BMW X1 (09 on) - Review

There is plenty of cabin room in the X1, although five adults may find it a squeeze as the large central tunnel in the back means foot space is at a premium. But that aside, there's good head room and the cabin feels light and spacious too. Rear legroom is adequate but with the front seats slid all the way back, it's reduced significantly and quite limited. There is some wind noise at higher speeds, but overall the X1 is very quiet when cruising with good insulation from engine sound. The ride is a touch firm, which is noticeable on bumpy roads, but on motorways it's forgiving enough to make long journeys fly by.

While the styling is influenced by the larger X5, the X1 also echoes the bigger model's versatility and it's impressively spacious inside considering the fairly compact size. There's plenty of room in the boot, although the slight load lip is a little disappointing as it means you can't easily slide heavier items in or out - instead they have to be lifted. But the luggage area is wide and long with 420 litres of space available - around 60 litres less than a 3-Series Touring. Underneath the boot floor there's a hidden storage area plus the rear seats split 40/20/40 and fold down to create a larger load space. They don't sit quite flat but this doesn't prevent the X1 from being able to accommodate much larger items such as pieces of furniture. Storage in the front is decent with good-sized door pockets and a central cupholder along with a cubbyhole that doubles as the centre armrest. A luggage separating net is available as an optional extra.

Unusually, there are a few areas where the plastics used don't feel especially upmarket, in particular on the centre console around the gear lever. It's certainly not quite what you'd expect on a BMW. Luckily the rest of the interior retains the same high class feel of other BMW models with a good quality finish and easy to operate air conditioning and stereo controls. The driving position is good too - raised enough to give you a good view out, but low enough so that it feels like you're driving a normal estate car. The seats themselves offer plenty of support, ideal if you're going to spend a long time behind the wheel - however lumbar adjustment doesn't come as standard. Rear visibility is adequate, but thankfully rear parking sensors come as standard to avoid any scrapes in tight spaces.