2020 BMW X1 - MINI REVIEW, PROS & CONS, WORTH IT

Hi everybody, welcome back to my channel. A very different setup. This is also a very different video. However, if you have followed me for some time, you know that about two years ago, I did a video on my BMW i3. It's actually the best performing video that I have ever filmed, which is surprising because my channel has nothing to do with cars or anything like that. But I thought I would do a car video today. My BMW i3 is in the shop. It has been there. This is now I think the fifth day or sixth day we're going on. So they did give me a BMW X1, a 2020 model, um, as my loaner car. So I thought I would do a really quick five things I love about this car. Five things I'm not loving about this car. Um, after driving it for, like I said, about five days, uh, this is not the first time I have driven this car. When my husband was looking for a new car in 2016, we were actually going to pick up this 2016 model of the X1. Um, we went and test drove it. We got a really good quote. We are on the verge of signing it. And then my husband just wasn't sure about the size. Um, and the amount of storage he does go snowboarding and he really wanted to have enough room for all his snowboard and his gate for all his snowboarding gear and everything like that. And because we also give out food to the downtown East side, to the less fortunate, um, we've been doing it for five years, not now because of COVID. Um, we go to the warehouse and we pack up his car, which is a Jeep, uh, Cherokee Trailhawk. We loaded up. So we just wanted to have enough room also for food for people. So that's why we chose not to get this car and we got the Jeep instead. Biggest mistake of my life. I really wish we had stuck with this because the amount of storage is actually very substantial. So I'm going to go over, like I said, the five things I love about this car, the five things I'm like about, I am not a professional. I am a regular dagular person. So if you really want a great in-depth review, go to Kelly Blue Brook, I think blue book or car. Wow. They have awesome reviews. I am just going to tell you from a regular person standpoint, why this car is good. All right. So the first thing that I really love about the X one is the aesthetics and kind of the little things that BMW thinks about. So let's unlock this. And I think that's a cool feature. So you can see that X one, that light illuminates there. So I don't know, say you're in a really dark parking garage or something like that, or you're out at night, he can kind of see where your car is. Um, and then it also has the lights here at the doors as well as the rear. And then let's get inside and you can see also the cool features here. This has the light package. So you can see this cool purple light that shows up. You can also change the color as well for being, I guess like the entry level or for one of the more, the most affordable BMWs. I really feel like the inside is very nicely done. This one does have the light package. So you can see that purple sort of glow. You can change it too. So you can change it to yellow, white, blue, all different colors. And then you can see down below here, it's just very clean. It's very sleek. Um, cup holders. I do wish they had that pull, but there is also a light there. I don't know if you can see, that's like a nice little touch. So you can actually see what is actually sort of in here. I do like that. Um, lots of space. The seats are super comfortable. I have to say that I was in my friend's, um, Lexus. It was SUV. I can't remember which one it was right now, but the seats were so hard. These seats are comfortable. I mean, it is leatherette, which is sort of the basic, it comes with it, but I do really like it. And it just looks nice on the inside. Um, this infotainment center is massive. I believe it's 8.8 inches. So they did upgrade it. Mine in my I3 is fairly small and it is touchscreen, which I don't like. I like having the toggle ability, honestly, to go through and do things because I don't like it when the screen gets fingerprints all over it. Like my husband's does all the time, but it's very sleek. It's very nice. It has like the dual heating system. So if you're with someone else in the car, it, um, they can adjust like the heat and the temperature, uh, temperature control, I should say. And then when you want to go, you get this sort of nice welcome greeting as well, which I think is, you know, a little added touch. Um, this is like part digital part analog, as you can see, I really wish it was digital. Like my I3, just because when I'm driving, I like to see the exact speed that I'm going like right in front of me. Um, but this is also nice. So you can sort of see there if I change it to the different modes, there's sport mode, there's comfort mode, whatever. Um, but I do appreciate the aesthetics of this car. I think it's very nicely done. Um, it just looks good. So I really like the black leatherette and I also like the dark, uh, wood grain sort of finish there, but there's so many different finishes and customizations that you can do with regards to, you know, upgrading to leather. Um, there's just, uh, everything that you need to sort of suit your own aesthetic. All right. So looking at the back seat, you can see that purple light extends to the rear doors as well. There's lights up top on either side. There's also lights in the foot area. So you can see exactly where you're placing your feet, or if you, maybe something fell down there, you can find it easily. One of the things my brother mentioned, he thinks is really cool. He has a Mazda CX five, but my I three has this. And he thought it was a nice addition because he has kids, um, the ability for car seats right here to hook. He really liked that. He thought it made it just really simple and easy. And then something else I have to show you. So you can see here when you're not using the back seat, you can tuck this in. So it's not sort of flopping around. I like that too. It's just like little things like that, that BMW thinks about that I think is really nice. And there you go. There's the trunk area and these seats do fold back as well, or fold down. I think, and as you can probably tell it is pouring