[zombiedriver]

Our 2012 Honda City A/T has been serving us well but it has never managed to put a smile on our face while driving and it got to a point where me and the wife were always grumbling. A simple overtaking manoeuvre would require planning and careful execution during our highway trips and we had many of those (The City has done about 65000 Kms in about 28 months or so). And so we set out to look for a change.

DECISION AND BUYING PROCESS

What car to buy has always been the easiest question to answer but it wasn't so this time around. Our requirements were as below
1. Had to be a diesel
2. Had to be an automatic
3. Had to be engaging to drive
4. Had to be within a budget of 20-23 lakh rupees OTR
Sounded simple until we started scouting the market for a car that satisfied all of the above. We soon realized that unlike the hatchback segment (4-8 lakh rupees) which is overcrowded and confusing, the D1 segment has very few choices. The cars shortlisted were

1. Hyundai Elantra A/T

The Elantra was the first to be rejected by me and the wife mostly because of its under-powered engine and the typical boat like handling Hyundai’s are associated with besides neither of us is really a fan of the Hyundai’s build quality.

2. Chevrolet Cruze A/T

We didn't test drive the Cruze because every Cruze owner we knew told us the same thing, It’s so fun to drive but the interiors don’t age as well as the others in its segment and the resale would definitely be lower than the other options in its segment

3. VW Jetta Highline TDI DSG

I test drove the Octavia and the Jetta back to back and immediately understood the virtues of the rear multilink suspension. We finalized on the Jetta Highline but had to push our purchase by a couple of months because it was a little out of our budget and we wanted to avoid the hassle of a loan. As luck would have it the production of the Jetta was stopped in anticipation of the face-lift and in-spite of searching high and low we couldn't find one.

4. Skoda Octavia Ambition TDi DSG

The only other logical choice was the Octavia which i wanted to avoid. I wasn't convinced with the A.S.S after having owned the Fabia previously and add to that my friend who bought the Fabia from me went through an unfortunate ordeal with the A.S.S which has been well documented in the below thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...bia-scrap.html

So essentially we were back to square one. A few months before I had gone along with a cousin of mine to the BMW showroom as he was looking at the 320D and the sales representative let it slip that the X1 had mouth-watering discounts on offer and the Expedition edition could be had for 31 Lakhs OTR. It sounded very tempting but reality hit and stretching our budget by an additional 7 lakhs at that particular point was out of the question.
In the meanwhile there were a lot of other things happening. The government decided to undo the excise rollback which took the Octavia Ambition to about 25 lakhs OTR and the Elegance to about 27 Lakhs OTR. This meant that the new Jetta when launched might be priced around the 25-26 Lakh mark. This somehow didn't make sense to me anymore. The Jetta is a beautiful car all round but paying 26 lakhs for it when i could have a BMW for a little more was something I couldn't get past. I posted my agony on TBHP and got my most dreaded replies. The choices were either wait for the new Jetta and hope they don’t go crazy with the pricing or settle for the Vento TDi DSG.

After thinking and over-thinking we decided to settle for the Vento TDI DSG. The wife saw how disappointed I was at the thought of not upgrading per se and just to cheer me up she asked me to check with Navnit Motors if they still had any deals on the X1 and maybe if we could bargain a little more we might be able to pull it off. It had been a good 6 months since the last time I had visited the BMW guys and even though I knew the chances of getting a similar deal as earlier might not be possible, I got all excited and called them only to find out that the production of X1 had been stopped and they had run out of the Expedition editions. They did have a few Xline's and Sportline's in stock though. But even after discounts the sales rep quoted 40 lakhs for it. I gave up and told my wife that the most logical thing would be to get the Vento and maybe do something productive with the money saved.

