I thought I wanted to share my car and the thoughts I have put into it when I ordered it with all of you. I had an F30 335i with all options and additional addons but I also have back pains due to Osteochondrosis in my lower spine. Already years ago I knew that the time would come were I needed a car with some height for an easier entry/exit and that every aspect of the car had to be chosen due to my back.
More than two years ago I started looking at taller cars and that’s where I looked at the X1 for the very first time. Back then I “forgot” all about it again because I wasn’t ready to get rid of my F30. About a year later I realized that if I wanted to get a bit of pain relieve I had to change the car so I started looking at the X1 again. About half a year ago I started to look at all options in the market (from Kia to Mercedes) and luckily the best option for a future car was still a BMW.
My only “problem” was that I am a total petrol head probably having had the best equipped F30 in Denmark, so getting a FWD based people carrier in the form of an X1 was not the most desired car from my side (especially not since my wife has a lovely M240i). So what to do? I knew the X1 could not be a F30 in disguise but I decided that I wanted to build an X1 that I found cool and that I could be enthusiastic about so I could keep my car as my hobby.
Drivetrain
Coming from a F30 335i with MPPK the engine had to be as big as possible and since it is named X1 I thought it had to have xDrive. xDrive and automatic is a part of the package here if you chose the 25i but I also added the sport transmission.
Visual decisions
I wanted an X1 that was different from all the other X1s on the road. I didn’t want any of the 50 shades of gray (or gray look a likes) BMW offers so I was left with Misano Blue and Sunset Orange. Misano Blue was probably my preferred color but I don’t like the bumpers or the painted plastic trim of the M-sport edition so the only option left was the Sunset Orange and I went for a sport line edition because it had the most black trim including the mirror caps. I love the Sunset Orange with the high gloss black trim my wife has on her M240i (
https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1644646), so I went for all the high gloss black options available. Even the grill and tail pipes were replaced before delivery took place. If there would be a Shadow Line option pack for the X1 this would be it
. Since I started the orange/black theme I thought I’d go all in so I went for the tinted windows, black interior, black headliner and black wheels. Actually I even chose the big screen for the navigation because it was fully black without the silver border.
Considerations due to my back pains
The car was chosen due to my back so a lot of thoughts have been put into the options. The most important is of course the seat. The sport seats are necessary for me. The lumbar support and adjustable side support makes them just perfect for me. I added electrical adjustment so I have the most flexible seats available. They are of cause heated as well. I also opted for the sliding rear seats for their flexibility in case I have to sit there due to some odd reasons.
Automatic transmission is a must for me but I added the sports automatic. I rarely used the flappy paddles in my F30 but it is still better for me to leave my hands on the steering wheel when I want manual shifts.
Even the leather option for the seats was chosen due to my back. I tried a lot of seats in different cars and I found that leather was the best option because it allowed me to slide into place. Alcantera was an absolute no go.
The suspension is the standard suspension. I tried all three options and there was no doubt that the M-sport suspension was the most thrilling but it was too harsh for me and I don’t think it fits a car like the X1. I also tried different wheel sizes and found 18” to be a good compromise of control and comfort.
The electric tailgate came with the sport line but that was needed as well. The less I need to lift or bend my back the better. The front and rear PDC, reverse camera and the mirror package with tilting mirrors when reversing and automatic dimming were also added. This way I don’t have to twist myself that much when reversing or lift my arm for dimming the reverse mirror when someone is behind me.
So all in all my back pain did cost me quite a bit.
Other options I like
Adaptive LED headlights. I had adaptive xenons on the F30 and I found them to be the coolest and best option of all. So I had to have them. When driving alone I love listening to music so nothing less than the Harman Kardon would do. Then there is the HUD, heated steering wheel and comfort access. Nothing that is really needed but I find them really really nice to have
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For the feeling of a bit of sportiness I added the M steering wheel and the M sport variable steering so together with the sport seats and the flappy paddles it gives a bit of sporty feeling when driving around.
So please enjoy some pictures and I will update this thread for the years to come when I have some updates on the car.
First mod was to disable automatic start/stop and to switch all tires from the summer wheel to the winter wheels and vice versa because i liked the winter wheels better. So they had to become the summer wheels.
