sDrive 20d EfficientDynamics 163 5dr SUV

Fast, comfortable, economical, practical and spacious.

I bought this car about 2 months ago and it has been a pleasure to drive. We had a BMW 118d M Sport before which we found a bit too small. With the X1 there is plenty of room for 5 adults with a large boot and lots of headroom.

I have to say that this car looks great inside and out especially in black with the silver X Line exterior package. The car came with standard 17" alloys which we have upgraded to the 18" BMW 323 honeycomb alloys which look fantastic and it still rides just as well as the 17's. We now use the 17's as a winter set which compensates for the fact it is an SDrive to overcome those tricky winter conditions but still retain over 62mpg.

The full leather is a must as the cloth looks and feels a bit cheap. Don't worry if they are not heated because in the time it takes for the heated seat to warm up you would have already heated it up by sitting on it. Make sure you opt for a sat nav screen rather than the cheap storage cupboard. We have the Professional 8.8" screen and it looks brilliant and performs well with the ability to have it split screen and watch DVD movies with multiple map views and directions. The Pro system also comes with a large hard drive built in so that you can upload all your music and movies via USB which is great. There is plenty of storage and plenty of interior lights, there is also some really nice LED door handle lights which look great.

The performance is more than enough with 8.3sec to 60 and it pulls really well in 3rd and 4th for overtaking. You would be hard pushed to tell the difference between this slightly de-tunned (20bhp less) ED20d and the standard 20d especially when considering the large gain in mpg and reduction tax costs. The handling is surprisingly good considering the raised SUV ride height, it is very well balanced with plenty of grip. Being a BMW it dominates handling and performance in this small SUV class. Refinement is second to none at all speeds and it soaks up the bumps and potholes well. The diesel engine can be noticeable in the cabin at low revs but unnoticeable after 20mph. Being higher up means visibility is very good from all aspects.

It isn't too long or too wide making it easy for the wife to park with the help of the front and rear parking sensors. It is a great family car which is fantastic to drive given its BMW pedigree. I would recommend this car but think carefully about the spec engine and drive.

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