here in Vancouver. That's why it's called rain Coover because it rains. I don't even know 300 days out of the year probably. Uh, so what I really appreciate about this car is the visibility. So I positioned the camera in such a way that you can sort of see, um, my visibility and the views that I will be able to get. If I do a shoulder check and look at my blind spot that way, or if I check that way, the window space and just the visibility is so great. This one does also have the panoramic sunroof and I do have that part pushed back. So, um, there's a lot of natural light coming into the car, especially on like a very dark gloomy day like this. It's just nice to have this sort of added natural light. Um, so the visibility in this car is so great. So the next thing that I really love about this car is the gas mileage. Now I have used a quarter of a tank of gas because it essentially was full when I got the loaner car. So you can see I'm at a quarter of a tank there. I drive 15 kilometers to work, um, and then 15 kilometers, um, to get back home. I am on day five with this car and I've only used a quarter of a tank of gas. And in between that time, you know, I've driven out from Richmond to Burnaby, um, which is like another 20 kilometers. I've run errands. So I feel like a quarter of a tank of gas for five days going about 30 kilometers, 40 kilometers a day. Um, driving is pretty decent. Uh, I used to have a Honda Civic prior to this. I just remember like, I feel like the mileage is fairly similar. I know the Honda must do a little bit better, but I feel like the mileage for this is pretty good. Could also be because I typically don't buy gas anymore. I have an electric car, right? But with my husband's Jeep, it drinks gas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It just eats it. So I feel like the gas mileage on this car being a compact SUV is fairly good. Next reason why I really like the BMW X1 is because I think it's affordable and that's completely my own personal opinion. It really depends on your economic and your financial situation, but I think that it is a fairly affordable option for a luxury car and a compact SUV. Um, it is the cheapest BMW that you can buy here in Canada. It starts at 42,000. Obviously when you add different sort of bells and whistles and packages and things like that, the price does go up, but it is the cheapest BMW that you can buy. And some people are against that. I've read on different forums, they're like, Oh, why would you pay that much for the batch for the BMW badge? But really I think it's smart. I think it builds brand loyalty. So for example, for me, when I first got into luxury goods, I bought the cheapest Louis Vuitton item I could buy. And that was a $240 key pouch. It's now gone up in price, I believe. But, um, I just want to see the craftsmanship, how it wore, how the people treated me in the store, the quality of it. I just wanted to dip my toes into, you know, Louis Vuitton. And obviously I love them because I've bought so many more pieces by them. And I think BMW was smart in making this, um, you know, what, like what I say, an affordable luxury compact SUV, it gets people to dip their toes into BMW. Um, and hopefully I think what they're thinking is it's going to build brand loyalty. So for us, now that I bought my, my three, the next car that I do buy, I'm pretty sure it's going to be another BMW because I do like the brand. I do like how they've treated me as a customer. Um, and I do like the luxury aspect of the car. Okay. So the next thing I love about the X one is the amount of storage that there is. So let me show you the trunk. So automatic trunk option opens it up. I love this option. I wish that my car had this, but it doesn't. So you can see here, um, there's a ton, a ton of room actually in here. You can take this off if you need to. The seats also do fall down. Um, and then there is a lot of extra fridge hidden in here. So, I mean, you can fit so much extra in here. It's insane. I'm going to actually show you these grocery bags here. Some people like to use suitcases, but honestly we're not traveling right now. I'm getting groceries. So let me show you how many grocery bags can kind of fit in here. All right. So in total, I fit eight bags in there and there's definitely a room I could have fit probably 10 in total, but, um, there are some cubbies over here. As you can see, it's really nice that there's a light there. Um, so anything you want to put in there, maybe a bottle of wine or something that's glass and you don't want to break. And then again, there's another cubby on this side and there's also these handy little hooks here. So you can hook your grocery bags like that. So they don't go flying around, but don't forget, you still have all this space sort of underneath here. And then if you wanted to, you could take this off if you have taller items. So my husband's snowboard could have definitely fit with one of the seats down, but a lot can fit in this car and, or this compact SUV. And then this leads me onto another thing that I really like is that this trunk space is fairly low. So on me, it hits like mid thigh, I would say. So, you know, you're not grabbing things from the ground and raising them really high up. So I like the fact that it's low in case you have some really heavy items, you don't need to lug it up and put it into the trunk. So that's something I appreciate and I do appreciate as well. These kind of guards here, so you're not scratching up your car. So now that I've gone over everything that I like about the BMW X1, let me tell you about some of the things that I do not like. The first one being there is no blind spot detection. So similar to my BMW i3, there is no blind spot detection on either the driver's side or the passenger's side mirror over there, the side mirrors. And it's not even an option to add on, which I find if it's a luxury brand, why can't I even add it on? And so I read some different forums and posts and people are saying, oh, because it is a crossover and because it is like on the lower end, it's like a X1. I don't think the X2 has it either, that they just don't offer it or, you know, you don't need it because of the great visibility. But I really wish it were