The BMW X1 has been present on European roads for almost 4 years now and it is one of BMW's best sellers. It offers a wide range of engines and a lot of optionals whilst also being one of the cheapest BMWs available.
Being based on the E9x 3 Series, the X1 is a crossover SUV so it's not what you might expect at first. It's not exactly an SUV (because of the size) and it's not exactly a 3 Series (because of the practicality).
The X1 is smaller than the X3 and bigger than the car is based on, the 3er and has been recently introduced to the US market. This January, the X1 was BMW's second best seller with the biggest increase in sales for the whole line-up. The E84 X1 sales grew 57.8% in January adding up to 11,753 units sold so it's safe to say it is successful.
The X1 offers a lot of practicality while keeping also giving you that sporty feel you need when going down the road. The backseats offer enough room for 4 adults and the luggage compartment is almost twice as big as a 3 Series'. Also, the rear seats fold in a 40-20-40 manner so they offer a lot of practicality.
The interior is in the old fashion BMW style. The cluster is free of any LCD screens and has the same mechanical speedometer and RPM counter with the traditional fuel consumption meter. The X1 comes with the latest iDrive which is easier to use.
The petrol engines available for this particular model range from the entry level 2-liter 150 HP and 200 Nm to the 3.0-liter 300 HP and 407 Nm engine V6. When it comes to diesels, the entry level engine is a 2-liter 143 HP and 320 Nm of torque while the top version is a 2.0-liter 218 HP with 450 Nm of torque.
However, there are 3 choices of gearboxes available. The first, offered as standard is the 6-speed manual gearbox. With the same number of gears comes the next option for the X1 transmission, the 6-speed Steptronic gearbox and the last version is the 8-speed Steptronic gearbox.
This is the only BMW SUV that can be bought with just rear wheel drive, the X3, X5 and X6 being all wheel drive cars.
While the size of the car will not allow you to go as fast and as agile through corners like the 3 Series will, this is still a fast and agile car. Also this is one of the last BMWs that comes with a hydraulic power steering system instead of the electric powered version that really takes away the feel of the road.
The ride is comfortable as well, whilst not filtering everything out, as some of us actually like to feel just what is going on on the road. The cabin is really quiet at high speeds and that is one of the things that separates it from cheaper, not premium cars.
The prices start at around $31,000 in the US which is not a bad price, especially for a premium vehicle like a BMW. However you can get a really wide array of options for you car, options that will add up to the final price though.
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