THE CURIOUS CASE OF BMW BUTTONS

There’s a tech-led revolution going on inside the Neue Klasse

JH

If there’s a revolution going on outside, then inside it’s a full blown rebellion. Every Neue Klasse car will get BMW’s bold new iDrive layout, which represents a complete rethink on how to integrate tech into a car. The rotary controller is gone. Radically, there’s no instrument cluster. Instead a comprehensive 3D head-up display houses speed, range, battery level, navigation – all to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. Meanwhile the matrix backlit touchscreen is closer to the driver. It runs BMW’s Operating System X software, which goes big on customisation. BMW expects more use of voice control, so its assistant is based on Amazon’s Alexa. The temperature controls sit permanently on the touchscreen. Is there a danger of iDrive becoming a digital hellscape? It’s…

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BBC Top Gear (digital) - 1 Issue, February 2025

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