I was out of town and I had decided to book the Vento as soon as i got back. A week before I was back in town I got a call from Navnit Motors and they were open to negotiations for the Sportline’s and Xline’s in stock. The wife and I are both very enthusiastic and passionate about driving. In fact the wife’s side is a complete Bimmer family; the in-laws have 2 in their garage right now. Now this had become the age old heart Vs head dilemma. The top variants were priced very close to twice our initial budget. And one important thing to consider was the resale hit as it was a 2013 manufacture (BMW India stopped importing X1 kits sometime in 2013) but I figured that can be compensated if we hold on to the car for 5 years and we don’t take out a loan (potential interest savings).This is how it went

Head: It’s a 2013 VIN
Heart: But It’s so fun to drive
Head: Maintenance would be higher than the Jetta
Heart: But it’s so fun to drive
Head: There is so much more we could do with the money saved if we got the Vento or the Jetta
Heart: But it’s so fun to drive
Head: The final price is way over the budget we had set for ourselves
Heart: But it’s so fun to drive
Head: No harm in trying to negotiate

The buying and delivery experience

After a zillion calculations we had finally decided to go ahead with the purchase. The buying experience with Navnit Motors was horrible to say the least. I informed the sales rep that I wanted to come to the showroom for final negotiations and pay the booking advance. That's when things started going sour. When I arrived at the showroom the sales rep I was dealing with was unavailable and he had informed a "senior" of his to handle the final negotiations but the gentleman refused to even have a conversation regarding the price. After days of negotiations over the phone the sales rep had given me a final quote of 36 lakhs but this gentleman went back saying that price was not possible and the best he could do was 37 lakhs. I told him multiple times that I was promised 36 lakhs and that I had my cheque book with me and I would book it right there if he was willing to negotiate or put me through to his management for one final round of negotiations. I wasted 1 whole hour there while he wouldn't say another word. I came back home disappointed with the way I was treated. The same evening my first point of contact called to apologize to me and inform me that they were out of my choice of color (They had only 2 colors available to start with Marrakesh Brown and Valencia Orange) so he said I could either opt for the Valencia Orange or for a little more I could have the prestige variant of the 3 series.

I was tired of the whole negotiation process so i thanked the gentleman for the information and told him to call me back only if he can honor his word of the X1. Sure enough he calls me back the next day to inform me that magically they were able to convince another customer to change their choice of color to the orange so the Brown one was available for 37 lakhs if I wanted it. I again thanked him for the information and told him I was not interested anymore. But as Salesmen go he kept at it so I asked him to come home and we could discuss it. After a short round of negotiations he came down to 36.5 lakhs but I wasn't happy because it was still 50k over the initial offer so I kept at it. The wife had been a silent audience during this whole proces. She finally uttered the golden words "Stop irritating the poor chap and give him the cheque already" . I did just that and informed him I needed a week's time to get the funds together. One week turned to two but we finally paid the whole sum of 36.5 lakhs OTR and fixed a date for the delivery. Unfortunately I and the wife had to go out of town that particular day so my brother and mom took delivery of the car. It was a smooth process and the car was ready at the promised time. The sole reason for going through with the purchase after the snobbish behaviour during negotiations was the love for the car itself. Would have preferred the sport line but had to make do with the luxury line due to color choice.

The final OTR was Rs 36, 50,000 inclusive of road tax, registration and Insurance with BMW secure. In reality this was a whopping 9.5 lakh rupee discount if the pre-excise price was considered and a stupendous 11.5 lakh discount if the post excise price was considered.

THE CAR ITSELF

The car has a thumping 2L engine producing 184 BHP and 380 NM of torque. The car is primarily going to be used in the urban confines of Bangalore city and a trip or two in a month out on the highway. We as a family drive a lot and all our cars reflect that. The Honda City has done 65000 kms in about 28 months while my brother in laws F30 has done about 70000 kms in about 24 months. All of us have a daily commute of at least 70 Kms and short to longish highway runs of about 300-800 Kms (Round trip) every other week. None of us use chauffeurs and this was the main reason that we needed to get something that is engaging to drive and built solid. In terms of reliability my brother in law had previously owned the E90 which did about 90000 kms in the 2 years that he drove it without any major hiccups and his present car also has been very hassle free so we figured another BMW was a safe bet.

