[sharadmumbai]

I'm happy to announce the newest member in my family: BMW X1 in Valencia Orange colour

Prologue:

I had no real need to upgrade or infact look for another ride as I was well served by my Fusion Diesel with 65k on the odo as my Daily drive and Fiesta with 23k in pristine condition for weekend drives.
My drive is totally around 1k pm and once in 2 mths of 1k highway run.

However, as an avid car lover and having a fickle heart for cars, I started to lookout for an upgrade.

That part of my Journey can be found on this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...bought-x1.html

When I was scouting for a new 3 Series, I decided to also check out the Q3 and B series from Merc.
But I was in my mind biased 60% towards BMW with eyes on the 3 Series, 25% for Q3 and maybe 5% towards Merc and X1 really not on my radar.
However, with no real year end deals and ordinary experience at both Audi and Merc, 3 series seemed to be the car to go for.

Meanwhile an incident during the first week of december justified my decision to upgrade now than later: Safety

While driving down to Kanpur somewhere before Etawah, I had small accident which could have been much bigger had it not been for some grace of God, our family's obsession with seat belts and the solid built of Fiesta in my opinion

An Old guy on the bicycle froze on the road and didn't cross the road due to which I had to swerve right to avoid him and climb on the divider.
Luckily for us, the divider was 10 ft wide and we did'nt jump over and avoided a head on collision with vehicles on the other side.
Also, the divider was broken as locals would have broken it to cross their bikes, bullock carts, etc. So when i swerved right, i went right into this opening, crashed over a heap of bricks and stones and ended atop the divider.

Thankfully, we always buckle up and even my daughter on rear seat always buckles up. So three of us were pinned on the seat for those few frightening seconds.
So those who feel lazy to wear seat belts at all times, open your minds as when that moment ever comes, you will not get a chance to make amends.

Kudos to Fiesta, the car had small dent on the right hand side bumper and everything else was fine. Underneath, I could see the red marks of the bricks but no leaks, etc. There is a plate which runs from the bumper till the front axle which prevented anything jumping into the engine bay. As i was told later when i got my bumper repaired, there was no damage at all in the underbody and i saw it myself as well when i got the car raised on the ramp. Full marks to Fiesta on this count.

This incident clearly meant that I needed to upgrade to a car with as many safety features as possible and with a solid build. With an eye on upgrade as well, German cars I felt fitted the bill perfectly.

TD and Final Decision
With 3 Series on my mind, i decided to pay another visit to the local dealer on 29th Dec for any year end offers.
There was a great one time offer on the X1 which made me consider it.
The SA took me for a TD and it was a superb.
The car had a excellent power on tap, great steering and best of all: great GC. We went on big speed breakers and huge pot holes but caar didn't scrape at all.
The lower GC of 3 series finally sealed the issue in favour of X1.

Booking and Delivery:
I ended up booking X1 in Valencia orange in Jaipur is a different story which you can check on my other thread.
The booking experience overall was smooth and hassle free.
I finally settled for a 7 years Loan at an ROI of 10.3% which was a special rate of interest from BMW under their schemes.

We reached jaipur on 16th Jan evening to take delivery the next day.

As the dealer had to get the high security number plate fixed, the car had to be sent to the RTO and it came back around 2pm. This meant that I had no chance of doing the PDI and directly take delivery. I had no other option but to trust the dealer that he has done a thorough PDI.

We reached the showroom at 4pm and after finishing the necessary paperwork, we took the bimmer out at 6pm. Straight to two temples and followed by 1 more next day.

First Drive
I tanked it up to full capacity with around 40 kms on the odo and around 59L of fuel went in and did around 60 kms of city driving with a light foot
Then on next day, we drove from Jaipur to Gurgaon, around 260 km of highway drive which was mix of good and bad stretches as well as jams in a few locations. Since I was running in the car, I was using a light foot and avoiding sudden speed changes. I got FE of around 16.1 Kmpl for first 350 kms which is amazing.

[sharadmumbai]

Understanding X1

So what really is this Enigma called X1 ?
Is it an SUV or a SAV or a Baby Bimmer or a soft roader or a car with higher GC or just a BMW entry point badge for wannabes?

For me, its an all rounder which means all of the above at different times.
It has a powerful engine, superb handling and great highway manners and due to higher GC and RWD, it can be used as soft roader too.

