DustinV

Says who exactly? Lexus fans? Housewives filling out surveys for Consumer Reports?

Futuristic interior design might suit Lexus very well, but BMW is a completely different company with different philosophies. Your typical BMW interior is design with a sporty atmosphere in mind and I think they do this very well.

I've mentioned this before, but despite Lexus interiors being nice, I cannot appreciate them from a design point of view. The current LS interior for example is very futuristic from a styling point of view and it lacks elegance and simplicity. It's overall very busy and lacks character. The new 7 series cabin is simpler, from a styling perspective, but this simplicity, to me, actually creates a kind of elegance and class totally absent from the LS cabin. Again, this is MY opinion. Different folks see things differently.


Interior design, as with any design, is purely subjective. You might find the design boring, someone else appreciates it and finds it beautiful or even exciting.

LexFather

Again, look at the source ....BMW could have an arrow and a door **** in the car with a black and white T.V and we would be told its better and its heritage and the controls were made by only decedents of kings and queens in China.

Popular Mechanics is pretty unbiased and knows a thing or two about technology. Remote Touch won their technical innovation award.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/4335125.html

As automobiles accumulate more and more advanced electronic functions, how do you control them? Newer systems attempt to access nearly every automotive function with a single-point controller. And every strategy has had drawbacks—except for Lexus’s new Remote Touch.

This haptic system works just like a computer mouse: You guide an arrow on the car’s main screen and click a button at the controller’s base with your thumb to make a selection. It offers subtle but effective force feedback to let the operator know when the cursor has crossed to a different function or onto a virtual button. And you can dial in exactly the amount of feedback you want.

This brilliant system is the solution we’ve been waiting for. Remote Touch is only available on the Lexus HS250h and RX 350.

LexFather

Wow, another jab at Lexus. Then you ask for people to be "unbiased". Facts are Audi and Lexus are seen as the leaders and best in interior design. You might not like it but clearly most and the experts do. BMWs have NEVER been known for interiors, that is not their forte, the driving experience is. Lexus has always been revered for incredible interiors but a less involving driving experience. Every EUROPEAN review raves about the Lexus interiors and the "spec" you get.

Some of you would have us believe that Lexus does nothing good or great and the Germans do everything better.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Sorry, but this whole theory falls apart when you consider the fact that trying to align a mouse cursor with an icon while driving is simply unsafe. Thus Lexus pretty much disables the whole functionality of this controller while the car is in motion, rendering its useless.

The BMW systems is much better. It does have a learning curve and can be confusing, but navigating while the car is in motion isn't too bad. Quick glance at the screen, turn the **** that "clicks" with every time, so you know how many clicks you need till you've scrolled to where you want it. That being said, its still an awful system, I personally much prefer traditional buttons.

Och

iTrader: (3)

LOL, if you make a ridiculous claim that LS460 interior lacks elegance and simplicity, do yourself a favor and don't even bring up the 7 series in the same paragraph.

LexFather

I've said from day one I prefer touch screen, I am not a fan of any "controller". I've tried iDrive/Remote Touch and Remote Touch is easier to figure out. I'm sure over time, you can figure out iDrive. However every single review since that controller has been created has said its pretty ridiculous, short and long term ones. Reviews have said remote touch is very simple and easy to use. Of course on the internetz, some owners will tell us iDrive is perfect while others have stated it is nutty, even with improvements.

That said we have had huge discussions on these controllers, so we all need to move back to talking about the new 5 series. I'll let a few answers in before I ask we all talk about the 5.

DustinV

A jab at Lexus? Oh please. I said IN MY OPINION the LS interior has some deficiencies. That is my opinion. Besides, do you see me attacking the quality anywhere? I criticized the design of the LS cabin. Design is subjective. Period.

Also, Lexus interiors, TO ME, are overrated. They're good, but they're not as "good" as they are made out to be - in my opinion of course. If you ask me most interiors from all the big brands are more or less on the same level. There is no real better than or worse than here. Everything else is purely subjective.



Really? A number of British reviews for example have cited the LS interior to be inferior to that of their German rivals. I seem to even recall a French review which said the same thing.

I won't get into German reviews since I know what you will say about them.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well i am pretty sure people know you are biased toward bmw. idrive (even the new one) better than the lexus system? you have to be one of the first i hear that. i have idrive, and i have used the new idrive a lot too. it's very slow compared to lexus, and it's never easy to use i have to say. the new lexus remote touch system is also better than the idrive in terms of interface, my wife and i both think so. every time we use the idrive system we curse about it (and unfortunately a lot of other bmw owners i know comment the same thing)

DustinV

You heard my SUBJECTIVE OPINION.

I'll say it again for your benefit. The new 7 series interior looks great to me. Simple, elegant and classy. The LS cabin is too busy and complex (futuristic) from a design standpoint.

You might like it, I don't. That's the difference.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, like I said, the I-drive is confusing at first, and does require a learning curve. But once you get the hang of it, its not that bad. But remote touch, while more or less straight forward and easier to comprehend, its still rendered nearly useless since you cant use it while driving. At least remote touch is optional equipment, and thankfully hasn't yet infested most of Lexus models.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

must be one hell of a learning curve, almost a yr and i am still cursing the system. and i consider myself a pretty fast learner, i learned about the remote touch in about 5 seconds.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well thus my statements is that comparing these systems is like comparing STD's.

LexFather

Thank you Henry for the much needed sanity.....

I guess some people like defending their STD?

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Your M3 has the old i-drive & my 07 335 had the very same i-drive. The old interface is no comparison to the new version. Are you sure you've utilized the new interface?? There is absolutley no delay as there was in the old version. You seriously believe that the Lexus system is better in terms of interface??? Alright now.. I need to pull out my Atari 2600 & tout that it is better than a PS3.

CDNROCKIES

You must be high. The new Idrive is light years better than the old system, but in no way better than Remote Touch. It is very similar to Audi's MMI, and much better than MB Command. I have recently used all of these sytems, including the new Idrive and you're way off base. It's an improvement but not industry leading by any stretch of the imagination.

Again, wtf are you talking about? It certainly does have four buttons, five actually if you include the menu button. Pretty much an exact copy of Audi's MMI set up.