BMW’s new SUV, the X1, is chasing many competitors - even competition from within! Rohin Nagrani reports
To find out, we drove the X1 in both petrol and manual guise, tested them, lived with them and came back rather surprised. At first glance, the X1 does appear small. It isn’t a traditional SUV, like a Toyota Fortuner, nor is it as tall as, say, the Honda CR-V. With its coupe-ish stance, large kidney grille and eagle-eyed headlamps, the X1 has the sort of presence most other cars and SUVs can’t boast of. Stylishly designed, the X1’s tapering roof blends with the small tailgate and the flame-like tail lamps that make it stand out in a segment filled with me-too products. To some, it might even appear as a jacked-up estate, but it’s a fine looker, no doubt.
On the inside, the estate theme continues. Since it doesn’t have the usual bump on the roof (where SUVs boast of a third row), the tapering roof means you have limited interior volume. It’s a four-seater at best, with the hump for the rear-wheel drive on the floor restricting space for a fifth occupant. Based on the 3 Series touring all-wheel drive platform, the X1’s wheelbase is identical to the 3 Series saloon, but it is marginally shorter in overall length. Yet, the X1 has more headroom, legroom and knee room both at the front and the rear. It even borrows most of the switchgear and instrumentation from the 3 Series. Overall fit and finish is good, even on the base Corporate Edition X1 that is without i-Drive and the tastefully done leather seats which are found on the Exclusive Edition. You even get memory settings for your seats, but lumbar support is missing. Overall comfort levels are good, and with the rear seat boasting of a 40:20:40 split, you can liberate a lot of luggage room.
The two motors are 2.0-litre four-cylinder units, with identical bore and stroke numbers, and they are mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. That is where the similarity ends. The sDrive 18i petrol unit produces about 150 bhp at a high 6,400 rpm, while the sDrive 20d produces 176 bhp at 4,000 rpm. Torque is also about a full 75 per cent higher in the diesel and that shows in the way both move. The diesel is quicker across the board; whether it is accelerating to 100 kph or simply overtaking another vehicle, the diesel’s good torque spread and higher horsepower make it quicker than most other D-segment saloons! The petrol motor has decent driveability, but doesn’t feel as refined and lacks the top-end performance that the diesel provides in spades. The gearbox does a good job of keeping the engine on the boil, except that it is a bit slow on the downshifts. If you plan to drive quite a bit, we’d suggest sticking to the diesel. It is quite efficient, returning 11.5 kpl overall versus the petrol’s 8.6 kpl.
Driving dynamics on the X1 are truly exceptional; in fact it wouldn’t be wrong to call it the best- handling SUV/SAV in its segment. Based on the 3 Series, which sets standards in its field, the X1 benefits a fair amount. In India, we get only the rear-wheel drive version that makes it road-biased rather than off-road biased. The steering can feel cumbersome at parking speeds, but all is forgiven given its telepathic responses when hustled around. Ride quality is good over most surfaces, but can be a little stiff when compared to other SUVs — the only drawback of being handling oriented. Body control is near-flawless, but we did feel that all-wheel drive would have helped its high speed stability. Off-roading is best limited to dirt roads; serious off-roading is avoidable.
On the whole, the X1 opens up a whole new segment within a segment, one that marries the space of an SUV and the driving dynamics of a sedan. While this sort of sub-segmentation has been successful in the super-luxury arena, it seems buyers in this segment don’t mind such products either. BMW attracted over 1,000 pre-launch bookings, and dealers are quoting a waiting period of three to four months. With Audi and Mercedes-Benz still some time away with a credible competitor, it looks like BMW will be laughing all the way to the bank in 2011, too!