Mercedes COMAND vs BMW iDrive vs Audi MMI - in-car tech group test
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Date: 2022-04-11
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Comments and reviews: 10
Abraham
as someone who recently traded in a 2015 Audi A6 and currently owns a 2018 BMW 540i and 2017 E400, i can rate these system for potential buyers
Audi MMI: complete garbage. worthless. GPS sometimes takes you to the wrong place. sometimes the whole thing will just restart for no reason. radio lacks basic functionality, for example, it won't show you what's playing on the radio when other cars have no problem doing this. don't bother with voice commands, complete waste of time. i've seen better infotainment systems on Fords, Toyotas, etc.
Benz COMAND: huge step up from a 2013 e class i use to own. huge learning curve, but very functional. unlike other German car makers, if you get the COMAND option (not standard on all cars) you get remote start functionality via android/iphone app and it works from anywhere. super useful in very hot and very cold climates. new models support both android Auto and Apple carplay.
BMW idrive: very intuitive and very functional. only problem is that the screen is very short. it's wide, but short. it really should be 2-3 inches taller. no android auto and no android support at all. zero. you can play audio over bluetooth, but that's about it.
my personal favorite is Mercedes COMAND. supports both android and iphone. the screen is tall, and more useful than BMW's system. and you don't really need to learn to use the infotainment system that much since you can control many aspects of it from your cell phone. you can set GPS destination on the phone, set climate control, etc, before you even get in the car. BMW can do some of things Benz can do, but not all.
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as someone who recently traded in a 2015 Audi A6 and currently owns a 2018 BMW 540i and 2017 E400, i can rate these system for potential buyers
Audi MMI: complete garbage. worthless. GPS sometimes takes you to the wrong place. sometimes the whole thing will just restart for no reason. radio lacks basic functionality, for example, it won't show you what's playing on the radio when other cars have no problem doing this. don't bother with voice commands, complete waste of time. i've seen better infotainment systems on Fords, Toyotas, etc.
Benz COMAND: huge step up from a 2013 e class i use to own. huge learning curve, but very functional. unlike other German car makers, if you get the COMAND option (not standard on all cars) you get remote start functionality via android/iphone app and it works from anywhere. super useful in very hot and very cold climates. new models support both android Auto and Apple carplay.
BMW idrive: very intuitive and very functional. only problem is that the screen is very short. it's wide, but short. it really should be 2-3 inches taller. no android auto and no android support at all. zero. you can play audio over bluetooth, but that's about it.
my personal favorite is Mercedes COMAND. supports both android and iphone. the screen is tall, and more useful than BMW's system. and you don't really need to learn to use the infotainment system that much since you can control many aspects of it from your cell phone. you can set GPS destination on the phone, set climate control, etc, before you even get in the car. BMW can do some of things Benz can do, but not all.
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sammy50001
I have an M4 my wife has a Q7 and I'd take the MMI in that Q7 over the iDrive any day. I don't care for the virtual cockpit but that center screen is gorgeous. The control is so intuitive that I can control it using the wheels without even thinking. That being said, I rarely use the iDrive on the M4 anyway since I prefer driving the car. But when I do it's just a little clunky. As for Merc: I've never owned one before and probably never will until they get rid of those cheap buttons!
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I have an M4 my wife has a Q7 and I'd take the MMI in that Q7 over the iDrive any day. I don't care for the virtual cockpit but that center screen is gorgeous. The control is so intuitive that I can control it using the wheels without even thinking. That being said, I rarely use the iDrive on the M4 anyway since I prefer driving the car. But when I do it's just a little clunky. As for Merc: I've never owned one before and probably never will until they get rid of those cheap buttons!
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bloodwork91
is this real life? you compare a googel earth nav view with a regular navmap and claim the screen of the bmw is sharper? OFC its charper if you only see 3 colors. HAHA. I always drove a bmw, but I switched to an audi just because its infotainment system is by far the best looking, easiest to use and most practical. Noone cares about an increased loadingtime of 3 seconds if you get such a great looking virtual cockpit.
I am by no means an audi fanboy, but I prefer their system.
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is this real life? you compare a googel earth nav view with a regular navmap and claim the screen of the bmw is sharper? OFC its charper if you only see 3 colors. HAHA. I always drove a bmw, but I switched to an audi just because its infotainment system is by far the best looking, easiest to use and most practical. Noone cares about an increased loadingtime of 3 seconds if you get such a great looking virtual cockpit.
