Hi. I'm new to the forum. I'm planning on buying a 128i. (My first BMW!) Should I get the built-in navigation system (which I believe is iDrive CIC)? Unfortunately, there are no such cars near me, so I can't actually check out the system. What I'm curious about is whether the system is outdated, whether BMW supports upgrades, whether it syncs with Google, what else it does besides navigation, how are the graphics, etc. I also understand Garmin makes a portable nav device for BMW. Is this a better option? My main concern is not to be stuck with an obsolete gadget in my car.
Any thoughts or info appreciated. Also any link to info about nav system would be appreciated.
Tony
Hi Tony - what year 128i are you looking at? I believe ones until 2010 used a DVD navigation and the newer ones use an integrated system. If you're referring to the newer one, I believe that it has some updating capabilities. Let us know and we'll be able to help you better.
-Dmitry
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Thank you for your quick reply. The one I have my eye on now is in a 2013 128i. You mentioned that it would be "integrated." What does that mean? In general, how does it compare in terms of sophistication and graphics to the sort of Google maps navigation I have on my Android smart phone?
Any thoughts appreciated,
Tony
Other members may need to confirm this, as I think it started with the 2014 or 2015 model, but BMW made the system integrate with your phone via bluetooth; giving you a lot more functionality and ability to use what you have on your phone. To be honest, I'm not super familiar with the Android version of google maps ( I tend to use Waze), but the graphics and points-of-interest in the newer BMW navigation are great and very easy to understand/use. The graphics are definitely better than on my 08' system.
-Dmitry
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My 2012 135 has the nav system, and I love it simply for the radio and Bluetooth control, as well as its easier to see info on the car and trip computer. It also is updateable, though I need to figure out how to update the Bluetooth capabilites.
IDrive is well worth it imo, even the older versions.
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