[Tomduck]

Initial impressions after 300 miles on the M40, M25 (mostly crawling) and some Greater London driving.

UK Model - 18SD MSport in storm bay with alcantara sport seats, 19” alloys, Harmon Kardon, large fuel tank, sun protection glass and active drivers seat.

Exterior - very impressed with the fit and finish, with the storm bay paint looking great in all lighting conditions, can take on flat grey, metallic grey, sometimes almost blue, great shape shifting colour. The 19” wheels are shod with non run P Zero tyres (of which more later). The sun protection glass just finished off the exterior MSport look nicely and the metal grille tied in nicely with the alloys although you could definitely aesthetically make case for the black grille too but both look good in different ways.

Interior - this car is smaller than the X3 and yet the interior space does not give that impression. The X1 cabin is much brighter and has better front and side visibility over its larger sibling. It sits slightly lower but is a nice place and very comfortable to be in for a long journey (even if you’re 6ft 4”). The alcantara seats are great, firm but not too firm, supportive and generally the quality of the interior materials are high (obviously not quite as high as the X3 but cheaper cars make some shortcuts like the door storage). The storage is lacking in the centre but it makes you focus on what you really need to have in the car although I think for a facelift they should think about the area beneath the arm rest and the tray that opens correctly only for LHD cars. I used the “active driver” massage seat function about 6 times on the trip (lasts 20 minutes each use) and it was very effective and I can see this getting used on every long trip and it seems a “no brainer” of an option. I found the removal of the pointless automatic shift stick to be a major positive, the switch that replaces it being very easy and quick to use when starting off or parking and freeing up cabin space. The lack of buttons can be seen by many as a negative but it does make the cabin much more streamlined and it’s design improves due to this. It looks classy and the wide thin ventilation outlets add to this effect and are also very efficient at keeping the cabin cool even on a 30c day. They spread the air wider compared to smaller square vents.

iDrive and entertainment - is fast, and responsive and has excellent voice control. Voice commands work well although you need to be specific and not overly waffle. If you want the massage seats function don’t say “Hey BMW can you turn on drivers massage seats”, just say “Hey BMM massage seats”. Turning the air con on/off, heated seats, a particular radio station was a breeze. I spent 2 hrs on delivery setting all the menus up one by one, and then creating six shortcuts that you swipe down to reveal quickly. But I think it works very well and the screen is extremely bright and crisp. My preferred screen set up was large nav on the main screen and the widest nav display option on the drivers display (with just the mph on the left of that). This meant you got a much better “zoomed in” layout on the nav at junctions. My only complaint is I have not been able so far to set up digital key plus or “my trips” in my app, not sure why this isn’t working yet. I’d also be keen to switch off the speed camera warnings, because on the M25 they are literally every 100m so, however I am not sure if that is possible? Overall I found it intuitive so long as you are reasonably tech savvy and know your way around an iPad or iPhone. If so you should not find any major issues. Even if you are not tech savvy once the functionality is set up and you have your shortcuts, it can be mostly just left as is, seeing as air con and seat heating is always on the screen and almost everything can be changed via voice control anyways. The Harmon Kardon stereo is well worth the £650, sure it’s not a monster sound set up with booming bass and outright maximum volume levels but it’s not going to be at this price point. It’s a major improvement over the standard stereo for all types of music and very clear for voice heavy stations like radio 5 live. I love my music and have a Naim system at home and the musicality of the HK is definitely very decent.

Driving - Coming from an X3 you notice a difference in dynamics. The car feels lighter, easier to manoeuvre, with a smaller turning circle, and is of course easier to park. I found the ride to be great, a little firmness, not overly compared to the X3 Msport, but compliant and although you feel the bumps it soaks them up. I would say that I didn’t encounter any poor (pot hole ridden) roads in my trip though so cannot say what it’s like on such roads as yet. The road noise is at least as quiet if not quieter than the X3, perhaps partly because this car doesn’t have run flats, when my prior 2019 X3 did. The section of M25 that is concrete between Cobham and Chertsey used to be disturbingly loud in the X3, but this was noticeably much quieter in the X1 to the point that I forgot what section I was on. Generally cabin noise from engine and outside factors was low and no complaints there whatsoever. My only issue was some tram lining effect going over white lines (this was nothing to do with the lane warning as I have all warning tech turned off). I wasn’t sure if this was due to the lighter steering feel or tyre specific and if the tyres may “bed in” with this regard. Overall it’s a nimbler car but perhaps less “planted” than the X3. In operation I didn’t find any major issues with the oft reported gearbox hesitancy over and above what this style of box normally has, it certainly didn’t cause me any issues but was no different to the XC40, Q3 etc and arguably it was better. In sport mode the stop start was disengaged and the lag that is present in the other modes disappeared. I will keep an eye on this for when I have covered more mileage but engaging sport mode if you are doing heavy junction work is the work around.

Engine - this 18d may be one of the base engines but it is superb and represents just how far efficient dynamics and the ICE has come! To manage the mpg it does (see below) and be so quiet and cruise so easily makes me a little sad that manufacturers won’t continue to develop them even further. There is a mild diesel thrum outside but inside when on the move or at idle it was hard to detect any engine noise at all. I have owned many diesels but never one so efficient or so clean emissions wise and some would argue that in producing huge batteries via rare earth materials (that will also need replacing at some point) electric cars have their own major issues on the environmental front at the moment. This is even without the infrastructure issues (that knowing the UK) will probably only worsen by the time ICE sales are banned here. I took the car up to 90mph, I accelerated with the boost function and also just via the paddles, past cars doing 70mph with ease thanks to the lovely torque these engines have and in heavy traffic on the M25 I had zero issues with stop start, it worked flawlessly even with this non mild hybrid engine. It was superior to the current Gen X3 for stop start operation, and you could barely feel it happen. Take your foot off the accelerator as you would naturally and then immediately touch it lightly and it comes back to life instantly. The car was also superior to the X3 at low speeds crawling in traffic, with a very smooth action via the accelerator peddle it was a pleasure and a very easy drive in heavy traffic.

