Welcome to the fourth feature in our newest reporting series. Our Hands-On Tech*, or HOT, Reports take you through the top-spec connectivity features offered by manufacturers in detail and look to benchmark the connectivity functionality based on various test criteria. This month we take a closer look at the BMW 5-series. With more functionality than any other car we have tested to-date, BMW is definitely moving in the right direction in aligning a great connected user experience and safe driving.
Display
The standard 10.2″ screen has only had capacitive touch capabilities since 2015. Its landscape design lends itself well to the way BMW has designed the menu nesting, allowing the screen to split and create shortcuts to desired actions on the right hand side. The screen brightness is not adjustable, only toggling between ‘on’ and night mode.
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It has pinch and zoom, and screen swiping features, working with both wool and leather gloves fingers. However, there’s very little need to use the touchscreen, unless you are wanting to type some-thing from the keyboard. The iDrive system is controlled through a rotary dial in the centre arm rest area, near the gear stick. This is a very natural position for the driver to rest their arm and navigate through this comprehensive BMW system.
Voice Control
Voice Control in the BMW is easily the most accurate of all the tests to-date. There was very little that the system didn’t pick up first time around. There was cross-referencing functionality with imported contacts so all telephony instructions were understood first-time around. The voice response function wasn’t always accurate with pronunciation of words, but this didn’t inhibit use, bar one occasion. Testing for “Play ‘Banks'”, “Play artist ‘Banks'” or “Play ‘Goddess’ by ‘Banks'”, the system could only complete the action with the latter instruction. It became confused, believing it had heard “Play ‘Bang Bang Bang'” (track by Mark Ronson). It seems longer instructions are more easily interpreted.
Gesture Control
The 5-series was the first vehicle in our series to feature gesture control technology. Often glitchy and occasionally unresponsive, this feature seemed redundant with the presence of physical switchgear (for the volume control) and steering wheel buttons (for call answering functionality). Gesture control has a novelty factor and sparks discussion about the possibilities of applications in the future, but when the sensor captures and interprets conversational hand gestures as instructions, it’s clear this tech isn’t quite there yet.
Switchgear
The switchgear in the BMW is very well-thought out. Everything has a purpose and is well-located. The design and placement is attractive and individual climate control is a nod to the way the trend of personalisation is developing.
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By GlobalDataThe rotary dial is surrounded by seven buttons ‘Home’, ‘Map’ (with a sister button, ‘Nav’), ‘Media’ (with a sister button ‘Radio), ‘Back’ and ‘Option’. Each of these buttons provide shortcut options to their designated functions. The rotary dial itself can be turned like a watch bezel, pushed in four directions like a joystick and has a touchpad where the user can handwrite individual letters. All these choices could appear overwhelming if the design and appearance wasn’t so good, but it all works very intuitively.
The wing mirrors can be adjusted manually, but when put into reverse automatically adjust so the kerb can be better seen.
Connected Switchgear
BMW allows programming for two seat positions on the driver’s door, but additional settings can be found in the menu nesting. The number of functions is incredibly comprehensive and to someone not particularly tech-savvy, initially it will definitely seem too much. Each function has a purpose and is categorised well. Driver profiling allows for more personalisation, to avoid needing to scroll through the numerous menus.
Like the Tesla system, there is a way of customising data privacy. It’s very simple—all on one page— and very comprehensive, where the driver can select and deselect various functions driver wishes to share, with the final choice to delete all personal data.
Audio
The technology partnership with Harman, means only the very best from these audiophiles. Harman’s relationship with BMW is close enough now that sound engineers are involved at the prototype stage of any BMW car design. The audio is thus tailored to offer the best user experience, no matter what seat in the vehicle the passenger may be in. The Bowers and Wilkins is customisable, so the centre of sound can be adjusted accordingly. The 16 speakers, with a maximum output of 1400W—up from 600W of the Harman Kardon predecessor—and diamond tweeters offer a stunning, immersive audio experience. What’s more, the concert, studio, stage and cinema options automatically tune the levels, enabling a variety of listening experiences. The Bowers and Wilkins audio option costs more than a pretty penny as a £3,750 option, but as with the Volvo XC90, to anyone who spends significant time in their vehicle, it really does make all the difference.
Our 5-series came prepped with the rear-seat entertainment option too. This provides two non-touch screens which hang off the back of the front seats for rear passengers. Wireless AKG headphones enable passengers to listen to alternative media to front-seat passengers, or sockets for headphone jacks in the lower central area. There were additional 12V and USB ports for rear seat charging. Rear-screen media can be controlled from the main screen as well as the rear remote control pro-vided.
