Hello All,

Just thought I'd finally share my thoughts on the car now having it for 3 months and 1900 miles.

Minus the "issues" that there are other threads of, here's a overall consumer stand point review.

Initial thoughts: The car's fit and finish (for the most part) is Top notch for it's tier and price range. Outside of a little rattle here and there (to be expected with just about every new car i've ever owned, 2017 MB E class included) the overall finish and lay out of the cabin, the quality feel of most of it's parts, are very nice and elegant. It does have a National brand business class seat feel to the cabin. Everything is within reach (I am 5'6") and i don't find myself really having to touch the screen as often as I initially thought I would.

The quality feel of the door handles (i know theres a lot of background noise on this) but they feel well built. the plastic underneath feels a little cheap but its going to get destroyed anyway.

The clunk of the door is nice and solid sounding. It has that quality feel sound.

The voice command/assist does come in handy when trying to swith modes, though it has a lot of difficulty differentiating "efficient mode" and "Fish mode" or some other weird term.

The interior buttons all feel great, well built. Nice solid "click" feels for the window buttons.

The drive,

The car does have a lot of umph for it's size and stature. I would dare say, maybe too much umph for such a small car.

For the first 1200 I didn't push it much, i did find myself going in and out of sport/efficient mode a lot during the first 1200, then found that personal mode is right where i'd like it to be for daily driving/commute. I think for longer trips (i drive about an hour 1 way on weekends) efficient mode does help with overall mpg, if not being a little reminder to take it easy or be conscious of it at the least.

Fun driving, so right around the 1200 mile mark, I let her open up. The first run I had there was a lot of moving traffic so i didn't get to do much. Just kind of a tease if you will pinging it in high rpm in low gear.

I had most recently a solo trip home from a very long drive, and wanted to get some fun in. I put it just into regular sport mode, not M/S and did some fun curvery highway spirited driving. A few cars wanted to mess around but I just ignored them and as they drove off I'd continue.

She did quite well over all, I will say there was one time where I had punched the gas just a bit and switched lanes, and lost traction, it slipped out pretty bad. At no point did I feel the car was out of control, it just felt like the LSD didnt really compute that scenario the best.

Keep in mind, I am on P zero AS Plus 3 tires, 19" wheels. The weather was brisk, around 37F and the roads were dry-ish, it had rained earlier that morning, and some patches of condensation were visible on the shoulders.

Boost mode, i must say its extremely fun. I am not really entirely sure if this is a safe feature to have on the car as it can be triggered pretty easily (which I assume is the point) but for the average driver, given the car's torque and fwd bias, it almost becomes like you're on a speed boat and the car feels like it lifts up. But on a straight away on the highway, it is very nice to use to overtake a car.

Handling, the car handles very much so like a sport hatch. There are a few times I notice understeering happening, sharp turns and windy off ramps (NJ highways) i'll find myself having to overcorrect in that turn sometimes.

Overall it handles very well, what the original Mini cooper S (supercharged) ones used to feel like. Very go-karty, especially for an SAV.

Compared to the x3 30i I had on loan, this car feels like its on rails.

Suspension, given we have a new born I had a lot of concerns once I took delivery, but in the last 600 miles, the car has settled in quite nicely suspension wise.

The ride is semi-firm in comparison to our crosstrek. Our daughter loves taking rides in the x1 now.

I will say that I almost preferred when the suspension was firmer as I felt the handling of the car felt more sporty and car-centric. No real complaints here.

Seat capacity, having a child seat in the rear I would say you can't fit more than another adult back there, which I would assume in nearly any vehicle. The space is great to mobilize the seat, with the door nearly opening up to a full T.

The ride in the rear i can't speak of as my wife doesnt drive the x1 and no one else has, and perhaps will.

Firmness of the sport seats, at first I found them to be quite firm, but not uncomfortable, I did find myself having some bad posture during longer drives but have now adjusted to the adjustments and bostlering and find it to be very comfortable.

I'd like to clarify that for those shopping, the seats do adjust in all ways that every other car seat does, but it also does come standard with the lumbar support, and side bolster width adjustments. They also do have the seat depth extension that is common amongst BMW.

