Wheels Within Wheels

BMW ties itself into Gordian knots trying to explain their new steering wheel

According to BMWBlog, BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk talked about the new design in a briefing ahead of the i3’s world premiere. The discussion addressed the twin vertical spokes and the ‘elimination’ of the horizontal spokes.

“We began to make the steering wheel smaller and flat on the top and on the bottom. In order to see that display, we needed to open up the sightline.”

A glance at the photo above might make you ask, “Er... what?”

Mounted at the base of the windshield, the panoramic display is viewed *over* the top of the steering wheel, not *through* it. Technically, you could have a solid steering disc and still see everything you need to see.

Now, if you’ve sat in a new Cadillac Escalade IQ, you’ll note their setup is different. They also have a full-width display, but it’s viewed through the steering wheel. But even in that configuration, the horizontal spokes aren’t a problem. Now, if you decided to add a vertical spoke, that would cut right through the driver’s sightline.

Secondly, BMW talks about the “hole” between the “pods” (which hold a variety of real, tactile switches!) and the hub. Really? It’s about the width of a pencil, and most people might not even notice. BMW has come up with a better approach to horizontal spokes but it’s not revolutionary. That gap certainly doesn’t do anything for ergonomics, although it’s a slightly different aesthetic approach.

I haven’t driven the new iX3, but I have sat in it, and so far I’m a fan of this new HMI approach; I have grown to appreciate the benefits of head-up displays, and this takes it a step further (in the right direction). But that steering wheel is not nearly as complicated as BMW is making it out to be...