I do agree, a HUD might do the same trick, though. Especially if it’s a decent one (i don’t know what kind of HUD the X1 has, i’ve seen pretty bad ones though).
It would certainly do all of that for you Rene. The X1’s HUD is fully configurable via iDrive and you can tailor what information you want to see. I will set mine to show my current speed, the speed limit of the road that I am on and turn by turn Sat Nav instructions. Other options include details on the audio source, check control messages, driver assistance systems and a selection list from the instrument cluster. Some of the options will just appear when you need to see them, rather than be there all the time.
HUD systems used by manufacturers such as Ford and VW have a small glass screen that pops up on the top of the dashboard. I don’t like that setup. The BMW system, which is full colour, projects directly onto the windscreen and you can configure the height and rotation to suit your driving position. The brightness also changes automatically dependent upon ambient light conditions etc. The effect is brilliant. It doesn’t look as though the info is on the windscreen, it looks as though it is on the road ahead of you, in your line of sight. With info such as speed and turn by turn instructions, having them projected onto the road ahead of you transforms the driving experience and makes it a whole lot safer. I had never considered HUD as something that I wanted until I drove a couple of BMW’s with it. You Tube videos just don’t do it justice as cameras don’t capture it well and certainly not as the driver see’s it. It won’t be standard on the next generation X1 but will certainly be an option.