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Yesterday our 2021 BMW X1 20i XLine xDrive went in for its first service. I was keen to try the all new X1 but the only one they had was an iX1 xDrive30 xLine. Here are my thoughts on the new X1 (apparently it’s the same, bar the power train) and my first experience of driving an EV.
First impressions of the new X1 weren’t helped by the revolting colour (Cape York Green Metallic) and the bright blue accents all over the car that clashed with it. Had the whole car been the bright blue it would have looked great. I don’t know what it is with car manufacturers and why they insist on making EVs look ‘different’ (and not different for the better). The 18” BiColour Aero Style 866 wheels were also unattractive and whilst described as alloys, sections of them are plastic. With all the options on this car it was circa £60k, so having part plastic wheels is, well, fill in the gaps!
The interior was better than the exterior, and certainly more modern than our 2021 X1, with a larger swooping one piece infotainment screen that merges with the digital dashboard. However, as with many cars these days, not all of the modernity is welcome. Everything is now touchscreen and the iDrive rotary controller has gone. As a result of this, and an all new operating system, I have to say that I completely agree with all the professional reviewers who say that what was an industry leading infotainment system has now been replaced with one that is overly complex and not as easy to use on the move. The standard leather that our X1 has is now replaced with the fake version. Looks OK but loses the lovely leather aroma!
The car was 98% charged and showed a range of 285 miles. That’s about the remaining range when I start to consider when I might refuel our petrol X1, having started with a range of around 600 miles! However, it gets worse when you realise that, as many EV drivers report, this stated range is ‘optimistic’. As I only had the car for a day, thankfully I didn’t need to faff around with charging it, but the one thing that amazed me (and I’ve never heard mentioned before) was how thick and heavy the charging cable was. Not something I’d ever considered.
Obviously the car was silent pulling away and very quiet up to around 20mph. However, I was really surprised that at normal driving speeds it was no quieter than our petrol X1. I’m guessing that those who rave about how quiet EVs are have moved from diesels or unrefined petrols, as the 2.0 litre petrol engine in our X1 is near silent.
Back to the comparison with the old X1, one thing that was very disappointing was that they haven’t addressed the one criticism that reviewers had of the previous generation – road noise. The new X1 does not appear to have improved soundproofing over the old one. That’s a massive missed opportunity. What the new one does have that the old one doesn’t is AutoHold. That’s the one thing that, two years on, still bugs me with our 2021 X1.
Performance wise, with 313bhp acceleration was extremely quick. However, whilst EV owners rave about this, I doubt that many utilise it for one simple reason – range. As we know, driving style, speed, weather conditions etc can all conspire to reduce range considerably. One thing that I absolutely hated was the fact that when you take your foot off the accelerator, it feels as though the car is breaking. The odd thing is that it doesn’t do it all the time, but when it does it’s most disconcerting. I dare say that I might have been able to alter this some how but, as I said, the new iDrive system was so ruddy complicated and difficult to use on the move (due to it being touchscreen only) I didn’t look.
I tend to put running costs quite low down on my list of priorities when choosing a car (if a Porsche Macan was on Motability I’d get one and not give a fig that I might struggle to get more than 25mpg), so I didn’t work out what the equivalent mpg would have been (life is too short). However, the dashboard was showing the remaining range and it gave 3 readings, including low and high (presumably based on driving style and speed). The low range was massively below the ‘norm’. When I took the car back I had probably only driven 50 or so miles, yet the range had dropped by 100 miles, from 285 to 185.
In summary, whilst my day with the iX1 has told me that I won’t be rushing to get an EV any time soon, that wasn’t the point of the test. It was to see what I thought of the all new X1. Sadly, I wasn’t blown away and, on balance, preferred our 2021 model when I got back into it at the end of the day. Happy to answer any questions.
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Now that this thread is (thankfully) getting back on topic, I was interested to see in my WhatCar? e-mail update this morning a group test with the BMW iX1 versus a Nissan Ariya and Genesis GV60 (link below). The iX1 they tested is the M-Sport (not the xLine that they say in the description), so suspension and ride will be firmer than the xLine that I test drove.
The criticisms that I had of the car in my review are mirrored almost exactly in their review. The BMW haters will be delighted to see that the iX1 came last in this test, but those who develop a nervous twitch when anyone dares to say anything less than 100% positive about EVs should be warned that the issue that I raised about claimed versus real world range is raised on all 3 cars ?
https://www.whatcar.com/news/new-bmw-ix1-vs-genesis-gv60-vs-nissan-ariya/n25820
The one thing I’ve always said is that some idiot has made the fatal mistake of using complete range as a marketing tool. ICE they use the rate of consumption, to get to a range takes the effort of doing the maths and to get a real world comparison also requires doing more maths. Then they decided to tell potential customers exactly how far their new fangled EV can go on one charge. Just like predicted mpg guesstimates predicted range is always overestimated.
