Latest version of BMW's smallest SUV is back and it's bigger and better than the old car.
But the game has moved on - SUVs are the flavour of the month. Higher-riding cars like the Mazda CX-5, Audi Q3 and Honda CR-V have quickly made the X1’s lower, sportier-styling look a little dated, and at odds with its more rugged X3 and X5 siblings.Despite being 15mm shorter, the all-new second-generation X1 is 53mm higher and 23mm wider than its predecessor. It’s immediately more imposing and SUV-like to look at, with loads of sharp creases, flared arches and more aggressive styling.
It’s more spacious inside, too, with loads of headroom, generous shoulder space and 37mm more legroom behind the driver and front seat passenger. What’s more, you can extend this to 66mm if you spec the sliding rear bench as a £195 option.
Up front it’s a big improvement over the outgoing car, although it’ll feel very familiar to anyone who has sat in a 2 Series Active Tourer, with plush materials, a logical layout and the usual thick-rimmed steering wheel.
All cars get a six-inch screen – operated via the usual iDrive controller – as well as clear dials, an electronic parking brake and loads of adjustment in the seat.
The boot is 85 litres bigger than on the old car (now 505 litres) and a whole two litres larger than you’ll find on a Mazda CX-5. Fold the rear seats flat, though, and you’ll reveal a 1,550-litre load area.
That’s 200 litres more than before, and while it’s smaller than the Mazda, it’s 135 litres up on its arch rival, the Audi Q3. You can even option your X1 with a fold-flat front passenger seat (£145) for all your IKEA-carrying needs.
The old X1 sat on a modified version of last-generation 3 Series Touring platform, but the new car shares its underpinnings with the MINI hatch. That means the entry-level sDrive 18d is in fact front, not rear-wheel drive, though the rest of the range comes with xDrive four-wheel drive as standard.
There are four engines to choose from, including one petrol and three diesels. All are 2.0-litre units, with even the basic 18d getting 148bhp. The more powerful 20d and 25d get 187bhp and 228bhp respectively, while the sole petrol – the 20i – uses a 189bhp four-cylinder turbo.
If running costs are key, you’ll want to opt for one of the efficient diesels. The entry-level 18d does 68.9mpg (114g/km) with the six-speed manual gearbox, while the four-wheel drive only 20d and 25d will do 57.6mpg and 56.5mpg respectively.
Go for the slick-shifting eight-speed auto and economy drops slightly, but not enough to make a feasible difference day-to-day. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring the super-frugal three-cylinder sDrive 16d to the UK for now.
We were given an opportunity to drive the most-powerful xDrive 25d from BMW’s Munich HQ, down the autobahn and into Austria before twisting around the Alpine roads south of Salzburg.
Like the 2 Series Active Tourer, it’s surprisingly capable on a winding country road. The xDrive models send their power to the front wheels most of the time, but are able to switch up to 100 per cent of torque to the rear when it senses slip. The steering is direct, and body control is good, allowing you to push on with confidence when the roads allow.
The 25d diesel engine is punchy and refined, though it never feels lightning fast and is rather noisy when extended into the upper rev limits. The eight-speed auto fitted to our test car works as well in the X1 as it does in any 2 or 3 Series, swapping cogs automatically, or via clicks of the steering wheel-mounted paddles.
Our car was also fitted with optional £390 electronic dampers, and as a result rode really nicely over bumps and imperfections in the road. Unlike on the new 3 Series there’s no Sport+ mode, but even Sport sharpens the car’s responses with stiffer suspension and livelier throttle, gearbox and steering inputs.
Owners of the pre-facelift first-generation X1 will be pleased to know the Servotronic steering finds its way onto the new car. Early models were plagued by overly heavy steering that made the car a chore to drive around town – but the next X1 is easy to manoeuvre with lighter controls and decent visibility all round.
Prices start from £28,330 for the two-wheel drive 18d, but a mid-spec xLine 20d with four-wheel drive will set you back £33,680. For comparison, that’s about £1,500 more than an Audi Q3 S line, but the BMW is faster, cheaper to run, and bigger inside.
Standard kit is good on the BMW, too, with even the entry-level SE boasting 17-inch wheels, sat-nav and a power tailgate. Sport models get bigger wheels and some racier details, while xLine cars add leather, LED headlights and classier aluminium trim. As before, the M Sport sits at the top of the range, with a more aerodynamic body, sports seats and stiffer suspension.
We’d think twice about plumping for this top-spec model, though. We’ve not driven the xDrive 20d yet, but on paper that’s the one to go for. The 25d’s £2,380 premium does seem steep, and it’s only a second faster to 62mph.
With a healthy 400Nm of torque we expect the 20d to feel plenty quick enough for most people. Plus its one Benefit in Kind tax bracket (21 per cent vs 22 per cent) lower, so it’ll be cheaper to tax for company car drivers.
Key specs
- Model: BMW X1 xDrive25d xLine
- Price: £36,060
- Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl diesel
- Power/torque: 228bhp/450Nm
- Transmission: Eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive
- 0-62mph/top speed: 6.6 secs/146mph
- Economy/CO2: 61.4mpg/132g/km
- On sale: Now
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