Thank you so much for your help so far guys, which has been invaluable. I have now done a very detailed desktop review of each car, watched countless YouTube videos and read lots of reviews and I think that the car in pole position now (drumroll ? ?) is the BMW X1 20i xDrive xLine.
Whilst the interior is undoubtedly quite dated compared to the other cars on my shortlist and most road testers report that road noise is excessive compared to other cars in the class, it is a 190PS petrol car with 4 wheel drive and, being a BMW, will have a perfect balance of performance versus economy. I have had lots of BMW’s over the years (3, 5 and 7 series) and know that they suit me, so I think this is probably the best (for me) of the cars that are available. The shortlisted cars are all very good, but I fancied a change from the Tiguan, the Kuga interior looked a bit low rent, the XC40 seems very expensive and the seats and infotainment are getting mixed reviews and the Q3 only comes with a 1.5 petrol which is deemed to be a bit short of puff at times and with a fairly poor auto. In short, none of the cars is perfect, including the X1, so compromise is necessary whatever we choose.
The AP of £2,849 is very reasonable and I have managed to negotiate a further £500 off (making it just £2,349) plus 10% off any optional extras. I know that some forum users also deduct the £600 good condition bonus when saying what they have paid, but I don’t as I’d get that anyway if we walked away from the scheme, so it’s an artificial figure IMO.
We are going to look at the car on Monday (don’t ask how!) and if we are comfortable with the seats and the wheelchair fits in the boot (which it should, as I’ve now got measurements) then we will order it. I can’t see the AP reducing in Q2 (famous last words? ?) but the car is right at the top of the current price caps, so there’s a very slight chance that this variant could be removed. I have called Motability today to ask if they think there’s any possibility of the 25e PHEV version of the X1 coming on the scheme and they said that it’s not listed to appear. Obviously that’s not guaranteed 100% accurate info, but I might have considered the 25e had it appeared (even though it has one exhaust tailpipe, rather than the twin exhaust of the 20i – pathetic, I know, but it makes a big difference to the look ?).
Mrs Glos Guy may decide differently on Monday when we look at the car, but that’s where we are as of today. I asked this before, but didn’t really get much response, but can I ask existing X1 drivers if there are any options that they regret not ordering or if there are options that you have and wouldn’t be without? I usually add a lot of options but am going to try to resist the temptation this time!