When the BMW X1 was introduced back in 2012 here, it generated a lot of noise in the C-SUV segment, as during that time, there were not much choice if you wanted a LUXURY SUV for your wife to ferry the kids to school. Before then, Honda CRV has always been the favourite, then come the Mazda CX-5 which till today still has a long waiting period. Most that purchased the X1 are now in the queue to get rid of it, maybe in exchange for the same X1 with the iDrive system which is recently added, or even head over to the American camp to look for the extra-ordinary Ford Kuga. The VW Tiguan and Audi Q3 are the closest contenders here.
BMW has always makes the xDrive diesel (184hp/380Nm) and sDrive petrol (184hp/270Nm) available here, thus customer are spoil for choice. 8-speeder is standard across all BMW now. X1 looks and feels smaller and lower when compare to others in the same segment, much like a big-sized hatchback. At the end-2013, the dealers are giving about RM40k off to get rid of the model without the iDrive system and it was a sell-out. In 2014, you get the iDrive unit and the 2.0-litre petrol is asking for about RM239k, whereas the torque-y diesel is about RM269k.
With the additional iDrive, the outdated non-luxury look of the X1 is gone. With this, the interior is now align to the current generation of all beemer. If you preferred a SUV instead of a sedan, prepare yourself for the not-so-good ride quality, even on the X1. During the test drive, the car felt heavy even with a 2.0-litre engine, and the back passenger could suffer from uneven bump and our patched-potholed-manhole covered road surface. BMW is always a good driver car, but not an enjoyable passenger unit. But the X1 is cool for the soccer-mom, so who cares about bumping the kids at the back, they could handle it like nothing happen, with their latest tablet in hand.
Is the X1 a good choice? I would seriously look into the Q3 or Tiguan if continental were the preferred choice. However, with the Diesel engine, one could hauling up a house when needed...380Nm is a lot of pulling torque here!