The steering is a big step up from the previous gen X1 which required proper muscles to park or take a U turn. It’s a breeze to use inside the City even though it is not as light as the Hyundai's or even the Jetta. On the Highway it weighs up considerably once you touch triple digit speeds. The feedback is good but not as good as the 3 series. It handles very well for its weight but again not as well as the 3 series (read somewhere that the 3 series has a 50-50 weight distribution ratio). The ride also has improved by leaps and bounds in comparison to the previous gen (my best friend had one until a month ago).

The first observation that my mother made was that it was a lot easier to get in and get out of especially in the front seat in comparison to both our Honda City and the other Bimmer in the family. One can just slide into the driver’s seat without having to struggle too much. The bonnet is quite long so judgement calls in say the basement parking of an apartment can be tricky.

The small undulations on the roads due to patch work are pretty much flattened out at city speeds but even a small patch of uneven roads on the highway result in a very pronounced bad jolt especially for the rear seat passengers. It basically has a lot of vertical movement.

The car is absolutely fantastic to drive out on the highway and overtaking doesn't require too much thought. The 8 speed ZF is quick and seamless and never ceases to put a smile on my face. The accelerator and the brake both need some getting used to in city driving as they can be overly sensitive.

It’s very easy to find a comfortable driving position with the electrically adjustable seats and the steering is adjustable for both reach and rake. Everything falls easy to hand from the driver’s seat especially the idrive controls. The whole cabin is well thought out. The rear seat space is just about adequate as you can see in the pictures. The arm rest is a useful thing to have in an automatic and the additional storage space in it is always welcome. I do wish the boot was a tad bit bigger. One can only put in one big suitcase and you cannot even place one more over it as it gets narrower and does not fit but then the rear seats do fold flat to open up humungous space and that is a good workaround. You also have the option of split folding the rear seats. The front doors hold 1 litre bottles, Haven't tried to put it in the rear doors but i think they will hold them too.

The quality of plastics inside the car is top knotch. A friend of mine mistook the soft touch plastics on the dash and doors for leather . The leather seats are comfortable on long drives too. I do miss the extra under thigh support and lumbar support that are available on the sportline some times but its not exactly a deal breaker.

The idrive gives you information about everything from the mileage to when the next oil change is due and even when the brake pads for the front and rear are due. All the rear view mirrors have the auto dim function which is a very useful feature to have during the nights out on the highway. All round visibility is fantastic.

The throttle response becomes very lazy in the eco pro mode and it doesn’t seem to make too much of a difference in the mileage figures so I’ve decided to keep it turned off. I do think that the start stop function is good though as it is one step closer to reducing pollution.

I am still getting used to the throttle response and haven’t tested the sports mode extensively. The manual mode seems totally unnecessary. I do wish it had cruise control as that is the one thing I liked in our City. I miss that feature a lot during early morning highway runs.

Things I like

1. Its super fun to drive
2. Getting in and out is not as difficult as the F30
3. The view from the driver’s seat is higher than that of a sedan
4. The iDrive screen resolution is better than the F30 (at-least looks like it)
5. The superb panoramic sunroof
6. The additional ground clearance is god send on Bangalore roads
7. Navigation works well considering it doesn't rely on mobile networks
8. The overall build quality including the soft touch plastics on the inside is very good.
9. I love the welcome lights that light up each time you unlock the car
10. The automatic is definitely a boon to have in Bangalore's traffic
11. The 8 speed ZF box is butter smooth and the passengers never feel the gear changes at all.
12. Comes with a fantastic sounding 9 speaker music system and more than adequate number of airbags
13. The reading lights for rear passengers is a nice touch, so is the tiny light that comes on when the vanity mirror is used.

