Don't Cheat Yourself!
Yes, don't cheat yourself out of some real fun.
While the X1 is BMW's smallest SUV, if all you need is room for four or an occasional five, and enough luggage space for a good week-long road trip, an X1 just might be all you need.
And the fun factor really kicks in with the M version. You'll upgrade to 313 HP with the M vs. the base X1 28i's 241. Neither is slow, but the M will get you 0 – 60 in just a blink over 5 seconds.
Bob Jackson
And it's that almost instant acceleration and break-dance handling that makes the X1 M35i such a treat in traffic. Just squeeze the trigger and blow past those folks who need to finish texting before they can be bothered by the light that just turned green. Park one-handed. Shoot through gaps in traffic. The X1 M35i is an ideal Urban dance partner.
Not to say that it's not a delight on the open road, too. As an empty nester, Momma and I loaded our little X1 M35i with folding kayaks, paddles, coolers, groceries and luggage…still had room left over…and had a smooth, comfortable, speedy trip down to the beach over the Fourth...and almost got 30 mpg as part of the deal.
Bob Jackson
X1's start in the low $40's. Our M version, however carried a not-quite $59K window sticker…but had just about everything I could ever want.
Sunroof, keyless entry, 20" bi-color alloys, sunroof, parking assistant, surround-view, all-phone connectivity, heads-up display, remote start, premium sound, roof rails, performance suspension, Alcantara seating and more. In other words, just about everything that you'd expect a luxury performance vehicle to have.
Bob Jackson
As for a couple of irritations, one is the automatic start / stop gas saving feature that shuts off the engine when stopped. While it only takes around a quarter of a second to restart, it's still a delay that I don't expect in a BMW M series. I'll happily trade "instant go" for the mile per gallon ( or less ) that this saves. Shifting into Performance mode should eliminate that delay, tho'.
And I'd personally like a simpler screen. Changing from Sirius to FM to AM and back just took my eyes off the road for too long.
But those minor issues are the norm on most vehicles these days, and they sure wouldn't keep me out of the drivers' seat of any X1…and especially an M35i.
Again…a bigger X has a bolder presence, but for shear driving pleasure, I found that the X1 M35i fit me just fine.
Bob Jackson