It has a car like feel all around which means that its great for daily runs and dimensions are just right: not cramped unlike a hatch with ample space inside yet not difficult to maneuver like big real SUVs like Fortuner.
Higher GC settles the matter about tackling bad roads and huge speed breakers which are part of my daily office runs.
Loaded safety features like 6 airbags, ABS, RFTs, etc means that its perfect for highway runs.
The BMW badge is definitely a showoff

So overall, its perfect vehicle for daily runs as well as highway runs for a compact family of 4 to max 4.5 (.5 means a kid of upto 7-8 years).
For me, its seems the best of all worlds: SUV+Car+Raw Power+Badge

I have added the comparison spec which I picked from the Ecosport official review and added the X1 data there.


First Impressions of 700 Km of sheer Joy

As I had booked the car at the last moment, I couldn't really get into much details with the dealer. Also, there is no review of the X1's base version and the BMW website also only has the higher versions listed

I'll try to put together a comprehensive review for X1 for the base version as I see it starting with three significant things missing between the base version and the higher versions:

• Panoramic Sunroof
• I-drive
• Halogen headlights with Corona rings

I'm really missing the last one. There is currently no upgrade available from BMW but if it comes, I might consider it though it will cost around 2L as the bumper will also need to be changed to include the headlight washers.

What I liked:


• BMW Badge on the hood !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Valencia Orange color really suits X1 and gets head turned even in Gurgaon

• Powerful 184 BHP engine with super linear 8 speed transmission. Press the pedal hard and you can race a jet on the runway. The engine doesn't gasp between the gear changes and the gear change is noticed on the rpm needle.

• Multiple driving style modes to suit my mood. Even a manual mode is there.

• Handling is superb given I have been driving fords and steering is now electronic one - lighter on low speeds and heavy on high speeds

• Even though there is no i-drive, almost all functions can be handled by the onBoard computer button

• Car is fully loaded with Safety features, great music system, integrated blue tooth, auto headlamp and auto rain sensors, electrically adjustable and retractable ORVMs, etc

• Smartly packaged interior. Adequate space for 4 adults. Lots of storage and practical features with a good boot space and 40:20:40 folding rear seats

• Overall a great City and highway driving package without having to have 2 separate vehicles for them

• Got an FE of over 16 on the highway run. Simply awesome.

• Fantastic Maintenance packages

• I can go on and on....

What I dont like:

• No spare wheel. Question continuously looping in my head : What if on the middle of yamuna expressway......

• PDC ie Reversing Assist is only a beeping sound and one would actually expect a little more evolved technology

• Steering is on the heavier side similar to Fiesta Classic but I love it as feedback is very good. But those driving feathers from hyundai etc will find it hard to use

• Missing Corona rings in the headlights: :Frustr

Ride and Handling: Handling is superb with great feedback from the steering. I have not crossed beyond 120 kmph and the car felt very planted, stable and assured especially on the good stretches of roads. Ride quality is similar to Fords ie very comfortable but not very soft like the hyundai stable.
Steering is nice and heavy. Braking till now is great and looks very precise.

Tyres
The tyres are continental RFTs which are doing a great job NVH levels are very low and grip seems to be good though their run in period is just getting over. I have been advised to maintain 31 in front and 38 in rear every week. While there is no spare, I'm weighing the option of a donut or a portable compressor to get peace of mind.

Quality and Finish Everything is top notch with no irregular panel gaps, superb paint finish and very good quality of plastics, something you expect from this luxury segment. Everything seems to be built to last and this car will age very well. The doors close only with a minor thud and once inside, I feel very secure as the built quality seems to be very good.

Interiors and Space
The front seats are very comfortable and are electrically adjustable. With telescopic and tilt adjustment of steering, one can easily find a good driving position and then save it. The view is nice and clear from the cabin.
The rear seat is ideally meant for 2 adults and third adult is not recommended at all. For 2 people behind, its quite spacious. Also, 40:20:40 seat arrangement can increase the boot space tremendously.
Lots of spaces for bottles etc all around. The wooden interior trim is very premium. The beige interiors work very well with Valencia orange colour.

Gadgets and electronics The base version also has Auto Head lamp, Rain sensing wipers, Blue tooth, Voice commands, Programmable door locks and courtesy/follow me home lights, USB, AUX and three charging points and multitude of other displays. It doesn't have cruise control which i dont miss either. The ICE is BMW professional Radio from Harman Kardon and is amazing. Apart from the I-drive, everything else is there and nothing is missed except for navigation. Currently the smartphone is able to act as navigator without any issues.

