In-depth reviews

BMW X1 SUV (2015-2022) review: owner reviews

"If you want a small SUV that’s practical and fun to drive, the BMW X1 is an attractive option"

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31 Mar 2022

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Carbuyer Rating

3.5 out of 5

Owners Rating

3.8 out of 5

Price

£36,200 - £54,375

SPECIFICATIONS

Reviews

Owner Reviews

5 out of 5
4 out of 5
3 out of 5
2 out of 5
1 out of 5

75%of people would recommend this car to a friend

Common Problems

Other (3 cases)
Brakes, Engine, Gearbox / clutch, Other (1 case)
Gearbox / clutch (1 case)

Review 1 of 12

Tell us what you think about your car?

DISAPPOINTED TO FIND AFTER I HAD BOUGHT THE CAR THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE FOLDING MIRRORS. OBVIOUSLY MY FAULT ASSUMED ON A CAR COSTING £25k THIS WOULD BE STANDARD. I ALSO FIND STEERING HEAVY WHEN MANEUVERING. CANNOT FIX FRONT SEAT BELTS WHEN CENTRAL ARMREST DOWN.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Probably the worst car seats in almost 40 years of motoring. they are so uncomfortable that the seat almost collapses onto the frame when cornering. When I test drove the vehicle I thought the sports must be standard and did not give it a second thought as having upgraded to the x Line sports seats were standard on the model below. The fault is entirely mine for not checking however BMW and the dealership did offer to give me a replacement with sports seat for the small matter of another £4500 my mileage at the time was 180!!! I have noticed that all the press and launch vehicles were fitted with sports seats I wonder why ! If anyone is looking to purchase an X1 make sure it has sports seats. By the way I am 12 stone.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

I love my car! I previously test drove the old X1 and basically hated it. I was so tempted by the Audi Q3 and the Mercedes GLC because of this. I gave the new X1 benefit of doubt and I'm so glad I did. Firstly as every other review of not only this, but any BMW, has pointed out, go with the 8 speed auto! It's perfect. (Plus I'm like a big kid with the flappy paddles which make it more fun). The car feels sporty and agile. There's no roll in the corners and it's very grippy. The 20d engine in mine packs about 190ps which is perfect for this car. It shifts when pushed but doesn't sound or feel uncomfortable doing so. The mpg is quite a bit off BMW's quoted 50 something figure but that's to be expected. The xDrive is a great addition and adds to the grip the car has. I'm not sure what a previous reviewer meant about the stock seats, I find them really comfortable and find it really easy to find a comfortable driving position. I'm 6ft 3 and am comfortable in either the front or back. There's simply loads of space. The xLine version is packed with features and I think the wheels etc it comes with make it look much nicer than the MSport. BMW have already been pestering me to trade after 18 months. With previous cars I'd have had a look, with this one I won't be doing as I just love it too much to consider getting rid of it. The only thing I'd swap it for is another X1 to be honest!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

The X1 is a very practical car, it's big on the inside with a large boot and it's van-like with the rear seats folded down. It's also nice to drive with a good turn of speed if required. Reasonable running costs and it's a nice car to cover some miles in.

What's the one thing you like most about your car?

The automatic gear change is very smooth.

If you could improve one thing, what would it be?

The parcel shelf is a two piece set up, I would change it to a sliding shelf.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Swapped our 2.0 turbo Z4 for a 25d xDrive xLine as we needed a more practical load carrier. Bought the bike prep and built in bike carrier which works great and although not cheap was worth it. Car handles well and is quicker than the Z4. Slightly noisy at low revs but very quiet once on the move. Self parking and auto opening hatch is a great addition as is standard sat nav. Overall a very good handling, enjoyable car to drive. The torque can be very addictive though, it seems to go up hills as fast as it can go down them.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Solid build. Spacious interior relative to its small exterior size. Cargo space is massive if you go for RFT tyres and skip the spare wheel. Great list of standard features. Most of the important options are available as packages, which is fantastic. There is still a long list of individual options to customise just about everything! iDrive, even the standard version, is hands down the best infotainment system out there. Connectivity bells and whistles that come with the upgraded iDrive are also great and actually really useful. The HUD in particular is my favourite feature and is definitely worth the extra. I barely look at the dash/sat-nav now that everything I need is available on the HUD. It's a real shame that 25i isn't available in the UK (only 25d is available). But the 20i petrol engine is more than adequate. There is plenty of torque and the engine/exhaust noise is excellent. It's quiet when you need it to be and loud and angry when it's pushed hard in sport mode. I can't comment on the diesel noise. 8-speed transmission is quick and smooth. Although I would've preferred the traditional electronic BMW gear knob. Ride is great on standard 18" + RFT tyres. If you have DDC, the Sport mode noticeably stiffens up the suspension for a firmer ride. But it can become a little irritating on poor road surfaces (i.e. 99% of UK roads!!). I would definitely avoid the 19" wheels. Shorter side wall is guaranteed to give a crashy ride on UK roads. For maximum comfort, you can always downgrade to 17" with regular tyres.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Things have have catastrophically failed in the last 2 months.. 1. The clutch 2. Transfer box 3. Front differential 4.Both front brake calipers 5.Tracking/balancing (permanent shudder) this has apparently been fixed multiple times. 6.Key sticks in ignition,either won't go in or doesn't come out.. BIGGEST disappointment is attitude of trader who I have used for YEARS. I tried to get rid of car but discovered that I am in negative equity. On a 2012 plate the thing has cost me the best part of £6k to sort out...car is only worth £7,400. Only done 68k to boot. About to store in a garage for 3 years and spend 5k savings on a Ford.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

