BMW X1 LWB

The BMW X1 LWB (long wheel base), as the name suggests, is the stretched version of the standard entry-level X1 SUV It has the same looks, same features, and even the petrol engine underneath the bonnet, but with loads of space in the second row. 

The BMW X1 LWB goes up against rivals like the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA, but has a clear advantage over them due to its stretched out wheelbase. I spent a day with it in Pune’s pouring monsoon season to find out what that advantage feels like, and why this might just be the best option if you want to enter the realm of luxury cars in India.

In stretching the X1 out, BMW has just made the wheelbase longer. The rest of the design, including the nose, lights, wheels and rear; everything remains identical. Its sharp nose is dominated by the big grille with its chrome surrounds and slats cutting across it. The signature BMW headlights flank the grille with their dual sleek LED DRLs.

The styling for the bumper is aggressive with its big sculpted cut outs and air dam in the middle. 

With 108mm of extra wheelbase, the length of the car looks evidently longer than the standard X1. The rest of the design is clean with no aggressive shoulder line or cuts.

The 18-inch M alloy wheels with tubeless tyres fill the wheel arches well enough and the chrome windowline adds a neat contrast.

At the rear, the design once again becomes angular and sharp, but what stands out the most are the tail lights. The pattern and detailing within them looks rich.

There’s a certain aggressive character to the design here with roof-mounted spoiler and a protruding bumper design with piano black elements in it. 

Overall, the X1 LWB might have come to life with comfort and space as priority, but that hasn’t dialed down the quotient of its sporty and aggressive styling that we expect from a BMW. At the moment, this has to have the best road presence amongst its entry-level luxury SUV rivals.

The cabin of the BMW X1 LWB is simply beautiful. There’s still a sense of design in the interiors as the dashboard isn’t entirely made of up screens. There are beautiful contrasting inserts with a black and tan dual-tone theme. There is also a white, gray and black theme available.

The quality of materials is exactly what you’d expect from a car wearing the BMW badge. Leatherette on the dashboard, smooth finished plastics and metal-like surfaces combine to give a premium experience. Even the fit and finish is absolutely solid with no play or creaks in the central console or door grab handles. 

Front Seats

Ingress egress in the BMW X1 LWB is easy and won’t be an issue for the elderly too. Once inside the front seats have a wide range of power adjustments to help you find a comfortable driving position along with the tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment.

The cushioning is firm but it holds you really well and feels comfortable for long travels as well. The driver seats also get a welcome function in which it retracts for you to be able to enter easily and also gets memory settings that saves your desired adjustment.

Rear Seats

If you’re buying the LWB version, the rear seats are critical for your experience and you’ll be happy to note that there is no real compromise here. The space is more than plenty and even people who are tall, even by tall people standards will have enough space to sit cross legged.

For an average height like me (5’7), the rear seats feel genuinely roomy and the glass roof above adds to that sense of space even further. Underthigh support is good and there’s also a wide range of recline for the backrest, so that adds to the convenience. The rear seats, as good as they are for chauffeur driven purposes, aren’t that great for seating three people abreast. The space is there, but there is a very prominent central tunnel that restricts footroom, and only children won’t mind that bump. 

There are rear AC vents and a central armrest, but I do wish there were rear sun shades as well, because that’s the only thing missing from making these rear seats a solid 5/5.

Practicality

The BMW X1 LWB is practical enough for the family with 1-litre bottle pockets in all four doors with additional space for small items in the front doors.

The central console has two cupholders and a dedicated space for the wireless phone charger with a seatbelt that holds the phone in place.

Just behind the central cupholders is a wide open space. It isn’t that tall, but can accommodate small packets of chips or a couple of 750ml cold drink bottles.

There is a small storage underneath the central console and I would’ve wished for the glovebox to be a bit deeper.

Rear passengers only get two cupholders in the armrest. There are no seat back pockets or open space around the rear AC vents.

Charging Options

Apart from the innovative execution of the wireless phone charger, the X1 LWB gets two Type-C charging ports each at the front and rear.

There is also a 12V socket for the front passengers.

Boot Space

With a claimed boot space figure of 540-litres, the BMW X1 LWB will prove to be enough for accommodating the luggage of four people for a weekend getaway.

There is 20:40:20 split in the seats, which fold flat and expand the space to a further 1700-litres, so you can easily store bigger or longer items with ease.

The tailgate is power operated as well.

The BMW X1 LWB comes with all the modern day conveniences that one can think of. But what separates it from the regular mass market vehicles is the execution of these daily-use features. The keyless entry works flawlessly and has a proximity feature too. The electrically adjustable mirrors dip automatically when you put the car in reverse. The wireless phone charger has a dedicated strap to hold the phone in place, and while all mass market cars get big screens in today’s day and age, the execution here is just that much more premium. The 10.7-inch touchscreen has a crisp resolution with no delay in response times.

