BMW X1 review

• What is it?
• What’s beneath the skin?
• What are those engines, then?
• What's the verdict?
• What is it like to drive?
• And the electric one?
• What is it like on the inside?
• So it’s spacious?
• What should I be paying?

Overview

What is it?

It’s BMW’s littlest SUV. Only it’s no longer quite so little. Just like a 3 Series fills the footprint vacated by an old 5 Series, the X1 now nudges the dimensions of the original X3.

But for once we’re going to suggest that growth is a good thing. The first generation of X1 looked somewhat awkward, BMW design language applied to a car not really possessing the correct proportions. The second-gen car offered a big improvement, but now this Mk3 is a genuinely good-looking car. Y’know, as SUVs go. Perhaps there’s a hint of Skoda Kodiaq to its rear three-quarters, but that’s clearly not intended as criticism. Especially given some of the consternation caused by recent BMW designs. This toes the line much better.

What’s beneath the skin?

It launches with petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions. Which seems quite a tall order for its production line in Regensburg – where the legendary E30 3 Series was born – which has been primed to handle all four powertrains in whichever order they happen to whirr robotically through the factory. Crikey.

While it’ll give the factory bosses a headache, it’ll ease those in BMW’s financial offices; keeping all four powertrains on the same line helps make X1 production flexible to market demand, which will surely fluctuate – perhaps wildly – as different countries (and their car buyers) try to get a handle on energy prices, upcoming emissions regulations and how to somehow balance the two. For now, BMW predicts 41 per cent of X1s sold worldwide will be pure petrol and 31 per cent pure electric, with the remainder split pretty evenly between PHEV and diesel.

Speaking of sales, the X1 is a popular old thing, nearly three million of them finding homes since its 2009 launch. Like before, this third-gen car will share its architecture and engines with the next Mini Countryman.

What are those engines, then?

The X1 launches on British shores with six powertrain choices. Kicking things off at a mite of £36,000 is the sDrive18d, which translates roughly as ‘slowish front-driven diesel’, though 148bhp and 8.9 seconds to 62mph aren’t exactly terrible. And its claimed 55mpg is the very opposite of terrible. Above that sits the 208bhp xDrive23d, offering similar fuel economy claims despite adding four-wheel-drive to the bargain.

The first pure petrol option is xDrive-only – in the shape of the 215bhp, circa-40mpg xDrive23i – while both plug-in hybrids, the 25e and 30e, are also 4WD. Both claim up to 55 miles of electric-only range and the most powerful offers 322bhp and a hot hatch-like 5.7-second 0-62mph time.

Performance which is matched by the iX1 xDrive30, your sole electric choice. It uses a motor at each axle – pairing 309bhp peak output with a 64.7kWh battery – and while it favours the front motor for economy, it can accelerate with the vivaciousness of the best EVs when both put down their power. BMW claims up to 272 miles from a charge and prices start at £52,000.

Those 23i and 23d models get 48V mild-hybrid tech with a 19bhp boost activated in an amusing push-to-pass manner via the left steering wheel paddle. All models, whatever their power or price (iX1 excluded), use a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox. It’s a move indicative of the whole car; the X1 would rather you didn’t think of it as the token entry-level crossover it might once have been, so it’s matured both physically and technologically to hammer the point home.

To recommend a BMW because it’s one of the roomiest, most practical cars in its class feels like a slightly disappointing state of affairs. But it’s the X1’s large, up-to-the-minute cabin that gives it a greater calling card than its chassis or powertrains, even if it happens to be neat and tidy to drive. The iX1 is the pick of the bunch for now thanks to its swish and accomplished electric powertrain. Without it, the broader X1 range might have struggled to stick its head above the crowded pack of small SUVs on offer.

Driving

What is it like to drive?

To cut a long story short, it’s a good job the iX1 launches right away. Because otherwise the X1 wouldn’t really stand proud of its very crowded market on a purely dynamic level. That’s not to say it’s bad; for the task at hand, this is an accomplished car. And one with a very neat and tidy approach to cornering.

It’s just that BMWs have always stood out in their field for being the sharpest handlers with the most satisfying powertrains – something the latest, updated 3 Series can still proudly claim. The X1 arrives at the party with neither; a Ford Puma is more of a giggle to drive, and numerous rivals make engines more refined than those offered here.

The entry 18d isn’t bad – it’s smooth and quiet by small 4cyl diesel standards – but the seven-speed DCT is rather hit-and-miss at finding the right gear, and there are no paddles on the wheel to help out unless you go for pricey M Sport trim. Which feels very un-BMW. The 23i petrol is less impressive, being so vocal and coarse under high revs that the diesel seems the quieter choice. Again, you’ll need M Sport for shift paddles, but being able to pull the left one for another 19bhp of mild-hybrid boost is a nice touch and useful for overtakes.