Performance and FE
The engine is a gem which I can say after driving for just 700 kms. It seems noisy like most diesel engines but once windows rollup, you cant hear a thing.
There are 4 modes: Regular Mode = D, Sporty and peppy mode= S, Fuel Saver Mode = Eco Pro and even a Manual mode.
Driving with D is like cruising in the plane and press the pedal and immediate power is available. Gear shifts are around 1300 rpm.
Sports is peppy and gear shifts happen at higher rpms around 1800 or so.
ECO Pro reduces the response rate and i feel that its best suited for highway drives.
I drive with D as the default mode in the city. The power delivery is with NO lag and linear making it absolute joy to drive. The price for this joy till now is only 14kmpl on diesel which is awesome.

Insurance and Ownership Costs
The zero dep insurance along with BMW secure costed around 1.1L.
Secure covers a lot of things like tyres, RSA, towing, lost key, hotel stay etc
The best part is the BSI plus package which I got free: 3 years or 60k kms which I can top up with Kms/years and additional warranty years beyond the first 2 yrs by paying the difference. BSI means BMW Service Inclusive which covers all maintenance costs including consumables, labour, brake pads, etc.

What the above means that I have complete peace of mind and now I can enjoy as many miles as possible unlike the other new cars where one tends to limit the usage to reduce expenditure on maintenance. Also, with an inforce BSI plus, it will also be able to fetch a good resale value few years down the line if the need arises.

[sharadmumbai]

Now let the pictures do the talking taken in the afternoon sun of gurgaon:

Front : I personally like this Valencia Orange colour and I'm yet to see any other X1 on the road which makes it rare on the road. While opinion may be divided on the looks of the X1, it sure looks good here.







Side Profile: Its a long car, make no mistake. So overall height is on the lower side and probably improves its aerodynamics is my guess.



Back View: Typical BMW styling with trademark tail lights.



Sdrive20D logo looks sporty



Star Spoke alloys with Continental RFTs. In the short time I have used them, they seem fine with very low noise and I felt the ride quality is quite good.



ORVM with turn indicator. They have a dimming function which reduces glare. They can be electrically adjusted and electrically folded from inside.

[sharadmumbai]

Boot is spacious and take a lot of luggage.



Nice Rubber Fastners to keep light or small pieces of luggage from jumping inside the boot and getting damaged



This is where the spare wheel should have been



Dont know what is this extra part. I noticed it today.



Left Passenger Door has lot of space for bottles, etc and an elastic fastner too. The wooden trim gives a premium look and it runs into the dash as well



Rear Door is similar to front passenger door



Driver Side Door has additional controls



The controls for mirrors and windows



Electrical seat adjustments with Memory. 2 seating positions can be stored in the memory.



Footwell is nice and spacious with a big dead pedal. The bonnet release handle is in black and the OBD port is right on top of it.

[sharadmumbai]

Rear Bench has sufficient leg room and is quite spacious. Ideally 2 people should sit behind as the transmission tunnel hump is very high in the middle



Rear Seat can be adjusted to more than 13 different angles and also be folded in 40:20:40 ratio. The headrests can also be adjusted.



The Nerve Centre: Remote. It controls everything and also stores the vehicle information as well as memory settings of mirrors and seats. It can also open and close the windows. There are 2 such remotes. Each can store separate driver settings. So if my wife uses remote with her settings stored, the seats, mirrors etc will change their position as per her settings in case i had used my remote previously. This is boon if more than 1 people use the same car frequently



In case the battery of the remote go weak, manual key is to be used



Dash pics. Well sorted out and intuitive controls.



There is dual zone automatic climate control. Till now due to the cold weather, the AC is not yet tested so cant comment on the same now.



The Auto controls are a simple joystick used with the press of thumb.



Centre Console. The overall Plastic quality and the Stalks are of very good quality and feel that they will last really long.
Everything is top notch.
The Music system is Harman Kardon and is absolutely rocking with 13 speakers including number of sub woofers. In fact 2 of them are under front seats






Vanity mirrors on both sides but no light provision.



The remote needs to be plugged in below StartStop button to bring this beast to life. So once the remote is plugged, the car becomes ready and pressing the Start Stop button with brake pedal pressed fires up the engine. Its released by pressing it gently and then pulling it out.





