The New BMW Maps Will Make You Feel You’re In A Video Game

We can all agree that automakers keep making their cars feel more like rolling computers. Case in point, the latest evolution of BMW Maps looks like it came straight out of a video game. More specifically, it might remind you of the top-down view from the original Grand Theft Auto games. If you played GTA1 or GTA2 back in the day, you’ll probably recognize the idea of seeing the car, the roads, and the surrounding traffic represented from above. Starting next month, the Munich-based company will bring a much more sophisticated version of that concept to its cars.

The new feature will arrive on models equipped with iDrive X, so think iX3, i3, X5/iX5, and the 7 Series/i7. Debuting in the following weeks, the next-gen 3 Series is also getting the latest infotainment tech. The same will hold true for the iX4, which should break cover before the end of the year. The latest BMW Maps brings navigation, the vehicle’s surroundings, and driver assistance information together on the central display. Instead of showing a conventional map separately from driver assistance information, it visualizes the car, the road, and surrounding traffic in one 3D environment.

As you can tell, the car appears precisely within its lane and at the correct road level. That should make the system easier to understand when driving on multilane highways, approaching intersections, or navigating busy city streets. The display also shows how the vehicle perceives its surroundings and which driver-assistance functions are currently helping.

BMW Isn’t Playing Games

That sounds a lot like the HUD you’d expect to see in a racing game, except BMW wants drivers to use it for something considerably more serious than chasing lap times. By combining the navigation route with what the car’s sensors see around it, the system provides a clearer picture of what the vehicle is doing and why.

The new BMW Maps experience should be particularly useful when the car takes over more of the driving. The latest Highway Assistant enables hands-free driving on highways at speeds of up to 81 mph (130 km/h). It handles both steering and acceleration/braking and can perform automated lane changes after the driver confirms the maneuver with a glance. When route guidance is on, the system can support the driver from the highway entrance to the exit.

BMW isn’t stopping at highways, either. Starting in 2027, models equipped with iDrive X will begin receiving navigation-guided semi-automated driving in urban areas, initially in Germany. That makes the new 3D display more than a fancy way to show directions. It’s intended to provide a visual link between where the navigation system wants the car to go and what the driver assistance technology is actually doing.

The German luxury brand developed the integrated system in-house, while Mapbox supplies the navigation data and mapping technology. The software combines map information with data from the vehicle’s sensors and artificial intelligence to create the 3D representation.

BMW: The Ultimate Digital Machine?

BMW has been moving toward increasingly detailed visualizations for years, including three-dimensional representations of the vehicle and surrounding traffic in its driver assistance systems. This latest system takes that idea considerably further by putting navigation and assistance information into the same visual environment. It also makes the most of the new iDrive X with its massive 17.9-inch center screen dominating the dashboard.

If the interface gives you a little GTA1 or GTA2 nostalgia, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those early games gave players a simple bird’s-eye view of the world, with the vehicle moving through a digital representation of the streets. BMW is essentially doing the same thing with vastly more sophisticated technology, adding real-time sensor data, navigation, and driver assistance to the mix.

Whether you’ll find the new BMW Maps interface genuinely useful or just another example of automakers making screens increasingly elaborate remains to be seen. Still, there’s something undeniably cool about seeing your car rendered in 3D, surrounded by the road and other vehicles, while navigation and driver assistance work together in real time.

Just don’t expect a “Game Over” screen when you miss your exit.