2024 BMW X1 xDrive30e VS BMW iX1 xDrive30
The question on many minds these days: Is purchasing a car with a combustion engine still worth it? Or should you skip it and just move onto an EV? We’re trying to answer that question today with the new BMW X1 in both PHEV trim as in BEV trim.
We looked into it by comparing the hybrid BMW X1 and its exact electric copy, the BMW iX1. The smallest X in the BMW line-up (but getting pretty close to the size of an X3).
Identical twins
It’s almost impossible for a layman to tell the X1 and iX1 apart. There are just a few minimal visual differences between the two. Looking at the front of the cars, you can enjoy an aggressive nose with a normal-sized kidney grill and sporty finished bumper thanks to the M-sport package. The typical BMW headlights provide a beautifully finished total. Here, you can hardly see a difference between the two cars and the identical color doesn’t help with that either.
Moving to the side of the car and here the biggest difference on the exterior of the car is noticeable. The BMW X1 xDrive30e is a plug-in hybrid and it needs an opening for both the electric and petrol influx. The electric flap can be found above the front wheel, while the one for the petrol is above the rear wheel, just like the “petrol and diesel”-only cars. For the full electric iX1, the entrance for your electric charging isn’t located at the front but -just like the classic fuel cars- at the back above the rear wheels. At the back, the differences are getting minimized. Thank goodness the badges on the back are still in place so we can spot the difference tanks to those.
Identical twins (interior version)
The similarities simply continue on the inside of the cars. In front of your nose, you have identical steering wheels with identical digital dashboards behind them. The digital dashboard is of the curved kind (10.25 and 10.7 inches), which you can find in almost all new BMWs. You’re a fan or you aren’t. But between the steering wheel and the digital dashboard, you can spot a difference! On the BMW X1 xDrive30e, you have two pedals behind the steering wheel, while de iX1 has to do with only one. Don’t be sad, because that one gets “BOOST” written over it. That “boost” you get by pulling that paddle is rather mild. Don’t expect F1 DRS stuff.
In between the two front seats of both cars, there’s a floating centerpiece with a gear selector, start button and a few other necessary gadgets. The seats on itself are nicely supporting and provide sufficient comfort for your daily commute. The backseats and the space they provide are in both cars identical and so is the 490 liters of booth space.
This is where the king is crowned
Now we entered the space where these two divert! The BMW X1 xDrive30e gets its power out of a 1.5-liter three-cylinder -150 horsepower for the front wheels- in combination with an electric engine -177 horsepower for the rear wheels- good for a total of 326 horsepower and 477 Nm of torque! That power -and the 7-speed automatic gearbox- can shoot the X1 from a standstill to 100 km/h in 5,6 seconds and get you to 205 km/h. The 16.3 kWh battery can handle around 75 kilometers on one charge bringing our test consumption at 5,1 liters per 100 km. The X1 xDrive30e is rather heavy for its size putting 1,9 tons into the scale but is masterful in concealing that weight while cornering. In brief: The X1 is a fun little driving machine.
The BMW iX1 xDrive30 is the strongest iX1 in the line-up putting 2 electric engines (one for each axle) in the fight to produce 313 horsepower and 494 Nm of torque. Your 2 tons-heavy iX1 will hit 100 km/h in 5,6 seconds and that is the same time as the X1 xDrive30e but only to a top speed of 180 km/h. Autobahn-worthy? Despite the awesome gearbox of the X1, the electric drive does give a smoother feeling to the iX1 but also makes it feel less sporty. The 64.7 kWh battery is hidden in the floor of the car and can be charged up to 130 kW. A full battery should give 439 kilometers, but -sorry BMW- we only managed to get 360 kilometers (and it wasn’t a cold week). The average consumption was 18.7 kWh/100km and that is pretty decent.
Conclusion
Our BMW X1 xDrive30e and iX1 xDrive30 are pretty identical cars and the prices confirm this as well! The starting price of the X1 is 53.500 euros, while the iX1 starts at 58.000 euros. We thought the price would have a bigger gap between those two. We would go for the hybrid X1. It felt just that little bit more sporty and the range difference between the two was just too big, giving us range anxiety on our little trip to the Belgian coast.
