Mr. M

I didn't try these systems per se - though when I went for test-drives with my dad in the 7 Series, A8, Phaeton and Jaguar (the three cars under our consideration for the on-board computer) - he used it and I watched how the menus worked.

The i-Drive is admittedly complex. My dad had a hard time concentrating on driving as he adjusted settings and fiddled with the i-Drive to change even the simplest of settings. The plus side is that there are much less buttons on the dash, and once you get used to i-Drive, it should be working fine for the individual.

The MMI system is less fanciful, far less colours to attract your attention and hence less tendency to distract the driver. The layout is a little confusing, and the menus aren't very high-resolution, but it gets the job done better than i-Drive. This system is less complex than i-Drive - and far less stressing to operate.

The Phaeton's screen is laden with buttons on its sides to operate what's actually inside the screen. You might think this defeats the purpose of putting a computer screen there - isn't it used to remove the complexities of buttons and knobs all around? But for the Phaeton, I've used it personally and I find it a cinch to use because complex controls like the air-conditioning and radio have knobs and buttons outside of the onboard computer. You could adjust those using the computer if you want to, but it may take longer. Which brings me to the shortfall of this - the computer just acts as a alternative place to adjust your settings, and does not really serve any real purpose for ergromics, just maybe perhaps for the 'cool' factor.

The Jaguar system was a little wierd, because I didn't remember needing to use it throughout our whole journey! Probably shows how irrelevant the system is to daily driving conditions.

We also tried the W220's COMAND system and it is rather intuitive as well. Across all our test cars the W220 was the only one with a built-in DVD function (meaning you don't have to pay extra for this function). The LS430 didn't even have any remote indication of a computer system

I hope this contributes something.

MoSs AMG

the Touch screen is cool , but not when ur driving ...
i voted the i-drive ,,, its easy ,and comfortable .

BMW_Dude

Well, I voyed for it, and I have used it!!

Just_me

But I don think you used it for a long time to be able to vote on which system is the best?

Centurion

I haven't used either of these systems and therefor I can't really vote.

BMW_Dude

I was voting on how easy the systems were to use, for the first time for 5 minutes!

The Artist

Okay... ive tried all.. the Command is superior.. no doubt..but isnt it suppose to be..its the latest..

Centurion

I'm going to pay a visit to Hedins and spend som time in the new S. I really want to check the car out.

mrnet_01

Actually I have tried three of those system the MMI, I-drive and the Command III. And if I am going to put them in an order it will be like this:
1) Command III which is the most user-friendly and an easy system to use.
2) MMI which is the easiest ( no body even taught me how to use it!)
3) I-drive 2 (I have tried the one found in the 6sr) and it was really complicated.

Maserati

mrnet_01: welcome aboard in this great forum .. ur the latest member who registered in GCA.com when that forum was really dead in the last couple of days ..

welcome again