[erichighley]

Originally Posted by cjava

Touchscreens are horrible since they force you to take your eyes off the road.

The iDrive interface is perfect the way it is.

love the iDrive interface

[HermesRider]

Finally digital temperature displays for climate control. I might actually consider buying one now.

[Mii]

Great interior quality and layout.

Originally Posted by MDarkie

... The leather up to the dash is on the wrong side and should be to the right of the gear lever (IMHO)

F10 does not seem to provide hand brake as the previous gen. The design looked fine on the left side.

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by erichighley

wasn't really following the post about the leather on the wrong side but after seeing those pictures i 100% agree.

also...all those buttons on the steering wheel and no dedicated track/channel change???? am i missing something? maybe cause its a european/canadian model (just assuming b/c of the °C temperature and what looks like a rear fog light switch)

This is just my assumption but I think that most of the buttons on the F10 steering wheel work the same way as on the F01/F02. If that's the case, they improved the track/channel interface considerably by using a scroll type button that you can see right below the 'MODE' button in the 1st picture.

I LOVE this button on my steering wheel. It has a rubber type feel to it and works as follows:

Press the scroll wheel and it pops up the current track/song/channel in the gauge cluster display (this may not happen on the F10 cluster as I just noticed that the bottom section display is actually covered by the gauge rings not like the F01/F02 gauge cluster!).
If you scroll up or down it will show you all the other songs/tracks/channels and once you see the song/track/channel you want press the scroll wheel again. This is WAY easier and IMHO better than the channel/track up/down button as found on previous BMW steering wheels!
This allows you to see what song/channel/track is currently playing without changing anything. It also allows you to quickly see what other songs/channels/tracks are next or before the one currently selected without making any changes. Once you use this setup, believe me you don't want to go back again

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by McReary

give it to me all in one streamlined and quick touchscreen interface. I hate the idrive, and i dislike the massive amounts of buttons. A nice clean 9'' LED that can be like the "control panel" of the car would suffice.

Take a look how dirty touch screens get after a short time of use (finger prints and all the dirt collecting that comes with them).

I know BMW got a lot of flack from a LOT of people and magazines over the years for their iDrive controller. Interesting to note though is that if you look at most new cars that have an integrated navigation system and do not use a touch screen, migrated to an iDrive type of controller... I wonder why

BMW has been a pioneer in this regard and the new iDrive interface (controller and GUI) is by far the vest yet!

[yamazaho]

I am loving that interior!!!

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by Mii

Great interior quality and layout.
F10 does not seem to provide hand brake as the previous gen. The design looked fine on the left side.

Most likely uses the same electric parking brake system as on the F01/F02. You'll find the parking brake right in front of the gear shifter. You pull the button marked with a circled 'P' upwards to engage the brake and push it down to disengage. I think it may also have the 'Auto Hold' feature as found in the F01/F02.

[NoSurrender]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this car!!

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by hiep92657

Has BMW finally switched over to a keyless ignition like Lexus?

LOL ... Where have you been for the past few years... BMW had keyless ignition for quite a few years now!

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by MDarkie

Something's wrong with the center console (and it's irking me enough so that I finally registered an account so that I could post this)

If the 5 has "clear orientation to the driver in the cockpit" why is that leather "swoosh" not on the other side? Visually, it's biased towards the passenger and creates a sense of separation from the driver side.

They had it right on the current 5, the 6 and the Z4. Why the switch?

Ok, here is my take on this:

I think the reason you see the leather stretched further to the front on the driver side is because if you rest your arm on the center console, it is by far more comfortable if the leather reaches closer to the shifter than further away!

I agree with you that esthetically it does look a little odd especially considering the driver oriented statements they make about this new cockpit. I would say that by looking at this cockpit, it borrows about 80 to 90% from the F01/F02 cockpit.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by cjava

Touchscreens are horrible since they force you to take your eyes off the road.

The iDrive interface is perfect the way it is.

As does the idrive, if you don't look at the screen how would you know what setting of the sub-menu you are on. On Japanese system they actually locked out most features when the tires are moving. Idrive is not hard to use. I got use to it very fast however now as I have experienced the Japanese nav it's just more advance and easier to use then the BMW counter part.

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by Robert

As does the idrive, if you don't look at the screen how would you know what setting of the sub-menu you are on. On Japanese system they actually locked out most features when the tires are moving. Idrive is not hard to use. I got use to it very fast however now as I have experienced the Japanese nav it's just more advance and easier to use then the BMW counter part.

I assume you are referring to the previous generation iDrive system, as the new system is miles ahead and FAR improved over the previous system!!!

[vladinecko]

what a great interior! definitely superior to the exterior. cup holder placement is a bit awkward but other than that, amazing.

[numba1guju]

Originally Posted by xDrive50i

Ok, here is my take on this:

I think the reason you see the leather stretched further to the front on the driver side is because if you rest your arm on the center console, it is by far more comfortable if the leather reaches closer to the shifter than further away!

I agree with you that esthetically it does look a little odd especially considering the driver oriented statements they make about this new cockpit. I would say that by looking at this cockpit, it borrows about 80 to 90% from the F01/F02 cockpit.

+1

[abadiu]

Originally Posted by xDrive50i

Ok, here is my take on this:

I think the reason you see the leather stretched further to the front on the driver side is because if you rest your arm on the center console, it is by far more comfortable if the leather reaches closer to the shifter than further away!

I agree with you that esthetically it does look a little odd especially considering the driver oriented statements they make about this new cockpit. I would say that by looking at this cockpit, it borrows about 80 to 90% from the F01/F02 cockpit.

bang on !

[samuraisaiyo]

it very cool

[Pitman]

That Interior is 100% gorgeous.

[cyba]

much better interior than the new Eclass

[epiphone3]

Here is a question: where does the key fob go? I don't see any slot to insert the key fob!

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

Here is a question: where does the key fob go? I don't see any slot to insert the key fob!

You don't have to. It's most likely comfort access as a standard now. If it's the same as on the new F01/F02 (which I assume it is since most of the cockpit and electronics are shared between the F01/F02 and the F10/F11), you just keep the key fob in your pocket. When you get into the car you just press the start/stop button to start or stop the engine.

[jayely1]

The new e-class doesn't look as nice imo, exterior is very boring compared to the F10.

[tonmonde]

super nice interior, really want!