Well, you are apparently talking about the new version of iDrive, which most people consider vastly improved over the original. The bad automotive press was mainly on the original version, which I did not like either.


Here's Car and Driver's take on the the new iDrive:

"Furthermore, the 7-series’ most controversial piece of technology, iDrive, with its multifunctional central control knob that has been copied to varying degrees by Mercedes, Audi, and Honda, has been completely revamped and rethought. In fact, continuing to call it iDrive is almost an insult to the new system’s vastly improved menu structure and control strategy. There’s no more convoluted nudging of the iDrive knob in one of eight directions to choose a submenu; now you simply scroll through a straightforward list and click the knob to select it. Nudging the knob to the left always takes you back one menu. Also, there are a number of shortcut buttons around the knob’s periphery to ease the learning process, and the climate controls have been removed from iDrive’s clutches altogether and are now more easily operated by buttons and knobs on the dash.Has all of our complaining finally paid off? We’re cautiously optimistic that BMW understands that complexity does not necessarily equate with sophistication."