Ouch. Jeremy Clarkson does not like the BMW X1.

Has he ever uttered a word on the Yeti?

Who knows? Who cares? He's a kind of stand-up comedian with no real insight into everyday cars whatsoever.

But good luck to him - wish I had been able to con some clueless Sunday editor into giving me big bucks for churning out endless formulaic twaddle, often only very loosely connected to cars. Have a good laugh if his PC program (which presumably writes his column for him) accidentally generates an amusing combination of words, but please don't give his views on cars any credence - they're honestly not worth it.

Oh I agree with you there. Half that article was just preambles to the actual car. But even though he knows little about real cars on this X1 heis really not far off the mark!

Who knows? Who cares? He's a kind of stand-up comedian with no real insight into everyday cars whatsoever.

But good luck to him - wish I had been able to con some clueless Sunday editor into giving me big bucks for churning out endless formulaic twaddle, often only very loosely connected to cars. Have a good laugh if his PC program (which presumably writes his column for him) accidentally generates an amusing combination of words, but please don't give his views on cars any credence - they're honestly not worth it.

Although I do find Clarkson occasionally amusing, my overall impression is of an 8 year old child who's found that they can attract attention by shouting rude words.

As a journalist he's a one-trick pony; give me Will Self any day.

If nothing that car looks unbelievably ugly ...... No matter the toys and the ride and the engine I wouldn't want one of them.Jeremy liked the Roomster and Octavia Scout.IMO that's what makes him a great presenter,if a car has got a 100 negatives and just 1 positives he mentions everything unlike most other presenters who hide the negative aspects the cars have.IMO James May and Jeremy Clarskon are the best car show presenters I've ever seen.Even if you have no interest whatsoever in cars you'll watch the programme.Just compare fifth gear and top gear.There is no comparison at all ....

Like what he says about the 135...our 'other' car, he's right about that - a real gem. Nice rear drive with LOTS of power!! I love ours, its great for blasting between petrol stations!

The X1 is absolutely atrocious, have you seen them on the road.....they look dreadful and the interior is cheaper than a cheap thing! The BMW 2.0d engine is very very good though.

Edited 29 April, 201016 yr by octy888

X1 - yet another 'Emperor's New Clothes' car from BMW.

Just came accross this thread while searching for Octavia Scout... apologies for resucitating it

First of all, I wouldn't trust JCs reviews one bit. If it's not a petrol car, he dismisses it entirely

Now, onto the X1. Looks are a very personal thing, and personally, I think it looks much much better than the Yeti. Sure, the front end is a little out there, and the bonnet is a tad too long, but the Yeti is just not my cup of tea. As I say, a very personal thing

I have actually test driven the X1 2.0 with xDrive, and had the opportunity of putting it through its paces in an obstacle course. For some reason, they had a big marketing thing going on when we went to a ski resort in Spain earlier this year.

The model we tried on the open road was a 170bhp version. The engine didn't sound rough, but that's probably because it was warmed up already. It actually felt very petrol like, for a diesel. It revved nicely. However, it did not feel like a 170bhp box. I don't know if that's because it's a heavy car, or because the high altitude up in the mountains meant less oxygen available for the engine (we were up to 2800m). However, I was rather dissapointed with the performance.

The car itself felt very comfortable, the other half loved the interior, but it certainly felt a small step down in terms of quality from other BMWs (I have never owned a BMW though, but have seen a few).

Over in the obstacle course, where we switched to an automatic (apparently ppl kept stalling the manual), the car did its thing very well. Obviously, the obstacle course is prepared specifically for the car so it doesn't get into trouble. The 4wheel drive system is completely electronic, unlike Haldex. It does seem like a superior system to haldex.

Based on my test drives, here is what I thought of the car: plenty of badge kudos, wife loved it, drives well.

But: Unnecessarily long bonnet makes it less practical, battery is under the boot floor, helps with weight distribution but just makes the boot smaller, nice interior, but not as luxurious as you'd expect from a bimmer, low ground clearance (less than Yeti I believe). I don't trust BMW electrics, and given the xDrive system is all electronic makes me nervous. And very pricey for what you get

Sorry BMW, Octavia Scout is still at the top of my list. Sure the added interior luxury would be nice, and the wife would be much happier with the badge, and may be it drives better. But with higher ground clearance, much larger boot, proven better reliability and a much lower price tag, it's got to be the Octavia Scout for us.

Now come on Skoda, give us a DSG Octavia Scout with a CR engine, 170bhp while you are at it, and don't forget a panoramic sun roof

Now come on Skoda, give us a DSG Octavia Scout with a CR engine, 170bhp while you are at it, and don't forget a panoramic sun roof

But they already make it! It is called a Yeti!

I love the Octavia Scout. Really lovely looking car, but I love huge big sunroofs and that postage stamp they call a sunroof on the Octavia just ruled it out for me.

But they already make it! It is called a Yeti!

I love the Octavia Scout. Really lovely looking car, but I love huge big sunroofs and that postage stamp they call a sunroof on the Octavia just ruled it out for me.

Indeed, although I cannot get the Yeti. I don't like its looks too much, but I can live with it. The wife used her veto card though, no Yeti allowed.

Also, you can almost fit an entire Yeti in the boot of an Octavia Scout :rofl: We are the outdoorsy types, and need all the room for our kit: camping gear, bikes, dog, kiteboarding stuff, European trips with luggage and snowboards/bikes/camping...

Honestly, the only reason we aren't looking at a van is because we wouldn't have 4x4, and the wife used her other veto card on that one. The alternative at the moment is a Hyundai Santa Fe, which has a humongous boot. But there's no brihyundai.net

Now, onto the X1. Looks are a very personal thing, and personally, I think it looks much much better than the Yeti. Sure, the front end is a little out there, and the bonnet is a tad too long, but the Yeti is just not my cup of tea. As I say, a very personal thing

You're right there! Personally, I really like the look of the Yeti (if I didn't, I wouldn't have bought one, period) and think the X1 looks positively awful. One man's pie is always going to be another man's poison.

The BMW's xDrive system is also multi-plate clutch, which in principal is very similar to the Haldex on Yeti.

As per ground clearance surprisingly X1 is 195mm. yeti is 180mm.