an option just to add on for that extra safety benefit. So that's one of the things that I do not like about this. It's not even an option to add on the blind spot detection. Obviously I do a shoulder check and I know that most people do a shoulder check, but adding that blind spot detection is just an extra safety measure. I mean, I've been driving and I've seen people come into my lane and I'm sure they've done a shoulder check, but that's why it's called a blind spot because sometimes you look and there is a blind spot and you don't see the car behind you and it's tricky. So I wish that BMW gave that option for the X1. Next thing about the X1 that I don't like is more of an annoyance. And I noticed it as soon as I got into this car and I was going to drive it away. It has to do with the seatbelt. So let me show you. This armrest right here in the storage area is so close to the seatbelt right there. You can see like if I just hold it directly down in the camera and I pan down, you can see that this is so close. I go to put my seatbelt in. It happened the first time I smack this stupid thing every single time. And so like, unless I angle it perfectly like that, it's okay. But even when I go to like unlock it, my hand will hit this and I have small hands. So I don't know how anyone with like big hands deals with that. It's just annoying. And I guess you could just constantly leave that up, but it just, it doesn't make sense why they made it so close. I mean, it's okay because you know, there's some room there, but for the driver's side, there's literally no room. So once you try and fasten your seatbelt, like, did you see like I hit that right away? Like I'm, it just, it's an annoyance. Next thing that I'm not a huge fan of either is that I feel like I am just driving a car. So I know it's a compact SUV and I know that it's fairly low to the ground and it's small, but it honestly feels like I am just in a car when I'm driving it. I just don't feel like I'm raised up. Like say for example, when I'm in my husband's Jeep, like I definitely feel like I am in an SUV when I'm driving that with this one, it feels like I'm in a car. Even like looking at the car right beside me, I feel like I'm fairly low to the cars beside me. So it just, I feel like if you really want that SUV feel, you're not going to get it with this because it is a compact SUV. It feels very much like I am driving a car and that could lead to next reason why I don't really like this car is because while the seats are adjustable, really, this is as tall and as high as I can go. I like to sit now, this is raised up pretty high, but I like to sit fairly high up in my I3. I am sitting like some people don't like cause it's like driving a bus, but I like to sit really high up so I can see sort of above the dash. With this one, the seats are adjustable, but the amount of range for the seats I find isn't the greatest. So I'm still sitting fairly low and this is the highest setting. So that's something else I don't really like and I mean there's no way to change that. It's just you can't adjust the seat so you're sitting up a little bit higher. So the last thing about this car that I'm not a huge fan of is that while like all the bells and whistles that it comes with, I love the panoramic sunroof. I love the fact that it has the automatic trunk opening. I love the fact that it has a lighting package, all these things. You have to pay extra for it. So on this model that I have right now, I believe I have the premium essential package. It's not even the enhanced package and that's an extra $4,000 or $3,700 that you have to pay. If you want to get the enhanced package, that's an extra $6,000 and then if you want to get the sport packages, that's also extra money. So I know that with a lot of cars in general and not just luxury cars, you do have to pay for extra things but I feel like when it comes to BMW, they kind of give you bare bones and then you really have to pay extra to get the good things. Especially like I feel like a sunroof for this car is essential honestly because it really opens it up because it is a compact SUV. It's black inside, it's that leatherette. Really having this here just makes it a lot brighter and airier and more open and that's an added cost. The lighting package adds a nice ambiance. It's not necessary but I do like it and I would pay for that. It just it pains my heart having to know that I would have to pay extra for you know some lights and things like that but so also being in Vancouver, like having the automatic trunk open is just it's smart because when it's pouring rain and you're you know running from the grocery store, really you just want to have that trunk open for you as soon as you get there and then you can hop inside, close it from the inside, easy peasy. It's just it's such a smart thing to have but again you have to pay extra for that. It just it adds up so even with my i3 for example, by the time I added on all the packages that I wanted, all the options I wanted, that was an extra I think $6,000 almost $7,000 so it can be a lot. Just know that and that's one thing that I'm not a huge fan of. I feel like their packages and all their extras can be quite pricey and I just wish some of them would be sort of standard like I don't know why the automatic trunk wouldn't be standard. I wish it were because it's so smart. Those are all the things that I love and I kind of don't like about the 2020 BMW X1. Like I said this is just a loaner vehicle. Would I buy this in the future? I think I would. They're coming out with a hybrid model and I would really love to buy the hybrid model of this and like I said my husband's jeep, we've had so many problems with it and it drinks gas so I think that this is something that would suit our lifestyle. It's just the two of us and even if we were to, I don't know in the future, there would definitely be enough room. My mom has that in the back here and she's had enough room so I think that this is a great sort of small compact SUV. It's exactly what it is and I feel like it's roomy and it has really great attributes. So if you have any questions please leave them down below. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in my next video. Bye!