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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The co-drivers view: Bremen

Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northern Germany, a commercial and industrial important location with a major port on the river Weser. Together with the city of Bremerhaven the are the state of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen - called Freie Hansestadt Bremen in German -, one of three city states in the structure of federal states in Germany (the other are Hamburg and Berlin). Bremen (the city) has a population of approximately 550.000 inhabitants, making it the tenth largest city of Germany. 

The video itself was made in March 2013 on a sunday morning and starts in the city centre. As the city was heavily damaged after world war 2, only the most important historic buildings have been rebuild, but most of the ordinary buildings that were destroyed during the bombing raids have been replaced with newer buildings during the 50s and 60s. After leaving the city centre we turn onto federal highway 6 that takes us to the outskirts of the city.

Car used: BMW 520d (F10 / MY2012)


More episodes of "the co-drivers view":

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Picture update: BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI (2013 / E84)


BMW's smallest member of the SUV family is the BMW X1, which is a "compact luxury crossover SUV". Introduced in 2009, production first started at the Leipzig plant in October 2009 and later expanded to plants in Chennai (India), Shenyang (China), and Kaliningrad (Russia). BMW does not produce complete X1's in Chennai and Kaliningrad but rather assembles knock-down kits (CDK's).

The BMW X1 shares its platform with the old BMW 3-series Touring (E91) and the BMW X3, which is most notable in the interior, that is reminiscent of the Bangle-interior in the previous generation 1- and 3-series, for example the location of the cruise control on a seperate handle instead of the steering wheel. 

In 2012 BMW introduced the facelift - Life Cycle Improvement (LCI) - for the X1. Only minor changes have been made to the exterior, for example the headlights got blue angel eyes and an "LED-eyebrow" instead of the old yellow angel eyes, and the "Sport Line" and "xLine" packages have been made available. More changes have been made by introducing new engines and several smaller technological improvements. 

This blog features a BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI with the "Sport Line" package, with a complete list of all the options in this particular car and many pictures. 



Model (Code / Model Year): BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI (2013 / E84)
Engine: four-cylinder TwinPower-Turbo diesel engine (1995cm³)  
Transmission: 6-speed manual transmission
Performance: 143hp / 320nm
0 to 100km/h: 9,6 sec
Top speed: 202km/h (126mp/h)
Weight: 1555kg
Fuel tank (US gallons): 61 liter (16,1 US gallons)

€32.900,00 BMW X1 xDrive18d


€660,00 Glacier Silver metallic
€0,00 Wing mirror caps Glacier Silver
€0,00 18-inch Star-spoke style 320 light alloy wheels*
€0,00 Anthracite Median cloth upholstery with Coral Red highlights*
€0,00 Black trim, high-gloss*

* Included in the Sport Line package

€1.900,00 Sport Line:

€650,00 18-inch Star-spoke style 320 light alloy wheels
€-,-- Black trim, high-gloss
€-,-- Anthracite Median cloth upholstery with Coral Red highlights
€-,-- Sport Steering wheel
€-,-- Sport seats
€-,-- Floor mats, velour

€2.550,00 Total Price "Sport Line"

€190,00 BMW Emergency call
€---,-- BMW Teleservices
€610,00 Automatic Air Conditioning
€250,00 Servotronic Steering
€1.350,00 Panoramic glass sunroof
€290,00 Extended storage
€150,00 Armrest, front with sliding adjustment
€130,00 Rain sensor with automatic headlight activation
€340,00 Cruise control with brake function
€---,-- Model designation deletion
€300,00 Roof rails, matt aluminium
€950,00 Electric Front Seats + Driver Memory
€330,00 Seat heating, front
€1.390,00 Navigation System Business
€---,-- Voice Control
€---,-- Bluetooth hands-free with USB audio interface
€170,00 Rear-view mirror, auto dimming
€450,00 Park Distance Control (PDC), rear
€280,00 Headlight wash
€600,00 Xenon headlights
€---,-- Foglights, front
€40,00 Passenger airbag dectivation, front

Total price in Germany: €43.930,-*

*Prices are the German prices in July 2013

Some pro's and con's on the BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI:

Pro:
  • Sport Line package is good value for money, apart from the options it also has many nice design features
  • Excellent sport seats
  • Adequate amount of space inside of the car, compared to other "compact" cars like the 1-series
  • Bluetooth connection for both the phone and MP-3 function works perfectly
Con:

  • Relatively high fuel consumption
  • Steep price --> a comparable 3-series Touring has more to offer
  • Old technology of the previous generation
  • Location of the USB-connection in the center console instead of armrest, makes the car look untidy if the phone flies around the center console
  • Cupholder is in the way of the passenger, although it can be detached









Red stitching on the sport steering wheel

Navigation system business

Sport seats with anthracite median cloth upholstery with coral red highligts
18-inch Star-spoke style 320 light alloy wheels
Other BMW X1 E84 LCI media:

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Video update: BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI (2013 / E84)

In July 2012 BMW gave its smallest SUV a facelift - BMW calls it the "Life Cycle Improvement (LCI)" - in order to align its technology and optics with the current generation BMWs. Although the facelift is barely noticable from the outside, it features updated headlights with blue angels eyes instead of the yellow ones, significant technological changes have been made. These include new engines and extra options, the introduction of the Sport and xLine-packages and updates to the powertrain.

This blog features movies about a BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI / Facelift with the Sport Line package, including a walkaround, fuel consumption test and flatout.

BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI Walkaround - Exterior and interior shots of the car


BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI Fuel Consumption Test - testing the fuel consumption under real life conditions


BMW X1 xDrive18d LCI Flatout - Putting the pedal to the metal on the German Autobahn