BMW question.

The_Dark_Side · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:21

As I haven't driven an e60, I was wondering if the HUD fitted to the M5 is available in any other model from the range?
It seems a useful toy to have and it'd be strange to keep it only for the flagship model.

The_Dark_Side · 27 Nov 2009 at 19:27

[TW]Fox;15410355 said:
It's an option throughout the range.

In practice do many people take it up, or is it a rare site in used 5's?
I take it that only the 5 series has this as an option at all?

The_Dark_Side · 27 Nov 2009 at 19:32

[TW]Fox;15410819 said:
6 Series has it as well. It's rare because most people who buy new BMW's are idiots.

Further examples of idiocy can be found in the fact that nobody ever specs the 'Sports Automatic' transmission option for the autobox which adds paddleshift, despite the fact it only costs £105 extra.

That's actually a bargain by Audi/BMW/Merc standards.
I suppose most people can only afford some of the options, and they tick other more important (to them) boxes before reaching their budget.
Conversely, it's possible that items like the one you describe above weren't even explained to them when they ordered their car so they weren't even aware what it was and how little extra it would cost.

The_Dark_Side · 27 Nov 2009 at 19:43

[TW]Fox;15410849 said:
The brochure explains it perfectly though, but I guess we shouldn't be amazed at the number of people who will drop £40,000 on a car without even spending an hour thumbing through the brochure first.

TBH, the number of people spending £40k on a car who have no real interest in cars is staggering. Most think along the lines of "as long as it has this that and the other", and after that they're not too fussed.

The_Dark_Side · 29 Nov 2009 at 12:03

mjt said:
yeah, it costs ~£1000

not only is it expensive, but how useful is it really? unless your racing and can't take your eyes off the road, i can't really see why anyone would want it.
apart from epeen obviously

It massively reduces driver fatigue.

The_Dark_Side · 29 Nov 2009 at 12:04

Will Gill said:
you can add it to any car (pretty much) with a defi unit

I remember someone posting an article on one of those defi units ages ago and it looked pretty good IIRC.

The_Dark_Side · 30 Nov 2009 at 13:04

mjt said:
really? do you have any proof?

you look around at things all the time anyway. you look in your mirrors every few seconds, so i can't see how not having to look at your dials would make you significantly less fatigued..

Because in certain people, the need to constantly re-focus their eyes between the road ahead and their instrument panel causes fatigue, particularly headaches or a feeling of mental exhaustion.

The_Dark_Side · 1 Dec 2009 at 18:13

mjt said:
should they really be driving then?
because the eyes should be re-focusing all the time on objects far and away, in mirrors, etc..

If you're looking at an object in a mirror, it's irrelevant how far away it is as your eyes are focusing on the mirror itself.

The_Dark_Side · 1 Dec 2009 at 18:24

s0ck said:
Interesting point. Is the HUD proven to counteract it? You'd still have to focus close by as opposed to road ahead, surely?

No because the hud doesn't require the eyes to fully focus on its display. The hug shows basic, not detailed, information in a simple to read form. The eyes pick up the large numbers/colours periphally.

The_Dark_Side · 1 Dec 2009 at 18:26

It's the same with fighter pilots and their HUD's.
They can still be looking through the canopy AND take in the HUD info without needing to focus away from events outside the aircraft.