Things I don’t like

1. Unlike the F30 in the X1 one still has to put the key into a slot to start it
2. The ride can be jumpy on patchy roads at high speeds but low speed ride is not as bad as perceived.
3. Rear seat space can be limited for taller passengers
4. The ORVM’s cannot be closed using the key fob (Or I haven't figured it out yet)
5. Lack of a spare wheel
6. Wish the iDrive screen had a touch interface as the navigation would have been a lot easier to use
7. If one is playing music off a USB drive it does not change folders automatically, it needs to be done manually. The work around being put all the tracks in one single folder.
8. The auto headlamps come on way too early and there is no way to change that, the auto wipers on the other hand work perfectly
9. Lack of cruise control
10. Lack of rear AC vents on a car of this price.

Have driven a little over 4000 kms in the 45 days since we got it and most of it has been on the highway. Managed to do good speeds and yet it returned about 15 Kmpl. The in city mileage stands between 9-11 kmpl on the journey computer. The in-city mileage calculated using the tankful to tankful method gave about 9.5 kmpl and this was without eco pro mode mostly driven in peak hour traffic.

We didn't opt for the BSI maintenance package because the one that made most sense according to our usage which is about 25000 Kms a year was the 5 yr/1 lakh kms and that costs a whopping 4.4 lakhs. Right now it's totally out of budget and we figured a wait and watch policy is the best as we have time till the 1st service to opt for it.

I am not a very good photographer but have clicked a few. Will keep this thread updated with my ownership experience. Will let the pictures do the talking. In one of the pictures I have tried to show the leg room in the rear seat. The driver’s seat is set to my driving position (5'10") and my brother is in the rear seat (5'9").

Niggles/issues faced till now:

One small issue till now. Since a week or so the car has been making some weird creaking sounds. zeroed it down to the rear doors and rear seats. The day i took it in to get checked it just refused to make any sounds but the SA got the doors adjusted. It has not gone away though and i am going to have to make another trip when i find time.

Owning a BMW has been a dream for some time and the very first thing I told my brother in law after driving his 3 series was that I had probably made the biggest mistake of my life as I ended up comparing every other car with that.

[GTO]

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

[Sunilrj]

Congrats on the Bimmer!! as a X1 owner Myself i can say that once in the car, you rarely feel like getting out of it.! do check out my Initial review Thread for some cool add-ons! Wish you many many years of Happy Motoring!

[zombiedriver]

Originally Posted by Sunilrj

Congrats on the Bimmer!! as a X1 owner Myself i can say that once in the car, you rarely feel like getting out of it.! do check out my Initial review Thread for some cool add-ons! Wish you many many years of Happy Motoring!

Hi Sunil, I have gone through your entire thread and yes you do have a lot of cool add ons. I'll get in touch with you for pointers as to where to source from at a later stage. Right now the coffers are empty

[dreamliner17]

Congratulations on your new BMW X1 Zombiedriver !

That's a long jump from your initially set budget to the amount you ended up paying for the X1 ! I think its this strong 'pull' of the beemers that make a prospective buyer ready to bridge the gap and get them closer to owning a beemer ! Wish you a happy and hassle free ownership of the X1

[zombiedriver]

Originally Posted by dreamliner17

Congratulations on your new BMW X1 Zombiedriver !

That's a long jump from your initially set budget to the amount you ended up paying for the X1 ! I think its this strong 'pull' of the beemers that make a prospective buyer ready to bridge the gap and get them closer to owning a beemer ! Wish you a happy and hassle free ownership of the X1

Yes its a huge jump and I am myself yet to come to terms with it considering until a year ago I was driving a hatchback. It's really difficult to think of any other car once you've driven a Bimmer

[miharbe]

Congratulations Mate! Nice car and nice colour! (was worth the extra 50K)

I recently drove the media X1 and also had some crazy fun trying to drift the car and do some donuts on a playground. I simply loved the way everything from the steering to throttle to engine response is precise in giving you what you want and expect from the car. If i were to nitpick the only drawback is in the D mode where it wasn't exciting enough. Nevertheless there is always S for the times one needs a rush. Its great that your usage will ensure this car puts the miles it deserves.

