If you can’t wait for the new Touring version of the BMW 3-Series to arrive in the States next month, or simply think that owning a wagon is less cool than owning a crossover, the Bavarian company offers two alternatives: the X1 and the X3. If you see the former on the street, you will be struck by how un-SUV-like it looks.
That’s partially due to the fact that the X1 is based on the underpinnings of the previous generation, E91 3-Series Touring, featuring a jacked up suspension and chunkier proportions.
Consumer Reports recently cast their opinion on the X1, and they went for the 28i version, powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine, which it shares with the new F30 3-Series.
However, the engine is criticized for being somewhat dull to listen to, and a bit clattery at idle – direct injection is to blame for the latter.
The publication also says that the interior of the X1 is not on part with the rest of the BMW range, and since their car was not fitted with the fiddly i-Drive system, the reviewers were forced to pair their phones using a small monochrome display on the center console as guidance – not very 2013 at all…
Overall, CR found that the X1 is competent, but says that the lack of connectivity, average build and excessive price, makes it hard to recommend, especially since it competes in a market sector full of capable offerings from non-premium manufacturers, which are cheaper and more in-tune with the times.
By Andrei Nedelea
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