2014 BMW X1 xDrive35i

Anyone who’s paid attention to coverage of the latest BMWs is familiar with the company’s steady march toward the future—and somewhat away from the core values that have traditionally drawn enthusiasts to the brand. The focus on pure driving pleasure that once universally defined BMW has ebbed against the onslaught of tech-overloaded interiors, adaptive suspensions, electric power steering, and porky curb weights. Enthusiasts fret over the passing of great BMWs such as the E39 5-series, E38 7-series, and E90 3-series, yet the magic of those cars lives on in one of the oldest designs sold by the Bavarian automaker today, the all-wheel-drive X1 xDrive35i tested here. 

Sulkiness Aversion Vehicle

The X1 xDrive35i has yet to fully undergo the modernization process that’s turned the into a floaty barge and cost the 3-series its glorious steering feel, and it still packs a proper inline-six (albeit turbocharged), hydraulic power steering, subdued interior design, and a suspension that was actually tuned instead of given a gaggle of electronic settings. Its sole concession to new-school BMW is its oddball, niche-chasing body style, which falls somewhere between a wagon and a crossover. This smallest of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles is really a taller E90 3-series wagon, a car with which the X1 shares most of its underpinnings. 

Test car’s sparsely populated window sticker reinforced its old-timey BMW feel—options such as iDrive and its attendant controls were pleasantly absent. This left behind a clean dashboard with actual buttons and knobs and an analog shift lever (four-cylinder X1 xDrive28is get an electronic joystick lever). A panoramic sunroof, power front seats, xenon headlights, and Bluetooth are all standard. It adds only seat heaters, available with the $550 Cold Weather package. The car carried only the $1900 Sport Line kit (18-inch wheels, sport seats; there also are base, xLine, and M Sport groups), $550 Valencia Orange paint, and free (and convincing) pseudo leather, resulting in a relatively modest (for a modern six-cylinder BMW) $41,975 price tag. 

Technicalities

Gas Mileage	:	7.4 L/100 KM
Engine	:	3.0L L6 DOHC Twin Turbo 24-valve
Horsepower	:	300 @ 5800
Body style	:	Sport Utility
Transmission	:	6 speed automatic
Drivetrain	:	all-wheel drive

The 2013 BMW X1 features a gem of a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine. Its 241 hp are strong and healthy. The tested xDrive35i gains one of my favorite 6-cylinder mills: BMW’s superb turbocharged 3.0L that pumps out 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque.
The 4-pot’s transmission gets an 8-speed, while the 6 gets the same number of gears. All BMW X1s include BMW’s xDrive intelligent AWD system. Steering is managed by good, old hydraulics.

Comparing the BMW X1
The 2013 BMW X1 xDrive35i is hugely compelling, especially because of its performance and drive. It will reach 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds! A more powerful-on-paper Infiniti EX37 takes 0.3 seconds more. Seriously, with a little weight reduction and some slicks, the X1 xDrive35i could be a drag-strip monster.