for a short 200 mile jog.

Admittedly, I am getting used to all of the computerized bells and whistles and agree that the 650i is the "perfect" GT coupe. However, my heart still belongs to the 930S Turbo! It'll take a while, since I had it for 18 years. I would have kept it if I had had the garage space (I live in a Condo building). Oh well, time heals all wounds - the 650i is one heck of a wound healer, though.

My only real annoyances on the 650i presently however, are the "fasten seat belt" chime (I'm currently looking around for an extra belt clip to insert in the buckle, in order to silence it when I'm not wearing the belt) and the NAV lady who keeps telling me to "safely make a U-Turn" when, in fact, that would take me the wrong way!

Ed

[DaveN]

I too just too delivery of a 650 coupe. I have about 250 miles on it. I find the Idrive VERY annoying, and I'm an engineer living in silicon valley so I'm not overwhelmed by technology. My biggest complaints are 1) the Idrive is slooooowwwww 2) the screen to screen navigation is not well thought out 3) despite the appearance of being able to program all these differnet car features there are many that are missing.

One of the most annoying missing features to me is that you can't set different tone/equalizer/HD radio on/off uniquely for each stored station. For heavens sakes my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer lets me set a different tone setting for each stored station. Two obvious examples why this is useful are you might set the tone very differently for rock then you do for AM talk radio. Also HD works best when you've got a good strong signal. If the station is a little further away it pops in/out of HD (which gives rise to some very annoying echoes and very odd sounds). The manual says "its best to leave it off". So three stations here give good HD reception but the next two on my setting don't. So you need to go thru like five different screens to disable HD. Which is now off for all stations. What a pain. Feels like a waste of a $500 (maybe $1000) option to me.

I'm too f**kin' annoyed to say more now.... like the stupid seat belt alarm which continues to chime for 2 minutes after you're in park.

Yeah it drives great. Too bad there isn't an option for No Idrive.

d

[AndrewDP]

I passed on the HD radio, which I should have gotten and although i do not find iDrive offensive I agree that it is far too slow and that there should be more setting options. The chimes are not especially bothersome, as seat belts whould always be worn. As to the original concerns about the differences between a 930 and the '06 650, I could write a small book, but suffice it to say that the technology is a world aprat and the cars, even the new Porsche 997's, are very different from each other and were built for different purposes. They are just not directly comparable. I drive an '06 997 Carrera 4S as well as my '06 650i convertible and have owned an '88 Carrera cabriolet and '02 C4S when new so know a bit about Porsches. I humbly submit that the 930 is the ultimate driver's challenge and when mastered I imagine is an extradorinary experience. I readily confess that I am not a skilled enough driver to take the 930 into a moist exit ramp at any speed about above the limit.

[howardmw]

Dont forget you can silence the nav voice by choosing the mute setting on the left side of the menu screen. I tend to keep my lady silent and just look at her for direction when needed!

[goalie27]

I'm a free-market, less-regulation kind of guy, but I know that wearing seat belts makes a lot of sense, regardless of whether or not the government tells me to do so. I'm a good driver (I think) -- my concern, however, is for the idiot dring the 10-year old minivan while talking on the cellphone who insists on changing lanes without regard for the flow of traffic, and other sorts of atrocities.

As for iDrive, the consensus is that it could be better (some might view that as an understatement). It's far, far better today than the First Generation version, and I'm OK with it (actually very good at it now) -- but it still needs improvement to take it to the next level. Yeah, the slowness bothers me, too, especially on start-up. The fact that iDrive is better today than it was in 2002 is of little solace for you, however. Give it a bit more time.

HD Radio is good but disappointing for exactly the reasons you noted -- signal strength varies, which makes HD and "regular" signals fade in and out. Nobody tells you this, however, before you sign up for it. I'm still glad I have it in my car because I believe that HD radio technology will improve over time, but I am disappointed in it so far.

