I want to be honest with you upfront. I'm not a fan of cars that don't have buttons, but BMW's new Panoramic iDrive system looks super modern, user-friendly, and customizable, so I might be willing to give up traditional buttons altogether.
The head-up display is a function that projects content onto a very broad display screen that goes from the side pillar to the other side pillar across the entire front of the vehicle.
The left side of the display shows you important information like the mode the car is in and your speed, and I like that it's positioned above the steering wheel for easy viewing. The right side of the display can be customized to show a variety of different items, and you can personalize those by simply dragging and dropping your preferred options.
For example, you could have the head-up display show the Spotify widget, the current outside temperature, the air quality index, or traffic to your destination.
The coolest feature of Panoramic IDrive is the BMW 3D Head-Up Display, which appears directly in your line of vision. This is where you'll see navigation information, such as upcoming turns, without having to glance away to the central display.
It's wonderful to see this feature being introduced to BMW vehicles.
BMW's Operating System X uses clever technology to illuminate just the right controls on the multifunction steering wheel at the perfect moment. For instance, if you get an incoming call, you can easily answer it straight from the steering wheel - and don't worry, you'll still find plenty of buttons on the wheel.
There's also a built-in voice assistant, simply say "Hey, BMW - " which can help with tasks such as directing you to the nearest coffee shop or switching the car's mode. During the demo, we observed the car shifting to Performance mode, and the display's widgets were updated to show information like torque, with the lights taking on a definitively red hue.
You can easily customize all of this, kind of like having the same level of control over your car that you do over your TV, which is how it should be.
The best part of this is that BMW states that Panoramic iDrive will be featured in all new BMW models starting late 2025. And I'd be glad to take a test drive even if there's no buttons on it.
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