trcydaman

I have a 328i as my daily driver and its lease will be up in 4 months. Over the years, it's served me well and by far the best DD I've had to date. If I were to back in time, I'd do it all over again. But now that I have an S as my 'fun' car, I'm looking for something more practical and spacious as my new daily driver. I looked at RAV4 and CR-V, but I just couldn't connect with either of them. So I'm leaning more and more towards going for another bimmer.

I have a test drive scheduled this Saturday for both cars, but I'm wondering if any of you have had experiences with X1 and/or X3. Any inputs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Reckon

X3 is more spacious...so really depends on how much room you need. Looked at the X3 and X5 when I was shopping for a CUV/SUV (or as BMW calls them, SAVs) and both were nearly identical other than space. I presume the X1 is the same.

erik

I test drove an X1 and the "trunk" area is really pretty small. Smaller than I would have thought when I went to look at them. I don't have experience with the X3 so can't provide a comparo. I liked the X1, but if put a lot of stuff in the back regularly, you may be disappointed.

mosesbotbol

While you are there, give the i3 a go!

David1

If you look at the X1 be sure to look at one with the tech package. There is an option in the X1 to have the rear seat move forward giving more cargo room. The X3 is rear wheel drive biased and the X1 is front wheel drive biased but you can hardly tell. The seats in the X1 are a lot smaller than the X3. Both drive great but the X3 has a lot more room.

vader1

X1 is front drive based/biased, if that matters to you, X3 is RWD based/biased.

The X3 is a nicer car but will obviously cost more. I think the new X1 is a pretty nice package for the price.

JonBoy

My uncle considered an X1 for his wife but when they test drove it, it was too small to be of any practical use. The X3 makes a lot more sense, in terms of general use and how well you can fit people in the back (or cargo, for that matter).

They actually ended up with a fully loaded VW Golf instead. They both love it and it's quite a bit less expensive while being easier/more fun to drive, more utilitarian and way more fuel efficient. He drives a Lexus LS460 F-Sport as a daily driver so the cost (of the BMW) wasn't an issue at all. They just weren't impressed by the X1 (at all).

trcydaman

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Cargo space is an important factor to me, so it looks like X3 will be more fitting.

What does RWD biased mean? I'm planning on getting the XDrive this time as it snows quite a bit in my area. Does the RWD bias still a factor for XDrives?

Marioshi

It just means that the X3 is set up more like a traditional bimmer so it drives a bit more like a RWD car because it's based on a RWD design. For this generation they switched the X1 to a FWD based system probably underpinned more like a MINI.

If you are only considering AWD versions does it matter? Probably not, just something to note. The previous X1 was underpinned by the E90 chassis, even when the current 3 series was the F30. Many people considered this preferable, probably most people won't notice, hence the switch. FWD based systems typically get better fuel economy.

waltk88

I checked out the X1 this past weekend. I was actually surprised by the head and leg room for rear seat passengers. It didn't seem much less than in the X3. The big size differences are the width and rear cargo area. You can fit 3 passengers in the rear of the X3 and only 2 in the X1. The X1 cargo area looks almost as deep as the X3's but is noticeably less wide.