In this review
Costs & verdict
Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is
Costs, insurance groups, MPG and CO2
The BMW X1 is hardly cheap for a family SUV and is predicted to lose value slightly more quickly than its Audi Q3 rival. That said, reasonable discounts are available so make sure you check out our latest deals here. BMW's PCP deals can be attractive, too, if you want to use finance.
With relatively low CO2 emissions and decent fuel economy, X1s with the sDrive 18d engine are the cheapest to run, especially if you're a company car driver. although even the more powerful four-wheel drive models won't prove too ruinous. If it fits with your lifestyle (if you can make use of the 35-mile battery range and can commit to a regular charging routine), the plug-in hybrid could be cost-effective to run. It's rather pricey to buy, though.
Meanwhile, the 20d is a better place for your money than the 20i petrol; the diesel offers similar performance, isn’t much more expensive to buy and will cost a lot less to fuel.
Equipment, options and extras
Entry-level SE trim gives you a decent amount of standard equipment, including dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors and the infotainment system mentioned above.
Moving up to Sport trim brings mainly styling additions, while xLine adds a lot to the price, so we reckon it's best to stick with SE and add a few options.
Reliability
BMW placed 21st out of 31 brands overall in the 2019 What Car? Reliability Survey, falling just behind 20th-placed Audi but ahead of 24th-placed Mercedes. Volkswagen, meanwhile, finished a mid-table 14th.
The X1 itself didn't excel in its class, either; its 12th-place finish put it ten places behind the Volvo XC40. It narrowly beat its Mercedes GLA rival, though, as well as diesel-powered variants of the Audi Q3. Petrol Q3s, meanwhile, finished just one place behind the XC40.
BMW provides a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, which betters the three-year/60,000-mile warranties offered by Audi and Volvo.
Safety and security
The X1 was awarded a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating with scores of 90% for adult protection, 87% for child protection and 74% for pedestrian protection. The rival VW Tiguan scored better for adult safety, but worse for child and pedestrian protection.
Every X1 has front, side and head airbags as standard, plus a system that automatically informs the emergency services of your location if an airbag is deployed. It’s also great that automatic emergency braking (AEB) is standard across the range.
Meanwhile, security is impressive. An alarm, engine immobiliser and remote central locking are fitted to every X1 and security experts Thatcham awarded the car five-out-of-five for resisting theft, and four-out-of-five for guarding against being broken into.
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