It depends, it may be that you are one of those who give more priority to quality, efficiency, spaciousness, and comfort than performance, that it is your first car, that you have given everything with your previous sports cars and are now looking for new pleasures, or simply that you are than they buy a car with square and bevel. Be that as it may, the BMW X1 sDrive18i is a much more interesting compact SUV than it seems.
It is naming a Premium car and the usual question arises: how many horses does it have? Enough in the vast majority of cases, sure, because times have changed. If you've been out on the road, you'll have seen it for yourself: the vast majority of drivers travel at the new rates that by law, for safety or fuel savings and cost of use are imposed on us. Surely if they talk to you about a BMW with 136 CV you frown more than if they do it about a 110 CV Seat Ateca 1.0 TSi or a 131 CV Citroën C5 Aircross 1.2 PureTech when a car like the BMW X1 sDrive18i, also equipped with a Great little three-cylinder engine is faster, more consistent, smoother, spends clearly less than them and also has better qualities, chassis and can be further customized.
And it is that "average power" is not always synonymous with poor performance. The BMW X1 sDrive18i is a good example. It is true that it is not a very fast car but it is far from being an underpowered version, and also, it must be recognized that BMW offers you other options at the same or not much higher price if you want to raise the dynamic level of the BMW X1.
For some, the best alternative will be the sDrive18d, a Diesel with a punch Diesel that costs the same as the sDrive18i, spends even less, and has the same environmental badge as it, although it is not as smooth in daily use, you have to be aware of its Adblue or other additional maintenance of this type of engine, although I do admit that its extra power can be decisive if you travel with a full load or give a high priority to recovery capacity.
Others will see the X1Sdrive20i as a more interesting option, either because it has more power, or because of its distinctive DGT ECO as it has 48V technology, or because, combining both advantages, it only costs 1,500 euros more than the sDriveX18i.
Adding the sportiest versions —BMW M35i xDrive—, the two plug-in hybrids —xDrive25e and xDrive30e— in addition to the xDrive23i that is also on the way, what I am sure is not lacking in the X1 are very good level engines that stand out among their peers for always being one of the most efficient, nor obviously, a propulsion technology for every need, although, for many, the value of the X1 may lie in its excellent habitability and boot capacity —with 540 liters, it is 10 liters more than the Audi Q3 or in more than 100 liters to the Mercedes GLA or the Volvo XC40, with 425 liters in each case—, in offering a comfort comparable to the Mercedes and Volvo models, a driving feel as good as the Audi Q3 or a digital ecosystem superior to any from them.
What is the true performance level of the BMW X1 SDRIVE18I?
Enough. There are occasions that the data defend it; there are others that feelings do. When the mechanical aspect passes into the background when using the car on a day-to-day basis, it is usually for two reasons: because dynamically it is a more than solvent car, or because it does not spend too much. With the BMW sDrive18i, he has had both impressions at the same time over the kilometers, driving the car in the city, on the highway, or on the motorway.
Although it is basically the same engine as before, a 1.5 three-cylinder, BMW has modified the injection by incorporating a dual direct/indirect injection system to improve cold emissions. It reaches its maximum power value between 4,400 rpm and 6,500 rpm, achieving maximum torque of 230 Nm between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm. It has not only a very favorable theoretical performance due to the wide margin in which it maintains maximum torque or the low revs at which it reaches its maximum power level, but also a very constant real operation. The best ally of this engine is the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, one of the smoothest, fast enough, and capable of perfectly interpreting the driver's needs so that the engine finds that constant response to the ideal speed at all times.
The three most notable aspects of this version are, from my point of view, how smooth it is when driving at low speeds. Here it doesn't look like a three-cylinder engine due to sound, vibrations or because there is a delay in the response, quite the opposite; It is barely audible in the cabin and offers a rather fine, round, and refined twist of a deeper draft engine. It is also a propellant that accelerates progressively without the need to stretch the gears as it "raises" average acceleration without apparent mechanical effort, without the need to seek power at high revs or have the mechanical impression of driving an arrhythmic three-cylinder. Up top, yes, there's some oomph left, but it's clearly not this engine's specialty.
And lastly, because you don't have to make an effort to achieve moderate fuel consumption and also their figures are always homogeneous within a range of between 6 and 7 l/100 km, something more if you are one of those who likes to gain speed with something of joy but no less because you are rigorous and meticulous with the right pedal.
What I have not had at any time, even traveling fully loaded, is the impression that this X1 would have a hard time keeping up with the usual traffic, but rather the opposite: you still have a cushion to catch up and easily mark distances, separate yourself from another car that wants to catch your wake, overtake on a secondary road or maintain speed when they reach medium slopes without having to lower more than one gear at the most.
The best of all the X1: Its behavior, Hability and connectivity
The BMW X1 has extraordinary behavior. We could leave it there, but to the nuance, BMW seems to have given greater priority to precision driving pleasure than to pure comfort. It is not that it is a firm or uncomfortable car, but an SUV with a more refined chassis in the style of a CupraFormentor or an Alfa Romeo Tonale than that of a Mercedes Benz GLA, for example. For me, or for you if you don't like excessively filtered cars, that transmit little information, that have slow and wide body movements, this X1 is one of the most balanced SUVs that you will be able to find. If you want more damping stiffness, you have sports suspensions at your disposal that don't work dryly, but I think they unbalance a version like this whose charm lies in comfort and driving pleasure.
And it is that, both the steering and in general lines, the speed of response to the steering wheel and the naturalness with which it exchanges the weight from one train to another in a longitudinal or transverse direction make it an agile car but at the same time feel truly plumb giving a high impression of security and control.
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