Hi All,
My time as a Lexus owner has come to an end as of yesterday. I was able to sell my 2011 RX450h after 8 years of ownership and just over 80 thousand miles very quickly through a craigslist posting. It's a bit sad to end 3 generations of RXs but I haven't found myself longing for another one, or any other Lexus for that matter. Though I am still excited to see the new models come out, and the styling does not offend me, other aspects have made me feel that Lexus is falling behind its luxury competitors. For one, gas engines don't seem particularly impressive, nor are hybrid powertrains that appealing to me as there are so many possible electric alternatives. I would have maybe considered a plug in hybrid or a range extending electric vehicle, but alas there are no options from Lexus. Maybe Im just bored of it all.

Anywhoo, in an attempt to downsize a bit, I have leased a 2018 BMW X1 black interior and exterior. I haven't touched a BMW in about 20 years, but do follow them sometimes online. The X1 uses a 2.0 turbo producing 228hp or so, using an 8 speed (though not the zf one IIRC). Transmission does not shift as seamlessly as the 9 speed in the new MBs, but its not bad. Its a peppy little thing. Ive noticed that the engine does have some turbo lag when starting off, more than my MB 2.0 turbo in the E class. Also, noise and vibration seem worse, though this may be an element of less insulation versus an E class in the hierarchy and not the engine. In the E, you can't even feel any vibration in the steering wheel though I guess this is the famous BMW steering feel :P. Start stop function is less intrusive than my E class, though time will tell whether this will be the case as the car gets more miles. I do not like the operation as much because it will shut the engine off no matter how far the brake pedal is depressed, seems to do it often right when the car just comes to a stop.

Things that drawn me to the X1 were that it is constantly rated very high in the luxury small ute segment, with the most interior volume and green house effect versus competitors. I think it has a very attractive front end, and the interior while nothing to rave about, is simple and smart. It doesn't offend me at all. It has a good engine, transmission, and features. I love the ambient lighting, kick foot trunk operation, and the pano roof. Oddly the car has self parking though it only works in parallel spots. It was impossible to find one with the larger Navigation screen and HUD premium package in my area, so I had to settle for the navigation business 6 inch display. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised that BMW put the effort in updating the business nav with their newest software, including a touch screen as found in the newer models, as well as single address voice command (I remember reading that previous business nav didn't have voice command functions?). Also impressive is the wireless apple CarPlay. I also noticed that some 2018s on the lot had a very ugly, old school instrument cluster, but my 2018 has an updated version with a larger info LCD display. I am not sure when it switched over, but even the BMW Geniuses (thats what they call the product specialist) didn't know about it until I pointed it out. I am however disappointed that the car I purchased doesn't have LED headlights, only halogen. Leg room is more than plentiful, so with my 6 foot frame in the front seat, I can sit behind myself no problem. Trunk space seems more than adequate, and without the spare tire in there, the underfloor storage is enormous and really convenient to place items away from view. The parcel shelf on the other hand its annoying and flimsy.

This is also my first interaction with I-drive and it is confusing me a bit. I don't know why people complain the Lexus nav is not intuitive with the menus, I find the BMW worse, and the short cut keys next to the wheel are hard to remember, as there are like 6 in the area. They put the back button behind and to the left of the controller, when it is more intuitive to put it in the front left. Anyway, I am sure I will get used to it over time.

All in all, I am very happy with the purchase. I leased this for 3 years, 36K miles for $400 a month/5K down. Not terrible, not stellar. I know this thread is worthless without pictures, but its been raining the last few days. Ill update this thread when I do take them!

 

Congratulations. Enjoy your new vehicle.

You didn't tell us a couple of things, though. How long was the lease...two or three years? And were you satisfied with the lease-deal? BMW, because of their traditionally low depreciation and high residual value, often can afford to have good lease deals.

I agree with you that I-Drive can be a PITA. I've never liked it...or Audi's MMI system. But you are correct that you will probably get used to it. Heck, I managed to get used to the E-shifter in my Lacrosse, though I still have to remember to pull the lever back in the same direction to go both in and out of Manual mode....something very unusual.

I noticed you went with black/black on the colors. Normally I'd make a comment about how hot it can get in the summer sun......but I notice you are in San Francisco, which, the majority of the time, has a cool, cloudy, and sometimes foggy climate....completely the opposite of inland California.

 

 

If I am correct, the BMW X1 uses the Aisin AWF8Fxx 8-speed automatic transmission, the same one used in the Lexus RX and ES, and Toyota Camry, Avalon and new RAV4.

So you are still driving Toyota / Lexus!

 

 

Almost forgot to ask......I assume it is an AWD version, not FWD, although, in San Francisco, you will probably not need AWD.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Mike. though I did write it was a 3 year lease I was surprised that my payments are still this high, though I don't think it was terrible. Even with a negotiated price down to $32,xxx from $42,xxx, I thought the monthly payments would be in the 300s, but I still inched to $408. This was based on a good money factor with excellent credit. It is an Xdrive model as I like the added traction and confidence in wet driving, plus we go up to Tahoe one a year. Black interior is just easiest to hide dirt!

 

Nope, I don't miss the space, at least not yet. The X1 is pretty space efficient, plus I have my E class if I need to seat 5 people more comfortably. I am a family of 2 so I never needed the space of the RX to begin with.

 

That's right, thanks for that.

 

You guys don't think you can get rid of me that easily, do you?

 

Im not sure why either. I keep telling myself that its a highly rated system. But as I mentioned, the controller and all the shortcut keys are hard to remember so I have to keep looking down. Plus, on the X1, the center console is really low, so you reach down for the controller, making it even more out of sight. In addition, the language is a bit odd to me. "Communication" instead of "Phone", cannot say "delete destination" like in my RX using voice control, I have to now say "Cancel Guidance", there is no preset screen, so when I switch over to a preset radio station, it changes to it while bringing up the full list of the stations instead of just the presets. The menu's are named weird, I laughed at one called "technology in motion".

Oh, and I thought of one annoying thing. While the car has power folding mirrors, they don't work with the locking and unlocking of the car. You have to press a button each time.