A BMW X3 driver boldly declares the design choices are simply terrible.
BMW has built vehicles with the goal of being the ultimate driving machine. This legacy has been well earned over the years with countless innovations and high-end luxury cars. However, the BMW X3 doesn’t satisfy this man, who recently got one as a loaner.
In a TikTok that’s generated over 6,300 views as of this writing, Doc John (@lonesomedoveles) explains how BMW has “lost the plot” with its recent design decisions.
Are These BMW X3 Design Choices Counterintuitive?
“Boy, let me show some of these design choices that were made in this car that are making me scratch my head,” Doc John begins in his video.
First, he questions the infotainment screen, wondering why there is no colon between the hour and minutes on the clock. Then, he sees the system is displaying weather data for a “saved location,” but it doesn’t tell him what that location is, so it’s unhelpful. He also mentions that the car is set up for satellite radio, but an unappealing Apple CarPlay pairing connection message always comes up instead.
Doc John then moves over to the driver's dashboard. He criticises the car’s temperature gauge for being confusing, as one side lists the engine’s temperature while the other side shows the outside temperature. There’s only one number value, and it is difficult to figure out which temperature it’s for.
Doc John then roasts the trapezoidal design for the speed gauge.
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“Someone likes their alternative shapes, which is fine, but it’s kinda stupid,” he shares.
Doc John then moves over to the instrument controls, where there are sliders for controlling the A/C vents. Instead of using icons to indicate the airflow level, BMW decided to use the numbers zero and one.
“Keeping with the computer theme that makes no sense for a car, you have a zero and one with five options to select,” he says. Despite there being five options, there are no marks on the slider to indicate each level.
He then reveals that this slider only controls one vent, and changing the A/C controls for the entire car is more complex. The temperature setting for the entire car is controlled by a button on the infotainment center. Meanwhile, if one wants to change how the air flows, they have to click a button on the other side of the screen. Doc John tests this button by clicking and attempting to turn off the “Auto” fan function for the whole car, but it doesn’t work.
“It’s so confusing. Like, I have no idea how to work the controls,” he says.
Doc John reiterates that the car feels like a computer and is “the exact opposite of intuitive.”
He then complains about the plastic shifters, saying they look cheap and no one will ever use them. Finally, he mentions the panel buttons on the center console. When pressing an individual button, the entire panel goes down, prompting Doc John to declare they weren’t buttons at all.
“I honestly have no idea what’s going on with them. … I will not be purchasing any new BMWs until they learn to get back to their roots, which is a great driving machine. ‘Cause this is a crappy driving machine that looks and acts more like a computer than a car you want to drive,” Doc John concludes.
Gallery: BMW X3 2025
Commenters Chime In
Viewers went to the comments section to share their desire for physical buttons.
“99% of people want physical buttons for commonly used features (hvac controls, volume,etc. Many companies are finally going back to this,” one TikTok commenter said.
“Car companies need to get back to making cars and stop building phones with wheels,” another replied.
Others agreed with Doc John on how bad the BMW X3 design is.
“The new instrument cluster you showed is a disaster,” one commented.
“That looks painful to use,” another agreed.
“The individual fan controls are so unnecessary and weird. Thankfully the public at large is starting to bully companies into [bringing] back buttons instead of the sea of touch buttons that don’t need to be,” a third commented.
Physical Buttons Are Making a Comeback
The tablet trend in cars is dying, which means manufacturers are actually starting to listen to customers.
“The data shows us the physical buttons are better, and that’s why we put them back in,” Mercedes-Benz recently told Autocar.
In addition to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen is beginning to reintegrate buttons into its designs.
Meanwhile, Hyundai stuck with buttons instead of swapping out for screens, and it paid off. The company believes huge infotainment screens are a distraction, which is why it pledges to keep physical buttons, even when the car has a futurist design.
Motor1 has contacted Doc John via TikTok direct message. It contacted BMW via press contact form. The story will be updated if either party replies.
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