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Written by JST
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Monday, 11 February 2002 |
So I went down to the dealership the other day to pick up some random
parts, and noticed that there were about half-a-dozen 745s on the lot.
As I reported before, I am emphatically *not* one of the people who
believe that the car looks better in person. If anything, its distended
bulges are more disturbing in 3D than they are on the printed page.
But this was the first time that I had a chance to sit in the car. I
didn't have the key, so I couldn't play with the iDrive, but I did get
a good sense of the "ergonomics" of the machine (using that term very
loosely here).
For those who have not had the displeasure of sitting in a 745, let me
try an paint a mental picture for you. First, imagine a 1988 Pontiac
6000 STE. Now, let's turn George Barris loose, but let's make sure that
he's only been able to read a steady diet of Swedish furniture
magazines for about 6 months. Let's also give him a TV monitor that he
has to stick into the dashboard, but emphasize that he doesn't have to
integrate it at all--a hooded enclosure, like something from the
Batmobile, is perfectly fine.
The resultant horror is almost too unbelievable to accept. The dash
retains the basic 80s GM sensibility, with a long, vertical line
separating the top and bottom halfs, and eliminating completely any
feeling of driver orientation or cockpit feel. The colors and materials
are trendy in a cheap kind of way, like something from IKEA, except
that you paid 70K for this furniture. The iDrive monitor protrudes from
the center of the dash like an afterthought, managing to be both
irritatingly in the driver's line of sight and at the same time
requiring a head-turn to clearly focus on it.
In short, the E65 has an interior worthy both of its exterior and of
its illustrious designer. Unfortunately, the one feature I was unable
to locate was the one that I needed the most: an airsickness bag.
Originally posted on bimmerfest.com.
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