Networking
BMW’s come with a modem and 4G connectivity supplied by two embedded SIM cards. One runs the telematics and vehicle-based functions and the other runs the infotainment. For this second one, BMW customers are able to use BMW ConnectedDrive, the name of the connected services system, free-of-charge for the first three years. There is then a subscription-based model to continue using great apps such as the Deezer library, Microsoft Office 365 and other apps integrated into the iDrive system.
Mobile hotspotting is available but for a fee. Via T-Mobile, BMW customers can enable their SIM card to allow tethered connections by passengers for £11 per month. While this isn’t a huge amount of money to a person able to buy a brand-new premium E segment vehicle, it isn’t negligible and though it would provide good value-for-money for families with children who wish to be connected on every journey, it is expensive to those needing a hotspot feature less frequently. The BMW model is also very restrictive. Customers are forced to pay T-Mobile, rather than shop around for the best data deal, as the Volvo model enables.
Navigation
In our test, there were four steps to input a destination which is higher than expected. However, there’s a multitude of ways to carry out this task—from voice command, to typing on the touchscreen to writing on the rotary dial—whichever suits the user best. What’s more, the split screen allows predicted results to be displayed, reducing the number of steps to set the destination. Adding a waypoint isn’t as frictionless, where we would advocate use of the voice control. The assistant responds ‘Do you wish to change the destination? Or set this as a waypoint?’—the alternative is far more laborious.
The shortcut buttons previously mentioned get the user back to the navigation screen in one step. Points of Interest (POIs) can be searched using Google Search or the BMW Concierge service, where a human being is on hand to help with suggestions. Our only remark here was that the suggestions offered the distance to the desired POI but it wasn’t necessarily in the direction of travel.
The presence of Google Search means ‘public toilets’ make a POI appearance for the first time in our series.
ADAS
The auto adaptive cruise control, combined with the autonomous emergency braking of this 5-series essentially gives the vehicle semi-autonomous capabilities. Though it is not yet regulation to remove your hands from the wheels—and BMW reminds you of this with a visual amber warning, turning to red within just a few seconds—and while the system has not been enabled to change lanes, in the same way as the Tesla Autopilot has, the whole experience gives a strong impression of what the future holds for mobility. It is reliable, though there is still work to be done. At one point, we were heading to rear-end the car in front, in the fast lane of the motorway, as the traffic slowed quickly. This is where the Tesla system has the upper hand. In tracking the car in front of the car in front, the Tesla can react more effectively than the BMW.
Traffic Jam Assist is very impressive and when demonstrated to friends and family was one of the key take-aways of the whole set-up. The only niggle was the notable lag as the computer processed the sensor data, calculating an appropriate response to what was happening on the road in front. While it was slightly quicker to brake, pulling away was so laboured, it was frustrating. This does however give a flavour of things to come, both good and bad.
Companion App and Telematics
The ConnectedDrive system offers HERE, Yelp, Deezer, Microsoft Office 365—most notably the only system to offer this to customers—, Weather and WikiLocation. Though Rainfall Radar, powered by Foreca, could be considered overkill (even in a climate as inclement as the UK’s), the apps are practical and selective.
More apps, like Spotify, iHeart radio and Pandora are available through CarPlay. Though the mirroring integration is acceptable, BMW has made its own system such a pleasure to use, it is rather jarring to enter the Apple ecosystem—this will inevitably be a personal choice.
The BMW Connected app does all a user would expect; turn the lights on, show fuel levels, latest trips and vehicle health. It also shows the location, though this is more for use in the event the vehicle is stolen, or left at an airport and the driver wants reassurance of its care. It is less useful for shopping centre car parks and other such specific localities.
The digital key of the 5-series allows much of the same functionality as the companion app, though it also has the capability to remotely move the vehicle out of a tight parking space, for example, if the door couldn’t be opened. This was a great feature when it worked, but it was impossible to keep the key’s battery fully charged, even when constantly travelling with it on the wireless charging pad, locating in the centre console.
Conclusion
The BMW system is impressive. Though it contains a great deal of options, which some will most definitely find excessive, nothing is imposing so that will inhibit one user’s experience over another’s. The online manual is helpful for resolving basic problems, though it would have been nice to see some video explanations or troubleshooting in this guide. BMW is the only other car manufacturer, aside from Tesla, that has enabled over-the-air (OTA) updates. Though they are only currently for infotainment and not for firmware, it will undoubtedly help BMW stay competitive in the transition towards more tech-heavy mobility solutions.
*This article is an extract from a report that first appeared in our QUBE service. The QUBE article is accompanied by a comprehensive data sheet with our full evaluation of BMW’s – and the other vehicles in our HOT Report series – connectivity and HMI.