I also would have at this point preferred to have the active seats over the sport seats, since they are practically the same ergonomic, just a different seat back. The light up M badge is a nice touch but only lights when locking/unlocking the car, which is kind of useless.

I do like that the seat will keep me in place when I take long windy turns.

Visibility, Overall, visibility is very good in the car. The front window is massive, and theres a very good amount of vis in the rear. I will say that the A pillar being so thick, from my vantage point, creates this weird blind spot, where if timed right (has happened a few times) that you might not be able to see the on coming traffic on your right (four way intersection) I also noticed the blind spots on the car on the highway, are tricky to navigate.
I have the blind spot detection but it still makes me feel so unsure if i am actually clear or not. I saw some are adding the convex mirrors for this reason, so I may perhaps pull the trigger on that soon.
Semi related to this, I find that the steering wheel is positioned a little low IMO. I don't know if it's intended for the driver to sit extremely low in the car, but with the steering wheel positioned to the highest setting, I still find myself trying to make turns and my elbows dig into my rib area (i HAVE to do the hand over hand method when turning in sharp turns). I didn't find this the case in the X3 i loaned for a few weeks, nor the X2 I had before that. Considering they spec'd it with sport seats, it seems like a small design miss from a user experience perspective.

Aerodynamics, I cant say I am an enginner, but during the fall when all the leaves were coming down, I noticed that the leaves would nearly hit the windshield and then glide right over it, it was quite mesmerizing to watch when it would happen. On the highway, I have yet to get into a scenario where something has hit the windshield, but I also think the aerodynamics of the car have a lot to do with it as well. When I drive at speeds above 75mph, I also don't notice any real wind noise, unless its obviously windy outside. They really did something right here. Top marks BMW.

Sound system, I know theres a lot of discussion on the board regarding this, but for those who find other threads (and likely this entire post TLDR) no offense taken, but to sum it up, its good for the value, and what I mean is for this specific model, it already comes standard (given the price increase of the trim levels) so I have no real complaints about it from a value perspective, but if I had to pay for the add on, it would leave a lot left to be desired from what their "premium sound system" is. Its loud and relatively "clear" enough when just enjoying music for a drive, but for those of you who are looking for a more crisp sound, this is not it. A little disappointed that the only settings you have are Bass/treble, fade, and one "dynamic sound" setting which i feel just makes everything seem louder but more distorted.

Cargo space, seeing that we have a stroller in each car in the boot at all times, we're able to do a heavy grocery run with the stroller still in the trunk without having to adjust it. (The wheels are in towards the rear seat backs) I do think the under compartment is handy, as i keep my emergency items in there (medical bag, emergency readiness bag, a pair of water resistant shoes, a thick road hazard jacket, and some jumper cables) along with the inflation kit that bmw sends with the car. Still plenty of room in there if I wanted to add a powered sub.

One complaint I do have is that the rear cowl that "hides" your cargo, does not fit within the space, nor really anywhere besides on top of all your stuff, so if you are in a situation where you need to remove it to load cargo, you have no where to put it besides on top of your stuff, or in the rear seat (which doesnt work for us with a child seat)

Gas economy, so for someone who commutes fairly short to work now (15 mins 1 way without traffic, about 20 with) and I normally tend to drive about 35miles 1 way on the weekends to nyc, I have to say the gas mileage is really all over the place. At times I can get about 30.5-31mpg on Efficient mode, but then I can get 30.2mpg on Personal, and then sometimes even 32mpg on personal. There are times where I wont get past 25mpg on Efficient. I do have a feeling the other thread I have on it getting stuck in gear during local driving has a factor into this mpg range I have been seeing. For reference, I exclusively fill with Shell 93, the shells around me don't carry 91, and I refuse to use exxon or mobil gas as ive had bad experiences with their formula in my vehicles.

All in all, is it a fun car to drive? YES, will it do everything you need it to? For the most part. It is a great entry way car for those on the fence about the brand. They did a great job making the entry level car feel like a quality product. Time will tell how much "quality" they put into the car, but again, at this price point, with inflation and all that in play, it's probably going to sell like hot cakes (as we can see from the board).