Instrument cluster can show various parameters; now showing mileage



Showing Mileage and Last trip



This the Major control setting wherein you can set how many doors should get locked or unlocked from the remote, the auto locking based on time/speed, courtesy light settings, etc. So whatever is there in i-drive, most of it can be done here using the BC and toggle button



This car has a StartStop feature. Whenever the car comes to a halt, the computer shuts down the engine to save fuel eg at traffic lights. If the computer doesn't find all the conditions met, Start Stop is not engaged ie lets say crawling in the traffic.
Picture below shows one such situation. The Start Stop button when is not engaged comes with a horizontol line crossing the symbol. Useful feature but sometimes a nuisance as well.



Chunky steering with several functions on it. The Steering feel is good but many may find it on the heavier side which I like. The horn is really hard. I think it should be made mandatory on all cars and honking will reduce by 80%!!!



Driver Side armrest with sliding feature to access the space below



Glove compartment is with light and is spacious.



Storage in dash where ideally i-drive could have come



BMW Logo on the driver's side



This is from my side after 3 weeks of ownership.

Phew!!! BMW should pay me for this review!!!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[sukiwa]

Congrats on new set of wheels, enjoy!

Originally Posted by sharadmumbai

Dont know what is this extra part. I noticed it today.

This should contain reflector plates that should be used as warning sign in case of stranded car on road.

[achopraa]

Congratulations on your new Buy!!!
Its a Beemer. Full Stop.
Orange looks a bit strange at first sight but I think EcoSport has kind of made it an easy to look at colour.
Nice and Detailed review. Do keep sharing the updates as there are many a potential buyers ready to take the leap of faith.

[bigben]

Wow! Nice introduction. Thank you . Lovely car. All the best and drive safe.
Continue to post updates.

[sharadmumbai]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Congrats on new set of wheels, enjoy!
This should contain reflector plates that should be used as warning sign in case of stranded car on road.

Thanks Sukiwa. I'll check it this weekend but safety reflector plates are bunched separately.

Originally Posted by achopraa

Congratulations on your new Buy!!!
Its a Beemer. Full Stop.
Orange looks a bit strange at first sight but I think EcoSport has kind of made it an easy to look at colour.
Nice and Detailed review. Do keep sharing the updates as there are many a potential buyers ready to take the leap of faith.

Thanks achopraa. You are right about the colour. Ford has been a sort of pioneer in these unconventional colours. Be it the famous squeeze of Figo or the Orange and yellows of ecosport.
I also had chosen blue earlier till i saw this on display in bird automotive.
I'll be sharing updates frequently and hope to help people make the right choice.

Originally Posted by bigben

Wow! Nice introduction. Thank you . Lovely car. All the best and drive safe.
Continue to post updates.

Thanks Bigben.

Update
I crossed 800 kms today and also had my second tankful.
Around 55L of Diesel went in for approx 750kms of driving which means a mileage of 13.6 which i feel is too good especially when only 250 kms were on highway.
The DTE is showing over 1000 kms which is strange.

One thing i have noticed is that there is a distinct change in my driving style which has surprised me. I like to drive this car leisurely and not feel any aggression at all. There is perhaps no need to prove the power this car has and just a press of the pedal does the trick if needed. In fact I havn't felt the need to drive in Sports mode at all- not more than 20 kms till now. Maybe I like to spend more time in the car.
Has anyone else also experienced the same?

[nitrous]

May I recommend an X1 specific set of foot mats?

[Veelubai]

Dont know what is this extra part. I noticed it today.

Thats a number plate frame for the front i believe.

[sharadmumbai]

Originally Posted by nitrous

May I recommend an X1 specific set of foot mats?

Definitely. I just picked up some transparent mats to prevent the beige ones from soiling. Any pics will be welcome.

Originally Posted by Veelubai

Dont know what is this extra part. I noticed it today.

Thats a number plate frame for the front i believe.

Thanks. Looks like that maybe. Will check this weekend.

[vb-saan]

Congratulations! Very well-written review indeed. Quite an ideal upgrade from the Fiesta 1.6. 
Do keep updating the thread regularly

[drmohitg]

Congratulations on your ride. Not really a fan of that shade but it definitely stands out. Wishing you many happy miles. We should organize some beemer drive with quite a few BMWs in the NCR BHPian's group.