BMW X1 S-Drive 20d Review (Road Test): Bigger & Better Than Its Predecessor!

Design & Exterior

We received the BMW X1 in a shade of Sunset Orange. At first glance, the car looked fantastic. Up front, it features BMW's signature LED headlights that look very nice thanks to the LED DRLs. The visibility is brilliant and the LEDs light up the roads very well.

The fog lamps, which are also LED units, are placed a little lower in the bumper. The bumper has been redesigned and it now gets vents on the sides too. However, unlike other BMW models on sale today, the X1 20d does not feature active vents on the front grille. The SUV gets a bigger single-piece grille along with a fair amount of chrome at the front.

Moving on to the sides, the BMW X1 rides on a set of 17-inch single-tone alloy wheels that look fantastic and blend with the overall with the size of the car very well. The X1, instead of a sharp bodyline, features subtle lines and creases that run all the way from the headlight to the taillight.

The X1 also gets body-coloured ORVMs with integrated LED turn signal indicators that have the lower half finished in matte black. Now, instead of chrome, the SUV gets the blacked-out treatment around the windows.

Moving on to the rear end of the vehicle, a couple of things will attract your attention. First up are the sleek looking tail lamp units and secondly, the big dual-tip exhausts accentuate the car's sporty look. The exhaust tips are finished in chrome and both outlets are functional.

The X1 badge as well as the 'S-drive 20d' badging is finished in chrome. There is a reverse parking camera and parking sensors all over the car that makes parking in tight spaces easy. Overall, on the outside, the facelifted X1 looks really brilliant.

Interiors & Features

Step inside the car and you will be greeted by the large and welcoming cabin space. The large panoramic sunroof makes the cabin look much bigger than it actually is. The BMW X1 comes packed with lots of features, equipment and technology.

The dashboard is dominated by an 8.8-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system. The touch is really responsive and it comes with Apple CarPlay. BMW however has failed to equip the system with Android Auto. At this price point, the lack of Android Auto sticks out like a sore thumb. This is a feature that should have been present on the car and we hope BMW updates the X1 with this feature at some point in the future.

The BMW X1 features a digital-analogue instrument cluster. The instrumentation gives out a lot of information about the car, but cannot be configured or customised according to the driver's needs.

The ambient lighting is integrated neatly into the door panels and on the dashboard and has a pattern to it. There are about seven ambient lighting options that can be selected. The wood trim and accents used on the dashboard gives it a premium feel. The dashboard and door panels are wrapped in soft-touch materials.

There is also dual-zone climate control, and the readouts for the temperature and other parameters are displayed on a negative LCD. Each door has a bottle holder and there are lots of cubby holes for storage.

The steering wheel is wrapped in leather and offers excellent grip. Also, the steering-mounted controls are placed ergonomically. We did end up wishing for a flat-bottom steering wheel.

The driver's seat gets the memory function with two settings. The front seats are comfortable but could have had a little more cushioning. It gets decent side bolsters, but one can possibly get fatigued during extra-long drives.

The rear section of the car gets a decent amount of legroom and headroom. There are scoops behind the front seats so that the passengers get slightly more legroom. The rear seat is best suited for two people. The passenger seated in the middle will feel slight discomfort over longer distances. There are two AC vents in the rear and two type-C smartphone charging outlets.

Engine & Handling

Powering the facelifted BMW X1 is a BS6 emissions norms compliant 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine. The engine pumps out a healthy 190bhp of power and 400Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and the power is now transmitted to the front wheels and not to the rear.

Since the X1 is a front-wheel-drive car, there is a lot of torque steer when you floor the throttle. If you step on the gas hard, especially in the first three gears, you will have to hold the steering wheel pretty tight as the car tends to steer everywhere due to the torque steer induced by the front-wheel-drive setup. However, due to this setup, the SUV now weighs less than the previous generation BS4 variant.

There are three driving modes on offer: Eco Pro, Comfort and Sport. In the Eco Pro mode, the steering becomes light and the throttle response is laggy, but it saves fuel. In the Comfort mode, the steering and the throttle response improves a little and this is the mode that we will recommend buyers to drive in around the city. In The dynamic mode, the throttle response becomes sharp and the steering stiffens up and one can use the maximum potential of the car in this mode.

The power delivery in Dynamic mode is linear, but there is a sudden boost in power if you floor the pedal and this is bound to push you back to your seat. When you want the car to be fast, it is. The paddle shifters are really useful and come in handy when you have to upshift or downshift in manual mode.

The suspension setup on the facelifted X1 is slightly on the softer side and this is because the company wanted to offer a comfortable ride. The suspension setup is not bad, it absorbs all the bumps and potholes easily and very little if felt inside. Also the NVH and insulation level is excellent and when you are inside with all the windows shut, it just cuts you from the outside world.

Yes, the X1 can cut through corners but you will feel some amount of body roll due to the soft suspension setup. However, the steering response is brilliant and the car will shift lanes at the slightest steering input.

As far as the fuel efficiency goes, the BS6 X1 left us amazed as the car delivered between 12 to 14 km/l in the city. Unfortunately, since we had the car for a short time period we could not do the highway fuel efficiency run. But if you have a light foot out on the highway, we expect you to get somewhere between the 19km/l to 20km/l mark, which is really impressive.

Verdict

The BMW facelifted X1 is the entry-level SUV offered by the German brand in the Indian market. The car is fast, comfortable and feature-loaded. The new BMW X1 is also slightly larger than its predecessors and features a more refined engine as well. The facelifted BMW X1 goes up against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLA and Audi Q3 in the Indian market.