no quattro

My wife is ready to trade her 2001 A4 avant for a 2011. I notice different entertainment options in the pictures I've seen online. A few cars have a **** and buttons down by the gear shift. Is this the MMI system? Is it worth getting that system? My wife wants navigation and bluetooth; are these available w/o the upgraded system?
The car we like so far has the ****, but we can keep looking if the consensus is negative. We have avoided BMW ever since they put I-drive on everything, and the car magazines generally felt it was an overly complicated system.
I'd like to hear from those with and those w/o the MMI to see if there is envy vs buyer's remorse.

audi8k

Navigation is the deciding factor to get the controls behind the gear lever (and the "real MMI").
I believe that a 2011 will have the "3G" generation. I have had the "2G" and now the "3G+" (with voice control). Based on that I'll say that it works well. What direction the control wheel should turn for moving Up/Down a list can be of personal opinion but is not a problem after a little usage.

fireguy40

We have the MMI on our 2010 B8 and love it. We use the nav feature often, rely on the b/u cam and sensors, and what makes the whole system great is that it's very intuitive. The location of the controls on the centre console make it easy to use while driving (i.e. no reaching to the dash).

It's high tech stuff so expect a few bugs now and then.

Overall, I'd give it an A rating.