I am by no means an audi fanboy, but I prefer their system.
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Rob
Since I've got a 17 plate Mercedes E Class, and a 67 plate Audi A4, and a older 64 plate Audi Q5, I can say that between the two, the Audi's system is 10x better than the Merc's system, even the 2014 Audi's system is quicker and easier to use than the 2017 Mercedes. The Mercedes system is really hard to use while driving, and the Nav in the Mercedes is rubbish, you are better off using the Maps on your phone. The Audi's system is much better, smoother and best too look at.
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Since I've got a 17 plate Mercedes E Class, and a 67 plate Audi A4, and a older 64 plate Audi Q5, I can say that between the two, the Audi's system is 10x better than the Merc's system, even the 2014 Audi's system is quicker and easier to use than the 2017 Mercedes. The Mercedes system is really hard to use while driving, and the Nav in the Mercedes is rubbish, you are better off using the Maps on your phone. The Audi's system is much better, smoother and best too look at.
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cmonn
Its the Audi with the best technology in car world, their moto is Vorsprung durch Technik which mean Advance though technology. you could not compare Q5 to these vehicles, even though its oldest its still the best because of virtual cockpit. Mercedes is awful here, BMW is definently better comparing these 2, but overall BMW wont ever win over Mercedes its the King. but Audi is number 1 ofcourse.
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Its the Audi with the best technology in car world, their moto is Vorsprung durch Technik which mean Advance though technology. you could not compare Q5 to these vehicles, even though its oldest its still the best because of virtual cockpit. Mercedes is awful here, BMW is definently better comparing these 2, but overall BMW wont ever win over Mercedes its the King. but Audi is number 1 ofcourse.
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Oz
I wish BMW would offer something like Audi's virtual cockpit, or even android auto. Although I will say the the f30 Idrive system is amazing and easy to use, while the Audi and Mercedes look a bit cramped. Would love to compare it to the g20 Idrive to see whats new and improved. (Although I don't believe it even comes close to Audi's Virtual cockpit. That's pretty damn awesome)
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I wish BMW would offer something like Audi's virtual cockpit, or even android auto. Although I will say the the f30 Idrive system is amazing and easy to use, while the Audi and Mercedes look a bit cramped. Would love to compare it to the g20 Idrive to see whats new and improved. (Although I don't believe it even comes close to Audi's Virtual cockpit. That's pretty damn awesome)
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Joseph
I like that BMW has no silver trim around its display. I also like that the BMW contours its screen a bit to flow with the interior design. Benz's instrument cluster looks awful with a rectangle screen inside a rectangle screen. At least BMW hides the edges of the screen with three-dimensional instrument cluster borders.
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I like that BMW has no silver trim around its display. I also like that the BMW contours its screen a bit to flow with the interior design. Benz's instrument cluster looks awful with a rectangle screen inside a rectangle screen. At least BMW hides the edges of the screen with three-dimensional instrument cluster borders.
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CoreFreddy
I guess Brits (as well as Japanese, Australians, Indians, South Africans) need to use the control devices by their left hands. Wow, that must be more difficult. Considering the prevalence of right handed people in the population - it is rather bad for majority of people there.
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I guess Brits (as well as Japanese, Australians, Indians, South Africans) need to use the control devices by their left hands. Wow, that must be more difficult. Considering the prevalence of right handed people in the population - it is rather bad for majority of people there.
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Dennis
If you've used them all you'll see how easy the BMW is to use plus crystal clear graphics and to drive around and use all day is amazing. I've used them all and BMW is the most option and use friendly. Some gimic features like the gesture control but man is it nice to use all day
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If you've used them all you'll see how easy the BMW is to use plus crystal clear graphics and to drive around and use all day is amazing. I've used them all and BMW is the most option and use friendly. Some gimic features like the gesture control but man is it nice to use all day
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Emmanuel
Not really a fair test here is it? In most Audi cars you can get all them kits as in the Q5, whereas in most BMW and Mercedes you can-t, well not until recently. as in 2018. Audi been doing the virtual cockpit since about 2-3 years ago.
IMO:
Audi
BMW
Mercedes
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Not really a fair test here is it? In most Audi cars you can get all them kits as in the Q5, whereas in most BMW and Mercedes you can-t, well not until recently. as in 2018. Audi been doing the virtual cockpit since about 2-3 years ago.
IMO:
Audi
BMW
Mercedes
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