Efficiency - This is by far the most fuel efficient car I have owned. On this trip it averaged an astonishing 68 mpg whilst driving mostly between 65 and 75 mph, including approx 1 hour of crawling and start stopping on the M25’. That means in theory the car could do 800+ miles on a 54L tank, however 650-700 seems likely achievable as an average. Whichever way you chop that given the cost new difference to mild hybrids and the fully electric vehicle it stacks up very well. During my demos pre order I drove all the engines and would say for value for money and overall driving (unless you’re a petrolhead who wants to drive like I did when I owned my Mk1 Golf GTI) then this engine is probably the sweet spot of the range. If they introduced an Xdrive version it would be perfect, a bit of a shame (as the outgoing mode had a 18d Xdrive) but I’ll probably only miss it a handful of times at most a year.

Overall I think the new U11 is class leading, partly no doubt to the fact it’s totally new and the most other cars in this German/Swedish segment are now getting quite old. Very little to not like about it, but I’ll update this thread as and when I have further thoughts and have covered more mileage, happy to reply to any questions and hope it helps 👍

[Tunners]

That’s a great write up and pleased you are happy with it. Enjoy.

[Pganders]

Excellent write up, thanks for sharing.

[Tomduck]

Glad it’s of use, and if anyone figures out if you can turn off the speed camera warnings on the drivers cluster display let me know 👍

[Tunners]

Speed camera warnings are a paid for annual subscription. Do you mean speed limit notification?

[Tomduck]

No I mean speed camera notifications/alerts. I haven’t “paid” or signed up for anything (other than a 3 month free trial of something I have already forgotten?) so maybe I’ll need to wait for that to end then!

[Tunners]

Strange, unless it is something included in iDrive 9

[beefgroovy]

I just got my car last week, and by activating a ConnectedDrive contract, it automatically signed me up for the 3 month trial for traffic cams. Didn’t want to activate it so soon as we only have maybe 4 traffic cams where I live but didn’t get a choice.

[Tomduck]

Ah must be that then…I certainly didn’t put any payment details in so it should stop in 3 months then!

“On every new BMW sold in the UK, BMW ConnectedDrive is free for three months, then service continues with a subscription”

[Tunners]

They must have changed it then, I have had mine since March and the connected drive is mainly unlimited apart from map update, Alexa, and connected package pro. The safety camera option was not automatically added and is only a 1 month free trial or £25 for the year.

[Pganders]

The My BMW App shows I have Connected Package Professional for 3 years. I didn’t pay for any of the digital upgrades listed which came as part of the car. The Driving Assistant Plus is a free 3 month trial which I probably won’t renew. I got it for the Adaptive Cruise Control but don’t need/want the other bits so not worth the cost.

[MontyB1]

Great write up, only driven ours 4x times, she won’t let me get in it. It’s a cracking car still need to get some proper photos done as well, but again I can’t grab the keys from her.

Oh and speed cameras will always alert but you can turn off the audible element but not them showing in a HUD.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by Tunners

Strange, unless it is something included in iDrive 9

Mine was on a free trial that expired, though I forget if it was 3 months. (iDrive 8, US model)

[Tunners]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

Mine was on a free trial that expired, though I forget if it was 3 months. (iDrive 8, US model)

We can get it on the free trial for a month but it is not automatically added, I would have to add it through the connected drive store.

[Malso23]

Great review many thanks Tomduck
We’ve ordered the same colour and it looks fantastic.

How have you found the gearbox, has it been smooth for you?

And a minor question - do your front seat cup holders have adjusting support?

MontyB1 rooting for you to pinch the keys soon!

[Tomduck]

Gearbox has been fine, as expected, wouldn’t see it as a concern. Slight hesitancy maybe but that is the nature of these boxes (on other manufacturers too). I wouldn’t say it has an impact on my enjoyment or that it is that noticeable for me. As others have said if you engage sport mode then the stop start is disengaged and the gearbox has no lag whatsoever.

Cup holders have no adjustment in the UK, and not an issue for me as I don’t use them apart from to store items like coins and mints in.

[redlion8]

Echo the thoughts about the gearbox in normal mode - however if I click the shifter down into sport mode which is incredibly quick and easy to do. It becomes super responsive - failing that the flappy paddles offer a temporary boost mode as well

[MontyB1]

Originally Posted by Malso23

MontyB1 rooting for you to pinch the keys soon!

I tried to take it to work yesterday for another longer play and assessment, she was having none of it. She really enjoys the car and the low cost of running it as well. Review will be coming and some photos.

[Malso23]

MontyB1 looking forward to it!

[richardg77]

What a great review, would be interesting to hear your mog updates as you progress, have you done any short town runs yet. But wow 68mpg is incredible, my Q3 20tdi does low 50s at best and averages mid 40s and i’m careful!

[Tomduck]

Yes I went into town yesterday about 20 minutes each way, medium traffic, plenty of junctions, traffic lights etc, car returned 52mpg. Switched between efficient and sport modes.

I’d add that I nearly purchased a Q3 (SB) 20tdi this year but thankfully for various reasons didn’t BUT I would say that the X1 is superior on all counts unless you prefer the Audi looks or you want more “buttons” in your car. I tested both back to back several times so happy to answer any questions.

[richardg77]

How would you compare review the two then, main differences etc? My non sportback Q3 is the new shape but is now almost 5 years old, and is starting to feel old and a bit cramped.