If I had to do it all over again, I might save myself the 10k and just go with a fully loaded 28i ICE as I have to drive like a grandma if we have the baby on board.

I have test drivin' the 28i and also liked it. What don't you like about the sports seats? The non-sports seats were very comfortable. I did not like the fact you can't manually shift the 28i whereas on M Sport you can. But, I am worried the sport seat bolsters on the bottom cushion won't be comfortable. Also, the brakes on the 28k seemed sticky and did not engage as fast as others (Dead *******. I wish they made the 28i with a manual paddle shifter option without having to order M sport. Otherwise I liked the car. Does the go kart feel (I agree it is nimble like the Country Man Mini Cooper) make it feel any more less stable on wet roads or snow? Do you think the lower center of gravity of your cross track would make a better snow car?

stormchaser wrote

I have test drivin' the 28i and also liked it. What don't you like about the sports seats? The non-sports seats were very comfortable. I did not like the fact you can't manually shift the 28i whereas on M Sport you can. But, I am worried the sport seat bolsters on the bottom cushion won't be comfortable. Also, the brakes on the 28k seemed sticky and did not engage as fast as others (Dead *******. I wish they made the 28i with a manual paddle shifter option without having to order M sport. Otherwise I liked the car. Does the go kart feel (I agree it is nimble like the Country Man Mini Cooper) make it feel any more less stable on wet roads or snow? Do you think the lower center of gravity of your cross track would make a better snow car?

Drove the X1 28i last weekend and it's punchy. On ramps aren't an issue.

stormchaser wrote

I have test drivin' the 28i and also liked it. What don't you like about the sports seats? The non-sports seats were very comfortable. I did not like the fact you can't manually shift the 28i whereas on M Sport you can. But, I am worried the sport seat bolsters on the bottom cushion won't be comfortable. Also, the brakes on the 28k seemed sticky and did not engage as fast as others (Dead *******. I wish they made the 28i with a manual paddle shifter option without having to order M sport. Otherwise I liked the car. Does the go kart feel (I agree it is nimble like the Country Man Mini Cooper) make it feel any more less stable on wet roads or snow? Do you think the lower center of gravity of your cross track would make a better snow car?

Personally when it comes to "traction" I will say that I've only had 1 occurence where the wheels slipped out but recovered equally as quick. Could be the tires, could be the car (likely the car). It will handle very well compared to anything in it's class, and much more so like a hatch or wagon than an SAV. It's not honestly that high off the ground, just the cabin is built higher and the seats are placed higher, the car itself is quite compact, it's only 1" longer than a crosstrek.

I don't honestly see this car being all that great in snow weather, and I did not buy it with the intent of it being a snow trooper. I can say that the crosstrek has gotten me through A LOT of bad weather, Hurricanes, Tropical storms, Snow storms in Canada! (sister lives there)

I don't think I'd have enough confidence with the X1 to be as reliable of a car in snow conditions like that, in wet? I am not that worried, higher off the ground than the crosstrek, and things underneath seem a little better sealed up on the X1 than the Crosstrek.

The X1 M35 is just fine in the snow. We have been having record snowfall in Anchorage since mid-October and I've had it since the first week of November. No issues at all and I'm not running dedicated winter tires. I'm still riding the no-seasons it came with. I'm quite pleased this far.

The BMW dealers near me don't have any x1 m35's around, so its hard to test drive one. One main concern is the road noise?
I drove an m235 and it was really bad.
Also does it fart on up shifts like an m235?

Monkey5 wrote

The BMW dealers near me don't have any x1 m35's around, so its hard to test drive one. One main concern is the road noise?
I drove an m235 and it was really bad.
Also does it fart on up shifts like an m235?

Think that’s a subjective question and also answer. What car are you coming/comparing from?

The X3 is noticeably quieter than the X1 but the X1 is noticeably quieter than say something like a Corolla cross.

Also depends on the tire/wheel set up you would be running. My 19’s with sport as tires, I will say are quieter than the 20’s with summer tires they came with.

Monkey5 wrote

Also does it fart on up shifts like an m235?

wut?

tex2670 wrote

wut?

I assume he means burbles and pops, mine does on hard acceleration