Have Fun! Wish you lots of JOY!

P.S. I drive a Vento and trust me as good as it is it just would not have cut it!

[Akshay1234]

Congratulations on the X1. You got a great deal. Honestly with the kind of discounts going now, the X1 is a great choice for anyone considering how loaded it is compared to the base 3 series.

As for the creaking noise, it will be from the door beadings. My X3 has similar creaking noise, I think its a trait with all Euro cars. Some lubrication needs to be applied to the door seals, preferably Gummi-Pfedge.

[madhav14]

That's a wonderful car you got there! Congrats on your new ride man. Wishing you many happy miles with it.

Btw, you said the music player doesn't change folders automatically while playing. Are you sure about it???

[Mission_PGPX]

Congratulations on the X1. owning one is a dream cone true. One question i would like to ask, did you consider 320d during your selection? Because from your initial search(jetta, cruze, octavia etc), it seemed you are more of a sedan person. Apart for ingress issue, what was the downside compared to X1?

[quattroa4]

Dear zombiedriver , I tell you one thing that this is the best driver's car money can buy on this side of 50 lack rupees . I have been using it for over 29000 kms so far after selling my 320D ( E90) as a exchange as i just fell in love with it after my first test drive . It's a 320 D only but with a good road clearance to clear out all the potholes and surprise speed breakers which our road authorities dish out in abundance .Forget about the rear space , cubbyholes , family first and issues like that , just drive !!!! Its so rewarding that you will have your well deserved sheer driving pleasure to the maximum . One point though , do purchase a spare wheel and keep it in the boot .That will give you a lot of piece of mind and ability to go anywhere. A second hand rim and tyres will save you lots of cash .

[zombiedriver]

Originally Posted by miharbe

Congratulations Mate! Nice car and nice colour! (was worth the extra 50K)
Its great that your usage will ensure this car puts the miles it deserves.

Have Fun! Wish you lots of JOY!

P.S. I drive a Vento and trust me as good as it is it just would not have cut it!

Thanks! One of the main reasons of opting for a car with strong build quality was because it is going to be running a lot. It's going to complete 2 months in a few days and it's almost at 5k kms .

We have retained the Honda City as of now so maybe can look at the Polo or the Vento DSG as a city runabout in a year's time.

Originally Posted by madhav14

That's a wonderful car you got there! Congrats on your new ride man. Wishing you many happy miles with it.

Btw, you said the music player doesn't change folders automatically while playing. Are you sure about it???

Yes, Damn sure about it because it's the same case in my brother-in-law's F30

Originally Posted by Mission_PGPX

Congratulations on the X1. owning one is a dream cone true. One question i would like to ask, did you consider 320d during your selection? Because from your initial search(jetta, cruze, octavia etc), it seemed you are more of a sedan person. Apart for ingress issue, what was the downside compared to X1?

How i wish I could have afforded the 320D sportline :(, it was a good 5-6 lakhs over the X1 and base variant is bare bones in comparison to the X1 top end .Coming to your question, We wanted a Diesel Automatic in a particular budget and all the options for that particular criteria were sedans. Yes at the final cost that we paid for the X1 we could have considered the Tfort 4*4 AT or the Rexton. I didn't like the looks of the Rexton and even though the Tfort is a mean looking car it's a master at nothing in my opinion. It plays the jack of all trades card perfectly. The in-law's had a Tfort for exactly 11 months with them during which i got to test it extensively. I felt that the ride quality,especially for rear seat passengers was bad even in comparison to the X1. Beside's it can never put as big a smile on my face as the X1 does.

