This is a big moment, folks: BMW has revealed its all-new iDrive infotainment system at CES in Las Vegas, and it represents a complete rethink on how to weave tech into a car. Starting from scratch; a clean slate; hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del on the past. Buckle up, because sacrifices have been made.

The rotary controller – first seen on the 7 Series in 2001 – is gone. BMW says usage was down, so they’ve canned it. More radically, the instrument cluster’s been binned off too. Yep, a la Tesla.

Instead, BMW has come up with Panoramic Vision; that full width panel you can see running along the entirety of the windshield above. It is not a screen, but one long head-up display that sticks driving info – speed, range, battery level… that sort of thing – in the driver’s line of sight and still has room for six more customisable widgets along the rest of it.

You also get the option of a more conventional 3D HUD for automated driving info and navigation. All in the name of keeping your “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road”, says BMW.

Ah, the wheel… it’s festooned with haptic thingymabobs. Uh oh. Functions light up when available and go out when not (BMW calls it ‘shy tech’), and the phone symbol glows green when you get a call. Hmm. The day we can turn left without engaging Classic FM by accident is the day we’ll be convinced.

Finally, there’s the matrix backlit touchscreen. It’s slanted and nestled up closer to the wheel to make it easier for the driver to reach. The menu structure has been updated, and customisation is the name of the game here too. Look! You can even make the family pooch your background picture.

Worryingly, the temperature controls sit permanently on the touchscreen. Is there a danger of iDrive becoming a digital hellscape? It’s all about finding a balance, BMW reckons. “We believe absolutely in the power of buttons,” Joern Freyer, BMW’s VP of user experience, told TG at a special preview event in Spartanburg back in November. “To make that super clear. So we really went through – button by button – where is a button the best interface?”

So the windscreen heater gets a button, because you might want to use it with gloves on. And physical controls survive for the gear shifter, mirror adjustment and volume too. Phew.

The screen runs BMW’s new Operating System X software (developed in-house), which goes big on third party apps: you can download more than 60 of ‘em, with Zoom coming at a later date. Don’t worry, CarPlay will still work.

Meanwhile BMW expects more use of voice control, so its Intelligent Personal Assistant is based on Amazon’s Alexa. When the Neue Klasse cars start arriving later this year, BMW says it’ll allow more extensive navigation commands. How well it deals with a thick regional accent remains to be seen. 

Oh, and the IPA has other tricks up its sleeve. It’ll suggest Sport mode on suitable roads, and, er, learn to not be so nosy if that’s the kind of prompt you tend to ignore. Personal mode will let you choose your favourite settings for the throttle response and steering sensitivity.

Naturally, there’s a fancy new soundscape – called HypersonX – to go with all this. All told, there’s 43 sound signals designed to create an ‘emotional interaction’ between you and the car. Moving on…

Panoramic iDrive and OS X will be fitted to every new BMW from the end of 2025, starting with the Neue Klasse iX3 replacement and de facto electric 3 Series. Is BMW on the right track, or has it overdone it with the digital stuff?