BMW X1

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"I purchased a BMW X1 xDrive 25i almost four years ago and have been very happy with it." Read the owner review

I had a budget of $50K and was drawn to the specials on offer back in September 2020 for the BMW X1. Owner: Warren

The year was 2016, and at this point I was doing a fair amount of road trips on a range of differing surfaces. I had been driving a VW Golf GTI (Mk 6) for the past six years, and with over 200,000 kilometres on it – I knew it was time for a change. I liked the idea of a premium compact SUV, as I wanted something with all-wheel-drive, but I didn’t want it to come at the expense of size or dynamic ability. After copious amounts of research, my shortlist had come down to Volkswagen’s Tiguan, the Mercedes GLA, and BMW’s X1. After much deliberation, I chose the BMW as it seemed to offer the best mix of performance, value, style and versatility. The exact model I chose was the X1 25i in Mineral White (metallic) with the M-Sport Package - I was stoked. I kid you not – I could not get over how stunning this car looked. The metallic white gave it that extra bit of depth, with the M-Sport package providing a stylish, yet muscular presence. The only thing missing was a set of 20-inch wheels – don’t get me wrong, the 19’s look sophisticated, but yeah, an inch can make a big difference! The interior has been an absolute standout – firstly, it’s huge! I’m 187cm tall, and leg and headroom (even with the panoramic sunroof) is impressive. Comfortable seats too, they really hug the body whilst offering good support, and more than enough adjustment options to make yourself comfortable. Cabin design is quintessential BMW – quality controls, minimalistic, and extremely ergonomic. Everything falls into place quite organically, and seamlessly. The iDrive system is fantastic – functional, intuitive, and quite reliable. My only complaint is the navigation system – while it works adequately most of the time, it doesn’t seem as accurate as something like Google Maps. More than a few times it has sent me to roads that lead to nowhere, or it simply can’t find the destination at all. The X1 is a pleasure on the open road - the adaptive dampers work brilliantly in this sense. There are three options – comfort, sport, or eco. I generally leave it in comfort around town as it offers the best ride/handling mix, but when it comes to freeway driving or twisty mountain roads, the sport option is marvellous. Beefier steering, firms up the suspension and the engine/transmission seem far more willing – definitely my favourite out of the three. I’ve used eco a few times but didn’t notice a huge difference compared to the comfort setting. Oh, also worth noting is how fantastic the LED headlights are. When it comes to driving at night whether it be around town, or foggy/rainy conditions, the lights offer brilliant clarity. Far better than the classic halogens I had on my previous car. The engine/transmission combination is pretty flawless. The four-cylinder petrol turbo offers a healthy amount of power and torque and has more than enough oomph to overtake or traverse mountainous roads. There’s some turbo lag present, but not overtly. The eight-speed auto is brilliant – smooth and precise, and teams beautifully with the engine. Surprisingly, reliability has been a real standout for me. I’ve done over 70,000 kilometres in the X1 and have come across no major issues. With all the tech and electronics in the car, I was a little worried about how dependable the car would be after I put it through its paces, but BMW, you’ve earned my trust! Albeit, there have been some minor issues with the sunroof from time to time, but nothing I can’t handle myself (after a quick reset). Practicality has been utterly phenomenal. Such an amazingly versatile car – plenty of boot space, and little things like being able to fold the second-row seats from the rear makes a big difference. Cupholders are of a decent size and there’s plenty of storage options around the cabin. Although, one gripe – the console in-between the driver and passenger seat feels a little flimsy, like an afterthought – just not as rock-solid as the rest of the interior. In regard to future iterations, I really hope BMW offer a genuine M version (like the X2 M35i). Whilst the 25i offers more than enough performance for most driving conditions – there have been times when I wished the car had more grunt. Also, the option for 20-inch wheels! After three years and over 70,000 kilometres, this lil’ beast continues to impress. I just adore my X1 – everything from the sparkling white exterior, to the melodic voice of the iDrive system (haha I’m not even joking – it’s pure class!). The X1 isn’t perfect, but it does do a lot right and ownership over the years has been an absolute pleasure. Great work, BMW.

