I was able to test drive the X1 xdrive23d yesterday courtesy of Westside BMW.
I have to say I was really impressed! Mid-size SUV's have never been my thing given my childless bachelor ways (for now at least...) but I was quite interested in the X1 for reasons I can't quite explain.
It has an absolute bottomless well of torque (allow a guy some poetic licence) and pulls like a tractor. I think I said to the gf about three time, "wow, check out this power. And it's a diesel!" She smiled dutifully and made apreciative noises. She's such a good girl.
It didn't wallow around in corners nearly as much as I thought it would and I found the suspension to be great compared to my expectations. The xdrive reminded me of my WRX when I was foot to the floor through a tight-ish corner, it just dug in and kept pushing. Side mirrors are HUGE, great visibility.
The love the panoramic glass roof.
For a family car in a couple of years I would buy one in a flash. I think it'd be a great weekend getaway car too with all that space.
What don't I like? Small stuff really. Dash plastic is, well, there's just a lot of real-estate there covered by this stuff compared to my 135i. Same material, just more of it and I don't like it. Sorry, can't do better than that so my days as a motoring journalist are probably over before they start.
I'd also opt for the M-sport steering wheel as I found the stock too thin for my butchers hands and the full electronic sports seats, they're a must-have also. Being a 1'er it's a shame there's no HUD option!
Anyway, anyone in the market for a car like this should check it out I reckon and take it for a drive. I quite enjoyed myself, I just have to see if I can avoid our next car being a C70 Volvo for the gf and get and X1 instead. Wish me luck!
