Bucket Seat: 2023 BMW X1 18d

BMW's entry level SUV the X1 had its 3rd generation introduced to the market at the end of last year, with the launch taking place earlier this year. Having attended the launch and sampling both, the petrol and diesel variants, I was quite impressed what it had to offer. The X1 hasn't been the best selling X model but it has its place in the market and with the previous generation made decent inroads in sales for its segment competition, I foresee a greater interest with this model as for me, the competition have been playing slack when it comes to the entry level models, cutting corners and not even giving the end user a premium product that is associated with the badge. After spending a week with the new X1, it really gave me a great impression of what the brand is doing as a whole with their new focus and trends on upcoming models. 

DESIGN

The new X1 looks stunning, while the previous models always had some err's about their design, I can honestly say this one is a beauty. My favourite angle to view it from is side on, while its not the biggest, the lines and curves give it so much presence that it looks bigger than it actually is. The front gets the new X look with larger twin kidney grille with is finished in brushed aluminium, this is standard across all lines, be it the M Sport, xLine or Signature trims. The one I had was in a metallic Utah Orange paint with 19-inch V-spoke Bicolour Black Grey, gloss lathed rims that really gave the car another dimension with the added detail. The new headlights straight edge angular that follow the lines of the front bumper and hood, with the adaptive LED matrix tech adding more detail with the upside down L shapes that feature the day time running lights on the car. Depending on the trim, the front diffuser changes to suit, with the xLine have a more pronounced curved styling with brushed aluminium accents and details which include a center skid plate in the front and rear of the car. These brush aluminium details also include side plates which give a tri-colour look to the side. I love the little things in the design of the new X1, the revised door handles which are blended in to the body, the new tail lights which have a really cool pattern embedded in them and way the roof line has that gentle gradient  just adds to the character of the X1. 

PERFORMANCE

While the badge read 18d, the X1 diesel is still powered by a 2.0-litre Turbo Charged diesel motor which produces 110kW and 360Nm of torque. For its size and weight, the motor propels the X1 off the line at quite a speed recording a 0-100km/h speed of 8.9 seconds. But performance on this type of vehicle doesn't mean its speed or how fast it can take a corner but rather pulling power with a load, fuel consumption and urban driving comforts which the X1 excels in every aspect. The urban consumption figures on the brochure read 4.5L per 100km but I managed to get around 5.6 which isn't terrible considering I was doing highway driving as well. With the 54-litre fuel tank, I managed to get just over 650km from a single tank of fuel. Even though the X1 in the xLine trim came fitted with 19-inch rims, the ride quality was very comfortable on any surface. The new design BMW steering wheel felt good in hand and general handling of the car was very good no matter the speed or surface you were traveling on. 

COMFORT

While the X1 has grown ever so slightly from its predecessor, it does feel a lot bigger with loads more head room. This coming from a tall person says a lot about the design of the interior from BMW. Speaking of which, it comes with the new styled interior which BMW will be rolling out in all of the X range. The X1 comes with the new curved screen dual display, as mentioned before, a new design steering wheel, a floating center console which doubles as an arm rest with hidden storage under the cushion. The center console also has the new mini gear selector and driving mode selector. Under the floating arm rest is more storage as well as USB ports. The X1 has dual zone climate control for the driver and passengers.  The rear passenger seats receive a new design which make it much more comfortable for 3 people to sit on the semi bench styled seat with a 40:20:40 split for the extension of the luggage hole. The modern design in the cabin extends to even the door panels with edgy designs that is contrasted in various materials from aluminium, plastic, leather and suede. It really adds great dimension to the overall look of the interior. The car comes with wireless connectivity for mobile apps which set up automatically once the bluetooth is activated giving you seamless integration. If you prefer to use the normal BMW OS, you'll be please to know that you will be receiving the latest version of it and with the ease of reach from the drivers seat, the infotainment screen is fully touch screen and there is no iDrive jog shuttle controls for it. The new BMW Maps with Connected navigation has Augmented Reality directions so it displays arrows when you need to take a turn or off ramp. 

VERDICT

The BMW X1 is feature packed in terms of tech and safety, with its modern and stylish looks along with the host of textures, trims and rims to choose from, you can really spec your desired one to be totally different from the next. The overall driving experience is a good one, it feels like a better build that most of the other competitors in the market. I know this car is newly launched but it just feels mile a head of the rest and that should be the case, as its setting the standard for compact SUV's and BMW were the first to introduce this size to the market. While you won't get the same sporty performance type drive of a normal BMW, the X1 does well to fit into its roll as a family orientated recreational vehicle that is also super good to look at. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2-litre, 3-cylinder  Turbo Diesel
Gear Box	Steptronic with double clutch
Torque	360Nm
Power	110W
0-100km/h	8.9 seconds
Price	R805,616.50*

*base price with xLine Trim

 

Bucket Seat: 2017 BMW X3

When the BMW X3 was first launched back in 2003, it was a bit of a misfit for many, at the time the need for a mid sized SUV, wasn't that popular simply because there was very little that the market offered. But then people slowly started warming to the idea and actually began appreciating what the X3 was and realised it was more of a SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) and since the demand for this sort of vehicle has grown in leaps and bounds with many manufacturers taking to it and offering models of their own. 

This week BMW lifted the covers of their new X3 which is due to hit local shores by November this year, albeit not a very close kept secret as leaked images hit the internet a few hours before the live launch. I think BMW need to invest in better security but I suppose it creates hype for their product in it's own way. Getting back to the car, design wise, BMW have continued with the trend set by the 7 Series with hexagonal lights with sharp edges, bring in the X line, the iconic kidney grilles are large and prominent on the front and below finishing of the front end is a mean diffuser with LED fog lamps and large air intakes. 

The rest of the car is sculpted very similar to that of the smaller X1 and bigger X5 with it rounded of at the rear with larger tail lights that look quite cool with the inner LED pattern. The new X3 will be made available in three packages, the base xLine, Luxury Line and M Sport package. As customer preferences go, its obvious that the M Sport package would be the favourite for the lot, but for me I'm liking the Luxury line, with its chrome finishing and the multi-spoke rims and interior trimmings of dark oak wood and light leather seats options. 

Speaking of the interior, as per the exterior design, a lot of the elements from the 7 series can be found inside, most notably the previous in-dash infotainment screen now protrudes from the dash and is a large 10.2-inch touchscreen display with the added option for gesture control. Also offered as an optional extra in the interior is a 12.3-inch instrument  cluster and a full-colour heads up display. Storage areas in the cabin have increased in size and with the ergonomic design, general space in the cabin has increased for the passengers. 

 Seeing that the X3 is derived directly from it's sedan counter-part, the 3 Series, I expect this SAV to do quite well when it goes on sale later this year. What makes this new X3 even more special is that from April next year, it will be built and made in South Africa at BMW's Rosslyn plant which will stop production of the 3 Series and begin manufacturing of the new X3. It's a bitter-sweet moment for BMW SA as the 3 Series has been so long synonymous with the Rosslyn plant but as I said in the beginning, SAV's are becoming more and more the sort after vehicle for the consumer, be it a secondary car, a moms car or a general all rounder, more often than not you will find one in the garage of every 3rd or 4th house hold in a street.