• Loads of room for passengers
• Big boot
• Plug-in hybrids not as practical

How much space is there?

Up front there’s loads of room in the BMW X1. Head and legroom are especially impressive, there’s lots of adjustment in the steering to suit a variety of driving positions, and the seats up front are supremely supportive with offer excellent long-distance comfort.

In the rear, three adults can sit comfortably in the back seats – which is an improvement on most rivals, including the Audi Q3. And not only is there a great deal of headroom back there, the rear windows are tall and let lots of light in.

BMW X1 boot space and storage

The X1’s bootspace is generous for the class. In conventionally combustion powered models it measures 540 litres with the rear seats up, which is around 100 litres more than the Mercedes-Benz GLA and Volvo XC40, and on par with the Audi Q3. With the rear seats folded down, there’s 1,600 litres of space.

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Sliding rear seats come as standard on xLine and M Sport models. This enables you to prioritise rear passenger legroom or luggage space. However, plug-in hybrid versions of the X1 do have a smaller boot due to the associated electrical systems being stored beneath the floor, with the official figures dropping to 476 and 1,496 litres.

Is it easy to park?

All models come with a reversing camera and BMW’s parking assistant, which is capable of parking the car for you in the right circumstances. This works well but we found it a bit slower than doing it ourselves.

The A-pillars (the ones either side of the windshield) are quite thick, making front parking, and entering angled junctions or rounabouts, a bit trickier than we’d really like. But that’s the case with many modern cars.

Safety

• Five star safety rating
• Loads of tech on offer
• No front Isofix

Euro NCAP, the European safety testing authority, awarded the BMW X1 a full five out of five stars when it was tested. That’s exactly the kind of performance we’d expect for a small premium SUV like this, and while Euro NCAP’s testing procedures have got tougher since then, we’d still considered this a very safe car.

For instance, the X1 scored highly in the Safety Assist category thanks to its substantial selection of standard safety kit, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control.

It doesn’t Isofix mounting points on the front seats, which might limit its appeal to some families. But there standard anchor points for child seats on the two outer rear seats.

Watch the BMW X1 Euro NCAP crash test video: