Oh, the iDrive knob. BMW‘s dial was an innovative attempt at improving ease of control for all the new conveniences cars began to offer about 25 years ago. But it’s been steeped in so much discourse over that time that I honestly don’t know where people stand on it anymore. What will be its legacy? Was it hated, loved, or just apologized for? These are questions we’re free to ponder now because, as of today, the iDrive dial is dead, and the 2026 BMW iX3 paves the way for what’s to follow: Plenty of steering wheel controls and a really big screen.
The iX3 is truly one of the most important new car announcements of the year. I’m racking my brain trying to think of a BMW model in my lifetime that measures up, as far as inflection points for design and engineering go. Maybe it was that first Bangle-butt 7 Series, that introduced iDrive. In any case, the iX3 and indeed all forthcoming Neue Klasse vehicles will incorporate some flavor of BMW’s new Operating System X. And the way this software is meant to be used, you’d be keeping your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road—mostly.
When you do have to briefly avert your gaze, it shouldn’t have to travel very far. The iX3’s 43-inch-wide pillar-to-pillar display just below the windshield is directly linked to the controls on the SUV’s funky, concept car-looking steering wheel. Fun fact: It’s not a screen in the traditional sense, but rather a printed black surface that content is projected onto. Neat!
The wheel controls are indeed haptic—we’ll get to that—and the keys right of center pertain to things like volume, playback, and phone calls. That side also has an outlined directional pad, which is what the driver will press to cycle through different collections of widgets—one for navigation, trip data, and performance metrics. There’s also, of course, a Personal page with six configurable slots for widgets, which is customized through the central infotainment touchscreen.
The other side of the wheel contains all your cruise control and ADAS functions, and as far as orientation goes, it’s completely unique from the right. Keys will only light up on the wheel when the functions they are linked to can be used, in an attempt to declutter things.
As for the lack of true physical buttons on the wheel, yeah, I’m not enthused about it either. At least the surface your thumbs will be pressing on isn’t totally flat. Little ridges and divots are there to give you an idea of where keys lie without actually looking at them. BMW does mention haptic feedback in relation to the wheel controls, so perhaps areas of the panels will give you some kind of kick as you move your thumbs about. Confirmation feedback is good, but it’s the hunting for buttons before confirmation that’s often the annoying aspect of dealing with capacitive keys. Hopefully, BMW has done something to aid that.
Unsurprisingly, BMW’s also encouraging owners to interact with their vehicles through voice commands, which the automaker promises will be friction-free and natural due to the use of a large language model.
That voice system better be good, to pick up the slack where the steering wheel buttons fail. Especially since, surveying the rest of the iX3’s cabin, there aren’t really any other buttons to speak of. Climate controls are all relegated to the infotainment display, including positioning of the vents. There’s a rocker for shifting and a scroll wheel for volume controls next to it, which will probably only ever be used by the front passenger. That’s really it.
So, goodbye iDrive knob. You served your purpose. Whether well or poorly, that’s history’s role to decide. But hey—if this whole Panoramic iDrive thing proves to be a pain, I’m sure there will be devotees pining for your return.
