BADGE OF HONOUR
Design tweaks and upgraded technology bring Beemer’s base SUV in line with brand expectations
Hierarchy plays a pivotal role in the prestige world. Often the faster you rise, the greater the aspirations. Luxury carmakers have an intimate knowledge of those who continually want more. BMW has traditionally been outstanding at luring new customers to the brand with prices within reach of many households and slowly moving them up through the more expensive range.
The compact X1 SUV has been a pivotal ingredient in whetting luxury appetites.
While it once felt just like any other orthodox SUV, but with the all-important propeller badge on the front, this latest iteration feels justifiably posh. It now comes with a bigger infotainment screen, wireless phone charging and sportier external design options.
The xDrive25i is the range-topper of the X1 world which can be attained for $68,055 driveaway — which is nearly $20k more than the base X1 model.
VALUE
Prices have increased slightly with the extra equipment. The top-shelf X1 has risen $2000, and sets itself apart from the other variants with real Dakota leather trim as opposed to the manmade material, along with electric adjustment of front seats which also have a heating function, dual zone aircon, 19-inch alloys, 10.25 inch colour display, wireless smartphone charging, satnav, Apple CarPlay (sorry, still no Android Auto) and a power tailgate.
Premium manufacturers know buyers like to customise, so there are a range of extras and packs available — yet the more boxes ticked means the greater price. Our test drive machine featured the $3250 M Sport pack which includes a sports steering wheel, aero pack, roof rails, sports suspension and the kidney grille in black. The panoramic sunroof also added $2457.
Black or white are the only non-metallic paintwork options. All other hues, including orange, blue, brown, grey, beige and silver add up to $1700 to the bottom line.
All BMWs have a three-year unlimited kilometre warranty, which is on par with other luxury marques but short of the five-year benchmark set by mainstream manufacturers.
There is a $1550 basic prepaid servicing pack available which covers maintenance for five years or 80,000km, but that doesn’t include brake discs and pads, wiper blades or clutch and disc plate renewal. You have to pay $4420 to include the latter.
SAFETY
This updated model was released in October, but maintains a carryover five-star safety rating awarded in 2015.
There is an array of quality equipment, including a head-up display which also shows the current speed limit zone, radar cruise control, lane keeping assist to maintain the X1 between lines on the highway, automatic parallel parking and autonomous emergency braking which can apply the anchors if the driver fails to act quick enough. AEB is absent when travelling in reverse.
COMFORT
Compact SUVs can mean compromise. While you have the ride height, there is often less space than the equivalent hatch or wagon with which is shares architecture — not on this occasion.
Both the 1 Series and X1s of the past were bereft of features unless you spent serious coin on extras, but this feels far more mature and more akin to expectations associated with the propeller badge.
Aided by the large central screen controlled via the central dial or touch, it’s a design of cohesion and ease of use. The driver has two simple chrome rings featuring tachometer and speedometer, with a colour digital display in the middle.
The only issue can be the cupholders in front of the shifter, where the wireless charging tray is also located. Accessing both can be clunky.
Boot space surpasses 500 litres and resonable head, leg and knee room makes the X1 a useful family hauler — capable of handling a group of five.
The rear seats fold flat 40/20/40 which provides a useful load space, and during an active festive season we managed to fit a pair of surfboards (seven foot and a 5”10) with two seats remaining upright. Functionality would be improved if there were levers in the boot to drop the seats, rather than just straps on the chairs.
DRIVING
Those looking for traditional BMW performance would appreciate the xDrive25i’s exploits. It’s the quickest of the range by some margin, taking 6.5 seconds to reach 100km/h from standstill.
That’s faster than some sports cars, and this variant also possesses all-wheel drive while using an eight-speed automatic transmission as opposed to a seven found in other variants.
Sports suspension and steering aided the test variant’s cause, as it handled the rigours of around-town and freeway driving with ease. The auto box shifts with composure and it remains well balanced even during rapid changes in direction.
Fuel consumption was slightly above the official figure from BMW at 7.9 litres/100km, but expect about eight with a balance of driving conditions.
HEAD SAYS
The budget won’t stretch to an X5 but I really want a BMW that can handle the family. There’s enough space here for a growing brood.
HEART SAYS
All-wheel drive and a firecracker of a fourcylinder engine make this every bit the performance machine I’m after, while also having brand kudos at school drop-off.
ALTERNATIVES AUDI Q2 QUATTRO $54,428
The all-wheel drive Q2 is more closely aligned in performance until a more punchier Q3 arrives as part of the recent model update. Powered by a 140kW/320Nm 4-cyl turbo partnered to a seven-speed auto.
MERCEDES-BENZ GLA250 AWD $68,408 D/A
While smaller than the X1 (a new slightly bigger
GLB is coming), it has an impressive interior design and arguably equal snob factor. Also has all-wheel drive, generating 155kW/350Nm from its turbo 4-cyl with a seven-speed auto.