Wokefield Park is near BMW GB HQ in Bracknell and within its grounds it has a large hotel, a golf course and BMW’s own training centre. This training facility is used mainly for dealership staff and has many courses available for sales, workshop, bodyshop and admin personnel. Every time a new car or new technology is introduced, BMW offer relevant training to the relevant people within the dealership. Around 150 fleet people were invited to a BMW update and then a short drive in the 5 Series GT and the X1.The X1 goes on sale with a choice of three engines: a 18d that produces 143ps, a 20d that produces 177ps and a 23d which is only available with automatic transmission and produces 204ps. The X1 is available with a choice of 2WD, badged as sDrive or 4WD, badged as xDrive. All of the 4WD models have higher CO2 emissions but still sit under the 160g/km band with the exception of the 23d engine. The car we tested was the 20d SE xDrive that goes from 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and has CO2 emissions of 153g/km; the sDrive version has a 0-62mph time of 8.1 seconds and CO2 emissions of 139g/km. The combined fuel figure for the car we drove is 48.7mpg, but due to the short distance we did in the car, we could not get a truly accurate mpg figure from the on board computer. The X1 sits in numerous sectors as it can be described as many things. It will certainly compete with the car it is loosely based on which is the 1 Series and it will be looked at by drivers of the A3 Sportback. It will also attract customers from 3 Series and the A4 who want a similar sized car but with much more practicality and for less money. There will also be those who currently drive small and mid-sized 4x4 models who want quality but not necessarily the full off road capabilities their mud pluggers offer. The owners of C sector cars such as the Golf and Focus could be tempted into buying a BMW for the first time and even D sector drivers might want to downsize in overall length but still have nearly as much interior space. BMW describe it as a sports activity vehicle (SAV) and this is a good description, but it is more than that, it really will be bought by a wide selection of people who use it for a variety of reasons so to ‘pigeon hole’ this vehicle is dangerous. There is also the debate over whether to go for the 2WD or pay an additional £1,300 for the 4WD. The sDrive offers more mpg, lower BIK, it sits in a lower VED band and is a bit quicker, but it still has the high driving position and the look of an off road vehicle. The xDrive offers drivers the ability to go places the 2WD couldn’t go and although it is not a full blown off road vehicle it will, we were told, get you out of a muddy field or cope quite admirably on slippery surfaces. BMW expect to sell around 6,500 X1 models per year, with the split between 2WD and 4WD being evenly balanced. I believe though that the 2WD will take a much larger percentage, maybe as high as 75%. We drove the X1 around some country roads and found the commanding driving position to be excellent; we could see over the hedges and a long distance in front. It felt safe and comfortable and the handling appeared to be very acceptable. In this type of vehicle you expect the ride to be hard and choppy, but this is not so with the X1. It is firm but not uncomfortable and the handling is every bit as good as the 1 Series. On the short test drive we had, we did not get a chance to take it out onto a motorway so we couldn’t really test for noise intrusion into the cabin.

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