And the electric one?

It’s the iX1 that saves the day. At 2,085kg it’s a bit of a chunky monkey – that’s over 300 kilos heavier than a comparable petrol or diesel – but it handles the mass as well as you could hope for while the powertrain operates with utmost professionalism. The rear motor’s intervention is uncannily smart, however clumsily you apply the throttle out of a junction. It feels safe to assume this will be the X1 of choice, with one of those plug-in hybrids in second place if you can’t live on electricity alone. Hopefully we’ll drive those soon, but chances are they’ve amassed a few company car orders already.

There’s a wealth of active safety technology; traffic light recognition is built into the semi-autonomous driving functions while self-parking is standard fit. Trailer assist is even an option should you wish to really live out the more lifestyle pictures of the brochure. Not that brochures are a ‘thing’ now, of course…

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

The open-plan feeling dashboard – aided by BMW’s new curved touchscreen and its major spring clean of traditional switchgear – is shared with the 2 Series Active Tourer. And there’s definitely a bit of a late-Nineties MPV vibe to the whole place, which is vehemently praise rather than criticism. The Scenic, Picasso and Multipla crowd tried some brave and novel stuff to make cars more family-friendly than ever, but us vain car-buying folk soon shunned them for the more earnest layouts and dark hues of premium brand interiors.

This is BMW claiming back roominess as a virtue and while you might miss iDrive’s famous rotary wheel when you first navigate the screen (as well as a manual gear knob if you’re feeling especially luddite), there’s no doubt this is a car well suited to the task at hand. And losing physical switchgear has allowed BMW to try a new ‘floating’ centre console approach, though the plastic arm propping it up detracts from the magic somewhat.

So it’s spacious?

There’s another 22mm in the wheelbase over the outgoing X1, and it’s immediately obvious for those climbing into the back. Rear seat passengers will be basking in the kind of room normally afforded to them by SUVs a size bigger, and if you’ve gone for a pure petrol or diesel model, those rear seats can slide fore and aft by 30mm as well as recline. With some inevitability the battery pack of the iX1 eats away at interior room a bit, but not as notably as in rivals.

The front seats are all-new, too, and only contribute further to the idea this is now a fully fledged model in the BMW line-up rather than a token entry-level model, something that Mercedes’ smallest models arguably still haven’t achieved. Higher-spec cars will massage you in a number of different ways, something you can amusingly activate via the voice control.

The voice control is pretty handy, actually. One demerit for the otherwise luscious new screen is its curiously vast array of app icons, making even the most prosaic of functions – adjusting the height of the optional head-up display – a right old chore. It’s something you’ll likely suss out if you’re running this for three years rather than driving it for a couple of hours, though, and being able to adjust most things with natural voice commands like ‘I’m a bit cold’ – the air con up a degree in response – helps quell our criticisms.

The boot is 50 litres larger than before, now peaking at 540 litres seats up, 1,600 seats down, with an electric tailgate on all versions.

Buying

What should I be paying?

Much like the new BMW 3 Series – and surely all models going forward – the company has worked on simplifying the offer structure; there’s a less bewildering away of options and trim levels on the configurator, basically, something that’ll certainly help keep that Regensburg line moving along without falter.

There are three trim levels that each bring a different exterior look; Sport and X-Line have contrasting black wheel arches and bumper details while M Sport makes the whole car one colour – and less rugged in appearance. Sport gets 17in wheels as standard while the X-Line gets 18s and the M Sport sits on 19s, but you can also have 20in items optionally for the first time. Just consider the effect they might have on ride comfort if this’ll be daily family transport…

Leatherette trim is available if you’d rather have it over standard leather, but that sticks around too – even if future-generation BMWs will target completely vegan interiors. As the four different power sources suggest, the X1 sits as a stepping stone between the company’s past and future.

The 18d Sport kicks things off at a whisker over £36,000, and you can upgrade it to the smarter look and better equipment of X-Line or M Sport trims for £4-5,000. Upgrading to the 23i petrol or 23d diesel is respectively around £2,000 or £3,000. So, all told, you can crank a ‘regular’ X1 up close to the £50,000 mark relatively easily.

Which is roughly where the iX1 begins, at a touch over £52,000. It sounds a lot, but it’s nearly ten grand cheaper than the less powerful, RWD-only iX3 SUV while offering pretty much the same range figure. The plug-in hybrids are yet to be priced.

Keyword: BMW X1 review