[Higgs_Boson_i]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

I have been using it for over 29000 kms so far after selling my 320D ( E90) as a exchange as i just fell in love with it after my first test drive . It's a 320 D only but with a good road clearance to clear out all the potholes and surprise speed breakers which our road authorities dish out in abundance .Forget about the rear space , cubbyholes , family first and issues like that , just drive !!!! Its so rewarding that you will have your well deserved sheer driving pleasure to the maximum . One point though , do purchase a spare wheel and keep it in the boot .That will give you a lot of piece of mind and ability to go anywhere. A second hand rim and tyres will save you lots of cash .

Dear Quattroa4, wanted to clarify a couple of points since you have owned both the X1/320d.
1) In terms of seating 5 adults which is better?
2) I see you mention not to bother with rear seat space, does it mean it is terrible?

Dear Zombiedriver, firstly congratulations! wanted your views as well on the above and since you seem to travel a lot, how is the rear seat comfort for passengers travelling with you?

Also general question to all the experts, why is the X1 cheaper than the 320d sedan?

Regards,

[Sunilrj]

Originally Posted by Higgs_Boson_i

Dear Quattroa4, wanted to clarify a couple of points since you have owned both the X1/320d.
1) In terms of seating 5 adults which is better?
2) I see you mention not to bother with rear seat space, does it mean it is terrible?

Dear Zombiedriver, firstly congratulations! wanted your views as well on the above and since you seem to travel a lot, how is the rear seat comfort for passengers travelling with you?

Also general question to all the experts, why is the X1 cheaper than the 320d sedan?

Regards,

1. in terms of Seating 5 adults both 3 Series as well as the X1 seem to have the same floor area. in fact the Floor mats of the 3 series are interchangeable with those of the X1

2. It is comfortable to seat 5 healthy Adults. not the ones who would need to go in for weight management.

3. the rear seat comfort on the X1 is a bit hard as compared to that of the Q3, Yeti and the like. One is due to the Run Flats and the stiffer suspension.

4. The X1 is cheaper since the Platform was introduced in 2009 and the facelift is due i Guess somewhere around June this year. the 320 updated platform was released in 2012 if i remember well. so probably this is the reason. also the 320 Sportline has a Sport+ Mode and a roller sun blind for the rear window. and yes someone just called me up to point out that the X1 has 'sensatec seats' which are actually synthetic leather and the 320 has natural leather seats and also comes with a Spare wheel. apart from that i haven't found any major differences between the X1 Sportline and 320D sportline variants

you can do a compare yourself with the attached spec sheets anyone game to play spot the difference ?

BMW 3 Series --- > BMW_3_Series_Spec_Sheet_Jan_2015.pdf

BMW X1 ----- > BMW_X1_LCI_Spec_Sheet_January_2015.pdf

[zombiedriver]

Originally Posted by Higgs_Boson_i

Dear Quattroa4, wanted to clarify a couple of points since you have owned both the X1/320d.
1) In terms of seating 5 adults which is better?
2) I see you mention not to bother with rear seat space, does it mean it is terrible?

Dear Zombiedriver, firstly congratulations! wanted your views as well on the above and since you seem to travel a lot, how is the rear seat comfort for passengers travelling with you?

Also general question to all the experts, why is the X1 cheaper than the 320d sedan?

Regards,

Sunil has clarified your query very well. Adding to that, The X1 is actually not that much cheaper than the 3 series if you were to compare the actual sticker price but the discounts are very heavy possibly to push sales and because the facelift is expected some time this year.

The rear seat space is in no way terrible, as you can see in the picture where i have tried to illustrate rear seat space. The driver's seat in that picture has been adjusted for me (I'm 5'9") and sitting in the rear is my brother who is 5'8". The difference between the 3 and X1 i think is that the seats in the 3 series are more reclined than the X1 and that probably gives the illusion of better rear seat space. In terms of rear seat comfort the 3 series is definitely better due to it's lower stance as the X1 has a lot of vertical movement over bad roads