The real measure of how good a BEV is would be to use the miles per kilowatt hour measure. Like the mpg, it identifies the efficiency of the drive train and aerodynamics combining into a true measure of how much better, or worse, any car is in comparison to another must be the distance you can get for each unit of energy you pay for. Then variables like fuel tank volume (or battery size) is irrelevant and the average punter will still need to do the math to do the comparison.
Nobody believes that their new car will achieve the mpg that they are told in the sales blurb. Everybody seems to expect an EV to achieve exactly the range the artificial test says is possible. The real stupid bit is telling people exactly what they can get in a really simple manner. Nearly no car achieves the MPG claimed in exactly the same way as nearly no BEV achieves the range in the real world. A very select few, however, are sufficiently efficient that they can provide the estimates.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
Now that we’ve extended for two years the plan is to try out a few EV’s just to see what they are like, tbh something like a Kona would do us for 90% of the time (if we can get a home charger fitted) but I’m certainly glad I have a 450 + mile range ICE for my upcoming trip to Ireland as planning where to charge constantly won’t be a consideration.
@MFillingham – What the forum would benifit from is a thread with all basic in and outs of owning and running an EV, getting from A to B etc, where advice can be given in one place. Have an open mind without the need to preach and be cool headed…
I suspect I’m being set up but if you genuinely feel there’s benefit, I can do that.
Deadly serious mate!
You could cover all aspects of owning and running an EV, your experience of having a smaller battery vs bigger battery, journey types, charging infrastructureand benifits of having a home charger…
Just like the Hyundai Kona forum has turned into a group of its own with some users rarely posting outside of it, the same could be the case with a dedicated EV group full of adult chat, with the option to include reviews of the different cars.
Be mindful of user’s using phrases like “the need to change mindset” or “that car brand is crap” as no one knows the other persons genuine circumstances. Remember not all want to tell and not everyone is wanting one yet but, maybe curious!
If you were to oversee it, any sign of trouble you could report it and have @wmcforum or @joss delete posts, it may well become a benificial thread.
On the flipside of it, it may go along way with stopping the nonsense seen on this thread and others!
It’s true that most ICE cars overstate their MPG, although not always to the same degree. Also, whilst ICE cars will return less MPG in the winter months, it’s nowhere near the same degree of drop that you get with an EV. My petrol car is about 5-10% worse (maximum) in the winter, yet many EVs drop by a significantly higher percentage (some by as much as a third I believe).
As I keep saying, I’m sure that all of this will be resolved over time as battery technology improves – which it needs to in order to get more people comfortable with switching, especially when the current running cost benefits are eroded as new taxation models kick in to maintain the astronomical tax take from motorists!
It’s true that most ICE cars overstate their MPG, although not always to the same degree. Also, whilst ICE cars will return less MPG in the winter months, it’s nowhere near the same degree of drop that you get with an EV. My petrol car is about 5-10% worse (maximum) in the winter, yet many EVs drop by a significantly higher percentage (some by as much as a third I believe). As I keep saying, I’m sure that all of this will be resolved over time as battery technology improves – which it needs to in order to get more people comfortable with switching, especially when the current running cost benefits are eroded as new taxation models kick in to maintain the astronomical tax take from motorists!
Ive said many of time on here manufacturers should be quoting the expected winter range of a BEV. Even the normal range is far off when comparing WLTP figurers of an ICE. Imply put WLTP is not a suitable test for electric vehicles!
My niece has had an Enyak 80 for about a year now and she gets about 250 miles in normal circumstances, 80ish miles short of the acclaimed and lower over this winter depending on use ofheater. As a social worker it does her and her husband has 330i so there happy I guess having best of both worlds.
If one came along within my budget with a guaranteed 350-400mile range over winter I’d try one..
The whole WLTP is not fit for purpose in my eyes. Its time that this was looked at and something to replace it that is “Honest” to the customers. Trouble is the motor industry has the reins over this.
Go ahead guys and set up the topic as you want it. I hope it will be as popular as the already mentioned Kona topic.
Edit: Damn it. you have already set it up.
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Joss
Current car: Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.
Coming soon...BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In November 2025-
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