Between mom and kid, i'd pay dearly for "ejection seat" functionality within iDrive.

I've never been a big fan (no pun intended) of having cold or heat blasted on me until an inside temp is acquired. Yes, it gets hot here so I will crank it if it's been parked outside in the sun for a long time. But in the Winter here the heated seats are just fine no need to blast heat on top of that. In my '01 X5 I had the A/C at 81 degrees and most passengers were amazed that it did actually feel cold. And in the Winter I set it at 71.

Different strokes, different folks. If we were all the same, and all liked the same things....it would be a boring world :beerchug:

Seriously!!! I'd pay top dollar, and then a premium for this function. What would be nice as well, is an option that muzzles and then shrink wraps Moms and Kids, the minute they sit in the car! That would be sweeeeet!! ;)

I have a '08 and I can never understand how the HVAC system works. I can set the temperature through the two knobs in the center console but the iDrive's Climate system also allows me to control the red and blue bars up and down. It's confusing.

"that muzzles and then shrink wraps Moms and Kids"....now that's funny....hell, i'd fork over the cash and have a family room full of BMW Comfort/Sport Seats for funiture if that feature were offered!

Simple. The temp is the overall cabin temp for the driver and/or passenger. Whereas the iDrive setting for the red and blue bars controls the relative temp of the center vent. This takes some "auto" away from the system but is a nice feature.

Suppose you want A/C but hate cold air blowing on your face. Simple, adjust the vent a bit warmer. Although this does inhibit a fast cool down.
Or suppose its a cold late night. You need the heater on but the warmth makes you sleepy. Simple. Cool down the center vent to help keep you awake.

Has this replaced the center temperature scroll wheel in the E70? It's great to be able to control that vent independently. I leave mine on cool even in the winter -- keeps the feet & legs nice and warm without sending your upper body into hot flashes. Been a great feature of BMW's forever -- as far back as I can remember.

Yes, but it was made even more complicated. Now it varies the offset temperature for that centre vent, as well as the fan speed of that vent.

But it's not only the center vents' temperature that changes. It also controls the footwell, windshield and the side windows. And they comprise most of the vents in the vehicle.
Also changing the air distribution bar shown in 1st pic, if I remember correctly, turns off the Auto climate control, and turns on button number 7 and 14 as shown in 2nd pic.