so still to make a final decision on it but what you get for the AP is unbelievable.
And that’s the crux with the BMW.
In all three “trims”, they’re as bare as they come. The M Sport offers at least two non-visual upgrades (the suspension and seats), but even then, it’s still a completely barebones car – not even including keyless entry or high beam assist, something that’s standard in the most basic Polo nowadays.
I get the argument of “less to go wrong” – if you charge accordingly. If you take the Ioniq 6 as an example (we test drove that recently too, amongst the Ford offers – sadly it’s too low for the wife, and too long for our parking bay), .. Actually, we don’t know if the guy can charge at home, so lets go with the most expensive ICE/MHD Tucson. Same price as the BMW, but comes with Matrix LEDs, heated and vented electric full leather seats, opening panoramic sunroof, keyless entry, head up display, 360 camera, a “premium audio system” (Krell), heated steering wheel, heated rear seats etc (the list goes on, but i think i made my point).
This isn’t even a fair comparison, BMW should be ashamed to charge what they do for the X1 on the scheme. The only reason for the price is to protect the (perceived) exclusivity in the showroom, can’t let the riffraff linger in the showroom, so lets charge 4 grand for a sub-base spec model, £6k if you want at least the bare minimum. You couldn’t even argue that it has a nicer engine, because it doesn’t.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.