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Writer's pictureAlain Kuhn Von Kuhnenfeld

2018 BMW X1 xDrive28i

Updated: Feb 20, 2019

This week we have BMW‘s entry-level SUV the X1, with an MSRP of $47202. Our car was build in Bavaria Germany.







Fun Factor: 7

Can it Family: 6

Fuel-Friendly: 7

HWY-warrior: 7

Karaoke Friendly: 6

Baby friendly: 7

City Cruising: 7







We've recently tested the Mini Cooper Countryman and Clubman, and we felt immediately at home in this X1, several of the interior design will come to you very familiar if you own one or the other, starting with the material choices, trunk place, and seating ergonomics. Is the X1 still the king after changing platforms in 2016, is the Q3 or the GLA worthy contenders, let us not forget the Volvo XC40 in the mix. We've tested all the vehicles above, and we still think the X1 is king. However, the underdog XC40 is getting very close to the driving dynamics of the X1, as for the GLA it offers more passenger room, on the downside, it's not as fun to drive and finally when you get a company that just does not care or doesn't even try you get an Audi Q3.







When we first drove the X1 we were expecting a mishmash of anything BMW can find to make an SUV. Luckily, no, the X1 will not let you down when you need power. 6.5 seconds to 100km/h as per BMW and in our test we were able to get 6.6 seconds with all season tire in less than ideal weather conditions, we have a feeling that with good summer tires the results could be closer to 6 seconds, sharp turns felt very reassuring and the X1 felt planted on the asphalt/snow/ice rain. The X1 felt more like a car than an SUV, the only negatives on handling were the turning radius when needing to do a U-turn and when imperfections on the road appeared the steering wheel can wobble a little.







Now can it Family? You could expect that a compact SUV might not be convenient for the family, the boxy shape of the X1 gave us amazing cargo space we were able to place 2 strollers in the trunk and still have space for groceries. Put down the back seats and you'll be able to fill your X1 with all type of furniture shopping. What we liked less, is when having to put down the rear seats the mechanism to put them down needs to be activated manually for each seat. The seats are folded in a 40/20/40 manner, thus needing to be pulled 3 times. As for car seats, we tried different configurations, if you have 2 child seats you can forget the middle seat, if you have one child seat and want to have a maximum of passenger space open the middle seat will be ideal to add your child seat, the passenger amount might actually be reduced to one if it is placed anywhere else. We’ve tested it with 3 Adults in the back. Our results came to be that 2 Adults can sit comfortably, however, the 3rd person in the middle will be less than comfortable and might only have part of their bum covered by the seat. Installation of cars seats is made simple as the Isofix ports can be accessed easily and tucked away quickly without being flimsy or easily lost.







As for the fuel consumption in the city, we were able to get an average of 11.9L/100km these results were in stop and go traffic and snowy conditions. As for HWY driving, we were able to get 8.2L/100km with and an average of 9.1L/100km with 89 octane fuel, as this is the minimum recommended.







As for the HWY performance, X1 is comfortable enough for long drives. We would strongly suggest upgrading the base seats as the base seats may hold you comfortably in place, they don't offer very much back support. Overtaking feels effortless and you never seem to be missing power.







The sound system felt crips and appropriate for this kind of car, the sounds system is definitely better than the one we tested on our last BMW 330i review. The tested car did not come with Apple car play as this is an option. The infotainment felt enclosed in a screen that was never meant to fit all that information if you can upgrade to the larger screen we strongly recommend it.







Our final thoughts on the X1 is that the X1 is a pleasant all around car for both the city and the HWY, we really liked the 2.0L turbo engine, the trunk space, ease of child seat installation.







What we didn't like are the belt buckles for the front seat as they are blocked by the center console having to remove it to be able to buckle yourself, the middle rear seat, the option price list.
















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