is e90/92 i-drive any good ?

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looking at getting an e92 coupe but finding the spec I want in budget with sat nav / i-drive is proving difficult so to i-drive owners is it worth holding out for or is it rubbish anyway ?
 
Personally I would hold out for it, it's a lot more than just sat nav. It depends how much you like your gadgets though.
 
so would you rather have a 325i with I drive or a 330i without assuming simlar spec everything else ?
 
If it comes to that choice, sod the i drive its the better engine and a Tom Tom for me :)
 
so would you rather have a 325i with I drive or a 330i without assuming simlar spec everything else ?

I would rather simply wait until I could afford the spec i want, which is exactly what I am doing. However if I had to buy now and I had the choice between a 325i with iDrive and a 330i without, I'd probably end up with the 325i. I'd be dissapointed, but then I'd be dissapointed with a 330i with no iDrive either.

Why compromise if you are spending £20k? And if you are not spending £20k I suspect you'll find your budget isnt big enough for a really nice high spec 330i or 335i.

If it comes to that choice, sod the i drive its the better engine and a Tom Tom for me :)

It's far more than Satnav.
 
Seemed to me that the i-drive gives you the ability to fiddle with all sorts of settings that will be fantastic for about a week and then you'd just get bored and leave them as they are.

In fact, i spent around 20 mins the other week with someone showing me what it does and i can't seem to remember any of the settings he was fiddling with.
 
It's just... better. It's a fantastic, modern way of controlling everything. Nice big screen, great way to have all your music, settings for the car, detailed information about what needs servicing and when, etc etc.
 
Love i-drive, mainly because I like having all my music in the car running from a usb stick and displayed on screen and I also like having my contacts displayed on screen for handsfree calls on the built in bluetooth phone connection. I don't use the sat-nav much but still like to have it just in case and it beats carrying a tomtom around with you any day.
 
Wasn't the pre update iDrive terrible? Or can you have it updated?

No it wasn't terrible but people slated it because it was such a new thing and like other devices they gave up on it because they didn't think they needed it. It has always been easy to use if your one to explore options and have the ability to remember( a bit like if you could program the VCR etc). The newer iDrive has got the more options have been added and its been made even simpler.
 
[TW]Fox;17007980 said:
Why compromise if you are spending £20k? And if you are not spending £20k I suspect you'll find your budget isnt big enough for a really nice high spec 330i or 335i.

budget is actually c.15k its between a 325 and 330 the 325's are falling into my budget with all the stuff I want but the 330's seem to be just out of reach or very rare.

also a few poor spec'd 335i's are dropping into budget but I think the car could end being more hassle than its worth with such a complex engine

what do you think of this one ? is there any must haves on the SE's apart from xenons/idrive/leather ?
 
Wasn't the pre update iDrive terrible? Or can you have it updated?

I have the original version on my 05 e60. I wouldn't say it's "terrible", but it's nowhere near as good as the version available in newer BMWs. And no, it can't be updated as it uses different hardware.
 
budget is actually c.15k its between a 325 and 330 the 325's are falling into my budget with all the stuff I want but the 330's seem to be just out of reach or very rare.

also a few poor spec'd 335i's are dropping into budget but I think the car could end being more hassle than its worth with such a complex engine

what do you think of this one ? is there any must haves on the SE's apart from xenons/idrive/leather ?

Xenons are standard across the E92 range.

That one looks pretty nice and IMHO is as good as you'll get for that sort of money. I dont think this budget buys a decent 330i at all.

It's not 'Sport spec', mind.

You mention complex engines - the engine in that 325i is an N52B25 which has is a Dual VANOS Straight Six with Valvetronic, or an N53B30 which has Direct Injection instead of Valvetronic. It is hardly the most simple engine around, so ensure you have a good warranty (Hint: The 36 month thing the dealer is offering is unlikely to be a good warranty!).
 
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[TW]Fox;17012199 said:
Xenons are standard across the E92 range.

That one looks pretty nice and IMHO is as good as you'll get for that sort of money. I dont think this budget buys a decent 330i at all.

It's not 'Sport spec', mind.

whats sport spec ? the m-sport ones not to bothered about that drove an SE auto 325i and liked the ride heard the m-sport ones were a bit harder

also just saw this 330 seems they still around 16/17k for what I want might just wait a few months i'm in no rush
 
'Sport Spec' is nothing, its a stupid phrase people with SE's throw in because they have Sport seats or something.

Bear in mind none of the 2006 ones are Efficient Dynamics cars - so they are less economical etc than the newer ones. The 06 325i E92 for example was one of the last x25i's with a 2.5 litre engine and does only 33mpg combined.
 
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