I really look forward to driving this car, it's refreshingly different, you have to spec it right, ditch the run-flat tyres and get sports seats. The 2.0i is quite an engine, not as powerful as my previous 328i , but I'm not missing it at all –honest! Refinement on this engine is exceptional, when on tickover you have to look at the rev-counter to check it's running, there is no vibration whatsoever. I would suggest anyone contemplating an X1 should seriously this petrol version, it's a gem! Unlike my previous 3 Series, it seems more fluent in sport mode. It breezes along on the motorway, maybe better than my 3 series. With non run-flats fitted, road noise has not been an issue. I would suggest anyone contemplating an X1, to consider the 2.0i, it's a gem!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Only had the car for a couple of weeks but so far totally satisfied. Pleased I decided to go for the sport seats for that extra bit of support , auto gearbox excellent very smooth only down side is the road noise which is a bit above average.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Bought this car to replace my Vauxhall Insignia Sport Tourer. First year of ownership was fantastic. Slightly worse economy than the Insignia but I was expecting that due to the 4 wheel drive. About a year after buying it, started to get a knock from the transmission when engaging reverse and first gears. This turned out to be a failure of the transfer plate for the 4 wheel drive system. My local garage couldn't repair it so it had to go to the main BMW dealer for repair, off the road for best part of a month and a total bill (including a service coming to approx £4,200, yes that's £4,200!!! Despite that I still love the car, it's comfy, good to drive, good motorway cruiser, fun on the twisty stuff and with a good smooth engine. Good job as with that repair bill I'm keeping it 'till it dies to get my money's worth!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

My previous car was a BMW X3 which I really liked but the X1 is better. A bit smaller but very good to drive, accurate steering and brilliant when pushed on corners - not that I do that very often -but it would get you out of trouble, and it can be very quick. It feels safe. The 8 speed auto gearbox is smooth, the changes seamless. It is really very well built and surprisingly roomy. The interior finish is excellent, the leather seats as comfortable as any I've experienced - my benchmark is SAAB which were superb, - and fuel consumption is not an issue.The diesel engine is a little noisy on start-up but soon seems to quieten down and on motorway driving it's fine with radio and telephone perfectly easy to listen to. It's a great car, I like it very much and am pleased with my choice.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

I had the old version for 3 years and did around 120,000 miles. Also had the Volvo V60 D4 for 5 months until this one arrived. To be honest it's a mixed bag, not as fun as the old one but more refined, more room, more grip. I'm getting more mpg against the old one under normal driving conditions - it just doesn't feel that quick but the engine note is better. Ride is good and you just cannot feel the 4 wheel drive kick in - been trying to make it let go in the wet around an island but to no avail, it just grips. Someone pulled out on me this week in the rain around an island so had to drive around them, the old x1 would have understeered but the new one no drama. New X1 against the Volvo D4, the X1 gets 52mpg Leicester to Sheffield. Volvo 45mpg and that was taking it easy in the Volvo. Volvo a great car, just poor mpg given the fact that its lower on CO2 than the X1. X1 iDrive better but Volvo eco information better, you get a live bar graph 1 or 10 miles giving you mpg information thus setting you a target, BMW a blue bar! Also I had the upgraded hifi - you don't get any adjustments over the normal system other than it can go louder. My RX8 R3 you get a Bose with other sound options, but with the Harmon, none. Paint finish I went for the mineral white as with the old car white, done 3k and the bumper has more chips then the old one at 120k. The paint thickness is microns and the base bumper is black. The old one was white underneath and a thick coating so you got a chip and it would be a small indentation but not now it's a black hole. I love the look but miss the old car's fun factor and the paint finish to the bumper being so fragile is pants on a car costing 35k. I would have given it 4 stars but the paint finish only gets a two - go for a dark colour, don't go for white as it looks like it still has bug marks after you have cleaned it.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up