BMW’s digital gauge system — dubbed Live Cockpit Professional — is a bit hit and miss. It does look cool and it does offer a bit more configurability than old analog gauges but it’s not as customizable as other digital gauge systems on the market. It can also be a bit confusing to use. So we break down how to use Live Cockpit Professional in this new video.
I still remember when fully digital gauges were a novel thing. Audi really blew the industry standard up, with its outstanding — and groundbreaking at the time — Virtual Cockpit. Prior to that, digital gauges were cumbersome and confusing. Honestly, it still sets the standard today. BMW’s Live Cockpit Professional is okay and it’s not without its merits but it could certainly use some work.
For starters, this video talks about what the Live Cockpit Professional can do. Many BMW customers are just seeing it for the first time in their cars; customers who had older cars with analog gauges and are now trading their cars in for current ones. For those customers, these digital gauges can be a bit overwhelming but they’re more straightforward than many newcomers might think.
There really are only two things that can be customized and neither have a wide array of options. The gauges are essentially split into three sections; a speedometer, a center screen, and a tachometer, from left to right. The center screen has a few different options; a map display (which doesn’t provide and navigation information), a turn-by-turn navigation display, or nothing at all. Inside the tachometer, there’s another small screen, which can display different information. The information displayed can be cycled through, using the “BC” button on the turn-signal stalk.
In this video, we walk you what sort of options you have with Live Cockpit Professional, how to use it, and what it looks like while driving. If you’re new to digital gauges and would like to learn how to use BMW’s, check this video out.
