He is in for a bitter disappointment. In Bavaria, they still haven't learned how to fasten plastic in the cabin so that it doesn't rattle over every bump. And this is no accident — there's an outright disdain for Mercedes here. The message is: we won't cater to the buyer; for us, the main thing is handling. The interior flaws only underscore this stance.
The engineers are so obsessed with perfect cornering that their creation constantly seeks an excuse to veer off somewhere, even when driving straight. Or rather, when you try to... Everything else can be tolerated. The X1 bounces its rear axle over large bumps like a pickup truck, and the fuel tank has a gaping hole the size of a nickel, from which fuel drains faster than a workday ends. Completing the picture is a whole mushroom patch of buttons around the i-drive dial, whose usefulness as a "smart" and, most importantly, safe control device has long been in question.
MORE TENDERNESS
BMW is not a car for everyone. It reveals its character only in the hands of a special audience. You need to drive a BMW aggressively, fiercely — and then the flaws disappear. You forget about the absurd dashboard and the i-drive dial when you cut into traffic on the edge of adventure. On the highway, piloting is so captivating that there's no time to look for a new disc. The rattle of plastic drowns in the roar of the engine and ceases to exist. This is how the brand's reputation is quickly restored in your picky mind. True, the X1 doesn't require nervous steering corrections, but that stands out from the overall picture.
And yet, the aforementioned miscalculations of the Germans don't go away. They wanted to create a Bavarian Qashqai, but apparently didn't read the latest newspapers. The Japanese also first released a mini-crossover with a stiff suspension. Then they got burned by customer complaints and softened the springs during the facelift. The audience is women. They don't like it when the car thumps over the asphalt. They need tenderness. And for men, the X1 is too small. But BMW, with persistence worthy of an Ig Nobel Prize, offers us pure aggression. As a result, the future Audi Q3, even before coming off the assembly line, has almost already won.
MORE REVS
The petrol engine leaves a mixed impression. On one hand, it's classic. An inline six-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with a longitudinal layout: what could be more traditional? Even the best V6 yields to it in balance and quietness. No extra vibrations. But all the power is revealed only at high revs. The peak of 258 hp comes at 6600 rpm, and the maximum 310 Nm appears only after 2600 rpm. In tight city traffic, this is extremely inconvenient. You have to constantly keep the gearbox in "sport" mode, which finally finishes off the remnants of comfort. And if you believe the onboard computer, the consumption is 16.5 liters per hundred.
