BMW X1

Similar in many ways to the 3 series tourer, but slightly smaller, the X1 model is clearly taller and suggests a four wheel drive family trait, but this particular model is an entirely on road two wheel drive car, finished in metallic silver with S line trim on its exterior and a rather nice, sumptuous black leather in its interior.

My car had heated leather seats which are really comfortable and cosseting, if rather awkward to get just right.  One lever adjusts for height using a pump action, and one adjusts the backrest. It’s quite tricky to get it perfect, but once it’s near enough, I left it well alone.  There would only be me driving it, so no problem.  Next, adjust the steering and as the car was quite new, it was very stiff. No doubt this will loosen over time.

The whole of the interior of the BMW was no surprise, utilising good quality materials and an air of durability and solidity that the Germans are famous for. Matched with the grey leather seats were brown or rather fake wood/plastic trim in the door cards and across the dash and gearbox housing.

The interior layout of the driver’s area is fairly simplistic; one control to control heating towards the driver and one for the whole car. The audio is similar in that one controls the volume and the other, the main settings, including whether it’s used as an mp3 player or CD. Who uses CD’s anymore ?

Beneath the main controls are a USB socket to enable charging of your phone whilst on the move, or to play some form of digital media and a 12v socket, formerly a cigarette lighter but now increasingly used as a power point.

The steering wheel is no surprise, covered in buttons for the audio and in car phone preparation, as well as offering the capability to change the information on the instrument panel, to read mpg or miles until empty etc. Beneath is a separate cruise control function.  It’s easy to operate, but I would have preferred it as part of the steering wheel cluster for ease of use.

The passenger compartment is generous and also features a height adjustable seat with adjustable backrest identical to the driver’s seat. My car seemed unwilling to lower for my front seat passenger but with some persuasion and encouragement, it finally did. That’s probably down to it being new too.

The rear bench is a three seater with plenty of head height and foot space for three to sit comfortably across it.  All have their own individual belt and with my seat set for me, there appeared to be plenty of room behind for rear seat passengers.

The bootspace, like the driving position is quite high off the ground and requires a degree of extra effort to load up, but beyond the initial load lip, the floor is billiard table flat. It’s quite constrained by the large wheel arches resulting in an irregular shape and for those who need to know,  it has 1350 litres of boot space. 

Unmistaken for anything other than a BMW, with its kidney grille at the front and rising waistline drawing observers eye to the rear of the vehicle, the S Line has a chrome detail along the bottom of the doors as well as being loaded with optional extras such as heated seats, driver comfort package, sports leather steering wheel and 18” alloy wheels, electrically folding mirrors and also front and rear parking sensors.

It’s a very nice car to look at but if I’m honest, I prefer the 3 series touring which has less bulk. The downside is that it’s longer – the X1 is 4454mm and the 3 series touring is 4624mm.

So how does it get down the road ? The test car was the two wheel drive derivative of the 2.0 diesel mated to a six speed automatic gearbox that could either be left in “D” or manipulated using the steering wheel paddles. I chose to leave it in D and “waft” along, with the heated seats switched to medium, as it’s a while off summer, yet. For those wanting full fat four wheel drive, that can also be ordered but is typically more expensive.

A trait of BMW is to have electrically assisted power steering which makes for an usual experience at first as it’s rather heavy, but it does lighten up and gives a modest amount of feel back through the wheel. The combination of the engine and gearbox is excellent, resulting in a national speed limit being reached more rapidly than I had expected, together with a lack of hum from the engine which is all good.

The car is rather high sided so there’s no hint of sports car handling and I did note some leaning into the corners, but I chose to settle back and simply enjoy the drive, rather than rushing from A-B. The brakes are responsive and have little travel, nor is there much effort needed from the driver to keep the progress maintained. Simply engage cruise control and add the occasional steering input to keep the car in a straight line and there you have it.

Parking is very easy with the addition of front and rear parking sensors, together with a passenger door mirror that moves to show the kerb when reverse has been engaged. Visibility out of the rear is good, mainly due to the amount of glass and elevated driving position, and a commanding driving position at the front, whilst still retaining its car like attitude during manoeuvres.  It also has stop start technology which is reputed to save fuel. I’m not keen on this type of equipment and switched it off. It probably does, but obviously I couldn’t tell.

The car arrived with a quarter of a tank of fuel and that disappeared rapidly ! Official figures suggest you can expect anywhere between 36 and 62 mpg and the second fill of fuel is also disappearing.  I expect to be completing around 250 miles this week so I’ll be interested in seeing how long it lasts, and whether those quoted figures are fact, or indeed, fiction. Maybe that stop start system would have been a good idea…

Convinced ? Going to rush out and order one ?  You can expect to pay between £24,230 and £35,100 as a retail customer and if you’re in the market for a large five door hatch but can’t quite afford the much larger and more ubiquitous BMW X5, then the X1 might be the one for you. I liked its styling, the driving position and as a result of the options fitted, the ease with which it could be parked and manoeuvred. but in reality I'd order a 3 series Touring if I was spending that kind of brass.

That old adage of “you pays your money…”

Will it fit your parking space ?

Length 4454mm  Width 1798 mm Height 1545 mm

Combined 52 mpg

CO2 -143g/km

VED Band H

Engine: 1995cc /177bhp

Power 320 Nm at 1,750

Transmission: 6 speed auto

0-62mph: 8.1 seconds