After driving a Honda CRV for the last 8 years, my other (and arguably prettier) half was keen to upgrade the family truckster. In our pre-child days she had always driven small, zippy cars and was missing the feeling of a fun-to-drive car that was also easy to manoeuvre within the tight spaces characteristic of the concrete jungle. Knowing that I would spend a fair bit of time behind the wheel myself, I suggested we try a BMW 125i with the secret hope that it would prove to be too lukewarm, forcing my hand to stretch to the M140i. However, giggling like an imbecile every time I pressed the loud pedal in the M140i was not meant to be, because what quickly became apparent is that the 1 series just lacks too much practicality (lack of rear door pockets is a joke) and the missus had gotten so used to an elevated driving position over the last 8 years that a hatch simply offered inadequate visibility amongst a sea of SUV’s. Maintaining our previous criteria but with added requirements of practicality and a high riding position quickly narrowed our options down. Once we sampled an X1 we knew this would be the car for us. It offers one of the best interior accommodations relative to exterior size and is a hoot to drive. However, the lower spec grades need to be optioned up to get leather and electric memory seats - a must when you alternate between 6’2” and a 5’1” tall drivers on a regular basis. We settled on a 2017 model xdrive 25i in Estoril Blue with Panoramic Sunroof and M Sport Package. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is a consensus that the non-M Sport models look better resolved in the F48 generation of BMW’s. To counter this argument, I have long held the view that BMW’s produce some of the most sophisticated blue hues on the market and therefore our choice of colour necessitated the ticking of this option. The aluminium trim with blue highlights and blue stitching on the leather really lift the interior ambience. It is also worth noting that the M Sport models offer more comfortable front seats with adjustable under thigh support and a chunky 3 spoked sports steering wheel that feels great in the hands. The car certainly delivers a sporty demeanour to match its aggressive stance. The steering is well weighted and very direct, offering the kind of feel and feedback previously lacking in this segment. It devours corners with aplomb and exhibits very little in the way of body roll. It is a very confidence inspiring piece of kit on twisty roads due to the levels of grip on offer from the all wheel drive system and expertly controlled body. The xdrive 25i’s also come with adaptive dampers as standard, and the ride in Comfort mode is best described as being on the firmer side of comfortable, while in Sports mode it is firmer again without being harsh. Some of the firmness is no doubt a result of the runflat tyres that come as standard wrapping over the 19 inch rims. I would personally be curious to see what difference standard soft-walled tyres would make but won’t necessarily be swapping them over anytime soon as the ride is compliant enough for my liking. The runflat tyres mean there is no spare in the boot which frees up a handy storage compartment under the floor for various odds and ends. The added practicality of this compartment far outweighs any supposed piece of mind offered by the presence of a spare, which in my experience is something that is only required once every 5 years. The engine is a cracker too, offering decent performance from low rpm and a strong mid-range due to the 350Nm of torque on offer over a wide band. It does run out of puff somewhat at high rpm and doesn’t sound as sweet as it could but the rate of forward progress managed to surprise a Macan S driver who took off from the lights simultaneously and was forced to merge into the single lane behind me as I nosed ahead by half a car length to 80km/hr. In the 5000 km or so that we have had the car the fuel economy has averaged 10.4 litres per 100 km in purely urban driving. I am keen to take it on a longer run beyond the city limits to see how it performs and get a real life gauge of the highway average fuel consumption. Being an early 2017 build, the car still has the iDrive 5 system which is super intuitive but doesn’t offer the touch screen capability of its successor. The large 8.8 inch screen offers split screen functionality which is useful because it allows the map / navigation to be displayed on one side the radio / media information on the other. Whilst the 2017 cars also come with analogue instruments, the head up display projects a digital speedo readout making it easy to keep your eyes on the road without creeping over the speed limit. The overall comfort, ease of use and ergonomics are all top notch. The BMW Connected app is also handy allowing you to remotely locate, lock, flash the headlights and ventilate the vehicle and even send destinations remotely that appear in your vehicle messages to fast track navigation entries. There are a few minor niggles that have presented themselves during our ownership experience. Having comfort access for the doors and a boot that responds to swipes of the foot under the rear bar is a nifty feature, but when you are standing behind the car loading your groceries and the car detects movement of your feet it decides to play Hungry Hippo and tries to swallow you whole. You need to quickly press the boot button to stop it or get out of the way before it chomps down on you. The semi-autonomous parking feature works well for reverse parallel parks on straight roads and where it can perceive upright kerbs, but bends and driveway crossovers tend to throw it off course and cause it to mount the kerb which can scrape your rims. Other than the above niggles I would say that the standard stereo offers good sound but lacks a little oomph, and the Dakota leather is not the most supple of hides, but it does appear to be very durable. The Nappa leather in my Audi A4 is much more pleasant to the touch but one area where I think BMW beats the Audi for tactility is the one-touch indicators which offer just the right amount of resistance to make it feel like you are changing lanes in something which is a cut above your standard car. It’s amazing that such seemingly unimportant details can add or detract from the overall experience. For future X1 generations it would be nice to see the interior materials improve in line with the recent X3 and for some updated safety tech to be available such as blind spot monitoring and rear AEB. Overall the vehicle has been a pleasure to own and I don’t have any regrets to date especially considering we got a great deal. The X2 was just coming out when we bought our X1 but I struggle to understand why they don’t offer the same engine and drivetrain or an even sportier 30i state of tune. I couldn’t see any sense in paying a more than $10K premium for a front wheel drive car that is less practical and slower. The Volvo XC40 wasn’t available yet but I would have strongly considered it if it was. The Audi Q3 is ancient and bland and the Mercedes GLA is also much less practical and just didn’t excite the senses.