[suryaprakashv73]

First of all, thanks to all of you guys for the wonderful info about BMW cars!

i am a new driver, planning to buy first car for family of 2 kids ( 7 years & 6 months old). i live in Munich, the home of BMW.

I analysed BMW 3 touring (318 or 320) & X1 and zeroed in on BMW X1 ( Reason: more legroom in back seats, better looks than touring.) Rarely i may drive with 5 ppl - 3 adults + 2 kids. But 95% of times, it will be 2 adults + 2 kids. Mostly, i will use the car for weekend trips on autobahn and moving around the city.

i am looking for 2-3 years old used X1. I see two variants there - s18i and s20i ( petrols). i have hard time deciding between the two. i understand that s18i is underpowered . Does it make very much difference if i drive with 4 ppl ? Or it makes sense to go for s20i ?

since i am pretty new, i am not much sure what's the difference between two versions. can you guys throw some light on this.

Thanks in advance
Surya

[normanho23]

Go for the 2L variant. I can say that coz I am driving the 1.5L s18i which is under-powered once fully loaded.

[Jorix]

The car alone is not light enough for a 3-cylinder engine, let alone with 4 people in it. Definitely go for the 20i.

[Peter_R]

I am driving the 2020 LCI X1 xDrive 2.0i MSport. I chose this after driving a 1.8i which I found rather sedate. I would not call it slow but you have to use a lot more throttle to keep up with the traffic. In my opinion the 4 cylinder 2.0 is smoother than the 3 cylinder 1.5 litre.

[CnSky]

My advice is don't go with an X1 if you plan on moving young kids.

We have one and use it to move our son around since he was born. The car seats that are required up to 3 years facing backwards are huge and you needs to move the front passenger seat forward to fit them. If you go for a swivelling one for ease off placing the child in the seat then it's even worse.

Front seat is then useless as it up against the dash.

For us not a big deal as my wife sat in the back and recently he moved to a forward facing seat so now we have space to both sit up front but with another child in the back I think you would regret the purchase.

I'd say try for an X3 maybe a year older.

[CnSky]

To add in Germany I believe per EU law you must use a rear facing seat to age 4 I think so 4 years with no front seat!!

[Jorix]

Originally Posted by CnSky

I'd say try for an X3 maybe a year older.

X3s interior is not much larger than X1s, if any.

[CnSky]

I agree but you don't have to move the passenger seat so far forward to fit a rear facing baby seat.

I know this as I almost traded in my 8 month old X1 for anX3 when my son was born because of the issue and checked at the dealer with our seat measurements.

The x3 rear seat is deeper on the base cushion so can accommodate a baby seat without projecting as far forward.

It's only a few inches but makes a huge difference as the baby seats must be reclined for any long distance drives to ensure the child's airways are not restricted by their head falling forward if they sleep.