BMW X1 | The Synergy Between Beauty And Tech

Driving experience & Engine performance: 

For the drive, we have the BMW X1 diesel variant, which is the sDrive 18d M Sport, with a 2.0L four-cylinder turbocharged, producing 148hp and 360 nm of torque. The petrol variant, the sDrive 18i xline , is powered by three cylinders turbocharged engine, pumping over 134hp and 230 nm of torque. As soon as I entered the car, I was engulfed by the sports seats, which are standard now in both variants, a neat touch. We have Active Seats for the driver and passenger, focusing more on individual comfort with the M sports variant; they are equipped with various massage options for long drives. The leather felt deluxe, and the seat kept me bucketed.  

Looking ahead, my hands grabbed the steering wheel, and despite its sophisticated and minimalistic look, the wheel felt slightly chunky to me. If you have larger hands, it will feel right to you. It is very operational and has all the essentials one needs. Navigating through the Mumbai traffic is always a challenge; I thought driving the X1 would be tricky since it's an SUV, but it wasn't so bad. The steering is nimble and manageable on city roads. I like that it's playful, but more precision would have been helpful as I started carrying speed on the highway. At high speed, I can feel small bumps and movements, which means suspension units are not the best, but I'm not complaining; they are not the worst. 

The 7-Speed Steptronic Automatic Sport Transmission gearbox does feel dragged out and longer at specific points. The acceleration is mediocre, and the initial punch is smooth yet slow-paced. Driving up the ghats is where I feel the challenge was, and the low initial punch didn't really help. The acceleration didn't pick up right away and with traffic around it was hard to keep up at a slow pace. Once you are at a higher speed, it does keep up firmly and doesn't lose the power. But the shifts still take slightly longer. The paddle shifters in this variant are a great help when I feel the drag. At high speeds, you can hear the car sound and surrounding noise, even if it's minimal. I had high expectations from the German brand for the insulation, and it's not meeting those expectations. 

The average fuel consumption is 20.37km/ltr, and I had a good amount of fuel left when I reached Lonavala, even after going around the ghats. Thus one plus point is the Mileage. Overall, It was a smooth, comfortable driving experience, even with a few negatives, especially for long drives. I did enjoy driving on open roads with this car.  

My favourite part of the driving experience is the SportsBoost Mode, which turns all the powertrain and chassis settings for high performance, a countdown of 10 seconds, and then boom. You get that full power punch and efficiency.