Overall, with the revised pricing, and extended warranty and 5 year full maintenance pack, this car will be almost 69 lacs OTR in Kerala and it’s horribly overpriced.
BHPian one-77 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Did a long test drive of the X1 today over city roads and Kerala highways. These are my impressions:
Positives
- Design. It’s cleaner and to my eyes nicer than the last gen car. The interior also looks very modern and minimalist, but more on that below.
- Best front seats probably in the class, with a rather strong massage function. The rear seats also have recline and adequate legroom, and will be more comfortable than in the GLA.
- The holder for your smartphone. Unique and practical.
- Organ type pedals.
- Wireless Apple car play, and it fills the whole screen nicely.
- Bigger boot than the competitors.
- Level 1 ADAS features.
Neutrals
- The floating centre console. Though it looks modern, it’s less practical in terms of closed storage space. All your belongings will be visible to prying eyes.
- The key looks very cool, but it’ll stay that way only for the first week. By then the glossy plastic will be all scratched up, unless you put a silicone cover over it. Can set up a NFC key on your phone, though.
- The graphics and colour themes of the screens. Personally I like the Mercedes graphics and colours .
- Flap type door handles. Simply don’t feel as nice as the conventional ones or as cool as the flush-fitting ones in the Land Rover cars. Thankfully they do have some weight and damping, and don’t feel too cheap.
- Suspension. It’s on the firmer side. I feel the GLA is softer and more comfortable.
- Wish BMW had given the option of tan (like in the X3) or black seat colour instead of the mocha. Would have looked a lot classier/ sportier.
Negatives
- Powertrain. While the everyday drivability is okay, this is THE least powerful car in its class (and a class or two below), and the difference is quite perceptible when compared to the GLA. You really need that “boost” function to pull off a high speed overtake. The “drive modes” don’t make too much of a difference either. The shifts too aren’t very smooth.
- Price. BMW just increased the price of the diesel by a whopping 3 lacs! That’s 6.25% in just 3 months of launch.
- Left hand drive orientation of the centre console. The engine start button, gear selector, etc are on the passenger side, while the driver gets the volume rocker. Even the small storage box opens towards the passenger!
- Everything has to operated through the touch screen. Even the AC. And the drive mode switch just opens up the menu on the touch screen. Quite unintuitive.
- The idle start stop is very sensitive. To turn off the idle start stop, one has to dig into the menus in the touch screen. Every single time you drive the car.
- Some visible signs of cost cutting like the cheap front cup holders (better ones available internationally), the pull tabs to recline and fold the rear seat, etc.
BMW’s standard warranty is only for two years. It can extended only up to 5 years. Mercedes is much better in this regard, with 8 year warranty for the engine and powertrain, and a much cheaper full 6 year extension.
Overall, with the revised pricing, and extended warranty and 5 year full maintenance pack, this car will be almost 69 lacs OTR in Kerala and it’s horribly overpriced. I haven’t negotiated on anything as I’m not sure of going ahead.
However, for those getting the cars delivered in April/ May, BMW will honour the “introductory” price.
Keyword: 2023 BMW X1: 7 likes & 6 dislikes after a long test drive