It gets a bar at the bottom for quick access to AC controls and home page too. Connecting wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is an easy affair and there were no glitches in the experience either.

I enjoyed listening to music via the 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system which has crisp highs and deep bass. The sound is immersive too and you should be able to enjoy all kinds of audio through it.

For the driver, there’s a 10.25-inch digital display. While the graphics were crisp and I had no issues in reading the information on it, I would’ve wanted the option of different layouts for it. 

And on the topic of wants, some physical AC controls would’ve been nice too. Other features like dual-zone climate control, voice command and even the reverse parking assistant work as intended. The 360-degree camera has good quality and detailing, and new drivers will find it useful to navigate congested traffic or park in a tight space. 

Further details like the live replica of the vehicle in the infotainment system, ambient lighting in the cabin and welcome and goodbye animations of the exterior lights add to the experience of the vehicle.

If there’s one feature that is missing from the package, it is ventilated seats. Everything else that you would expect at this price point is covered.

The safety kit of the BMW X1 LWB consists of 8 airbags, ISOFIX mounts, dynamic stability control, 360-degree camera with front and rear parking sensors and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). 

It also gets Level 1 ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) features like lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, and blind spot alert.

With this new long-wheel base version, the standard X1 now only gets a diesel, while the petrol engine is offered with this LWB version. Here are the specifications:

City Performance

Driving the BMW X1 LWB in the city is easy and effortless. The engine remains quiet and you never really have to worry about anything. The car crawls smoothly in traffic and the transmission is smooth enough. It keeps you in the right gear and you’ll barely ever notice any gear shifts. 

You get features like auto hold too, so you don’t have to keep the brakes pressed at a red light. And while some cars tend to leap ahead when disengaging the auto hold, the X1 remains smooth and doesn’t cause any jerk.

You can expect a fuel efficiency of around 8-10 kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

This engine isn’t exciting or as indulging as you might expect in a car with the BMW badge. But that being said, it is never short on usable performance. Joining the highway and hitting triple digit speeds feels effortless. Even at full throttle, the engine doesn’t get loud and at no point does it feel strained.

In case you need to make a quick overtake while cruising, the transmission reacts quick enough to downshift and help you make that maneuver easily. Putting the car in Sport mode bumps up the throttle response and acceleration, but you won’t ever need it in regular usage. If there’s anything that I wanted from this drive experience, then it would be paddle shifters. I found myself reaching behind the steering wheel only to find that there are no paddle shifters. You won’t need them technically, because the tuning of the transmission is flawless, but it would’ve been nice to have for some engagement.

If driven sensibly, you can get an efficiency of around 12-15 kmpl on the highway.

Ride Quality

I drove the car in Pune’s monsoons, where the conditions of the road weren’t the best. Yet, the BMW X1 LWB didn’t make me uncomfortable even once. The small speedbreakers and potholes are dealt with well, and even over rough roads made out of small stones, the car has really well controlled body movement. It is only over a really sharp bump or depression where you feel a sudden movement and a sharp sound from the suspension, but over everything else, it remains comfortable.

The bumpy concrete surface at the entrance of the Pune-Mumbai expressway usually makes occupants constantly bounce up and down, but not here. The car was stable and it impressed me with how poised it felt at high speeds. The undulations, patch works and rumble strips didn’t make me uncomfortable at all.

Handling

Driving the BMW X1 LWB in the city is easy. The steering is quick, not as light as you get in some of the mass market cars today, but not heavy either. It has a certain weight to it, which becomes very assuring when making high speed lane changes or around a corner. It isn’t the most exciting or planted BMW to go and carve corners, but it isn’t meant to be one. 

The BMW X1 was already a great option to enter the world of luxury cars with its tasteful interiors, attention to detail and sorted dynamics. This long-wheel base version adds that one thing that was missing in its package for someone who wanted a chauffeur driven luxury car at the price - space. There’s now plenty of it, and while there might be better cars for that specific purpose, none of them carry the BMW badge and the attention, charm and status that comes with it.

Other Options To Consider

Toyota Camry

Reasons to consider

• Sedan bodystyle looks sportier

• Better second row conveniences

• Hybrid powertrain is super efficient 

Reasons to ignore

• Brand badge value is not as premium as BMW

• Performance isn’t as refined or punchy

• Misses that final touch in feature execution that makes a car feel luxury

Mercedes-Benz GLA

Reasons to consider

• Option of a diesel engine

Reasons to ignore

• Not available in long-wheel base version

• Limited second row space 

• Ride quality isn’t as comfortable

Audi Q3

Reasons to consider

• Performance is better

• Comfortable ride quality

Reasons to ignore

• Not available in the long-wheel base version.

• Misses out on some features like 360-degree camera