_____________

'06 650i Convertible. Mineral Silver, black interior, dark ash wood. Step, Prem Sound/Sat/HD, Sport Pkg, Cold Weather Pkg.

[DaveN]

I ALWAYS wear seatbelts, but when I pull into a parking spot, waiting on someone (like at the ATM) and its in P(ark) and the emergency brake is on, etc. why should I have the seat belt warning chiming away? Very annoying.

[jim496]

Enter corner. Get on the throttle before the apex. Turbo lag causes a little delay. Oops, now that the boost is up realize that you gave it too much throttle; better back off. Hold on tight, here comes the trailing-throtle oversteer. Remember, in a spin, both feet in.

Jim2005 E500
2004 SL55
2002 745i (retired)
2001 540i 6sp Sport

[psybj]

Is far more comfy than the M3. Great go power.

My complaint is with the iDrive. Since you have that already, it's prolly not a problem to u.

Other issue is gas mileage. Gets 12mpg in town, 16 on road, with a small tank. Gotta fill it up too often.

I like not having the sunroof overhead, one thing less to go wrong and gives more headroom.

While the 645 performs strong, the M6 is awesome.

It's like a 645 on steroids.

psybj
'06 ///M6 Silverstone
'02 Acura TL-S

PREVIOUS:
'02 ///M3 SMG
'01 ///M3 6sp
Acura 3.0CL
Dodge Stealth TT AWD
VW Thing
Acura Legend Cpe.
Honda Interceptor
Honda Prelude
M-B 450SL
Piper Cherokee 180
Rx 7
280Z
deTomaso Pantera
260Z
Datsun 510 2dr
Harley-Davidson
MGA Mk.II (<400 manuf)
VW bugs
Triumph TR-3A
Ford convertible
Renault Dauphine
James
Chrysler HEMI
+ Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Chev, Buick, Caddy, Plym, Dodge, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Acura, Mazda and other boring stuff for wife and family.

[gbelton]

From one who appreciates balance and a logical setup iDrive interface, don't sweat the small stuff. Spend some time learning your vehicle and you will begin to appreciate the fine piece of machinery you have.

Is the entire package perfect? No, but as I started my reply post, "Balance".

GMANEnjoy the drive...

[M3B]

I also think the idrive is a joke. It is the main reason why I may not sell the 2002M3 for the 650. I also do not like the fact you can not place the back seats down for more trunk space. I drove one for the first time yesterday. It felt nice. Had enough power. Like you said, it does drive you. I am OK with that for now. I live in LA and I am sick of driving a stick and wan't to "just cruse" for a while. If you have any more insite I am all ears. Take care.


B

[lezonebay]

iDrive is an answer for a question that was never asked. We have been able to control everything with buttons, so iDrive and the display does nothing but makes it more fancy. I personly do not want an another computer in my car and don't want the car to wipe my fanny. I just want to drive it and enjoy it. Hard to enjoy something that controls you and not controlling it. You are a passenger with limited control in the newer cars and people love it so this is the future. now all said, can I go back to the past ?

[cobradav]

What's one more computer amoungst 20 or so? I do more things without taking my eyes of road with iDrive than without it. However, for those that don't like iDrive you can get an e60, e90 or e92 without it. Nice 8. Just saw a 850CSi friend purchased a couple weeks ago with 120k miles. Really excellent condition, interior condition was the best I've seen, although my experience with the 8 is very limited.
_______
US '05 645 Coupe, Silver Grey, Chateau, Sport, Premuim Audio (Logic 7), HUD, Cold Wx Pkg, SIRIUS Sat Radio, Delivered w/CIP 15.2, Aux Input, using Cingular Motorola v551 (v557 as of 1/7/06) Bluetooth implementation w/ snap in adapter, V1 - not hardwired. Status Born on 1/25/05, baby delivered 2/25/05, broken in 3/25/05 Upgrade to CIP 16.2 on 3/15/05, upgrade to CIP 20.02 on 3/17/06 w/MP3 enabled - Great, great BMW!!