The iX1’s interior is well designed generally but one area niggles John Challen.

P11d: £53,240 BiK: 2% Range: 270 miles On fleet range: 284 miles  Efficiency: 3.5mi/kWh

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The cubby in the central armrest is small and perhaps not perfectly formed

Some readers might disagree, but I don’t think the exterior appearance of a car is *that* important. For a start, design is subjective and we all see beauty in different things. Yes, there are design ‘rules’ that should be followed but a lot of the time, people just like what they like. There’s also the argument that, when it comes to cars, we typically spend less time outside looking in, than inside looking out (unless you work at a dealership or have a strange hobby as you walk the streets).

So, with that in mind, the more important consideration for me is the interior design and layout of a car. And, while the iX1 typically nails that requirement throughout (more of that later), there’s one particular quirk that makes me smile every time I use it. The central armrest includes a button-operated opening that reveals storage underneath. However, it’s hinged on the side nearest the driver (me), which makes accessing it that bit more difficult. Not only that, but on initial press of the button, it pops up about two inches and then you have to manually lift it the rest of the way (I know, I know – first-world problems and all that). I’m assuming it’s a LHD vs RHD thing, because if the steering wheel was on the other side of the car, it would work perfectly.

The other thing about this space is that it’s pretty tiny – in all directions. Not really deep enough to fit in anything of substance, nor wide enough to accommodate a smartphone without jamming it in or potentially damaging it when you close the lid. Unlike the hinge situation, I’m at a bit of a loss here – maybe the designer was still rocking a Nokia 3310 (look it up, kids), because I can’t see any obvious reason why it couldn’t be made a little bigger in all directions.

Having said that, there’s plenty of storage elsewhere in the BMW – two deep drinks holders in the centre console, just in front of the very effective wireless charging pad – complete with clamp to keep your seemingly oversized device in place. Loads of room in the glovebox (does anyone REALLY keep gloves in there anymore?) and the door bins, too.

Away from the storage, the BMW’s fit and finish is as you would expect from the premium car company. It might be at the lower end of the BMW model range, but the quality is there for all to see.

As it’s been holiday time, there have been more passengers than usual alongside me during the week and they are all equally impressed. On one of the three – at my last count – hot days during August, the very effective air-con system (now in manual mode!) has come to our rescue on a number of occasions where I haven’t pre-cooled the car via the app…

Back to back, the iX1 is not that different sizewise to the Velar it replaces

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Given it’s at the lower end of BMW’s SUV portfolio, the iX1 (X1) is a car that you’d expect to be pretty compact. In actual fact, it’s not that much smaller than an iX3 (X3), which is another of the reasons that I’m very happy to be running it.

I made no secret of the fact that the iX3 was a superb car but, with three growing Challen Jnrs, I did have my reservations on how they would get on with its smaller sibling. In reality, there’s plenty of room inside, along with loads of spaces for various items that any of us might bring on a given journey. But it doesn’t feel big. Sat alongside a Range Rover Velar that I recently spent some time with, driving the two was like chalk and cheese. That might sound obvious but, relatively speaking, they don’t look THAT much different, size-wise.

While the Velar has its many positives, manoeuvrability isn’t high on the list, but the BMW seems to handle tight spaces with ease and the turning circle of 11.4m has been useful on a few occasions. To be honest, in the small time I’ve spent with the car, I’m close to putting it on a par with the iX3, which is high praise indeed.

I’ve sampled some of the tech onboard and I’m happy to report that the reverse park assistant worked like a dream. I’m always a bit wary about handing over complete control to the car, but it popped itself onto the driveway outside Challen Towers with ease. Adaptive regenerative breaking is still yet to be fully investigated but, given how the rest of the car performs, I have high hopes…

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The BMW has showcased its practical side with a first trip to the local tip/recycling centre

The first chance for the BMW to really stretch its legs – and test the driving range – was by going to, er, BMW!

A trip to the HQ in Farnborough to drive the hydrogen iX5 gave me the opportunity to quiz the technicians over what I thought was a quirk about the car.

As the weather has been kind – and hot – since we took delivery of the car, its climate fan has been working overtime. However, from the off, the settings seemed to be ‘geared’ wrongly. As such, the difference in fan power between ‘very low’ and ‘low’ was huge – but minimal between the other options. The clever tech guys pointed out it was switched to ‘automatic’ settings, so the system basically knew what it was doing and I was worrying about nothing!

Out on the road, the iX1 is proving a great companion and any concerns I had about those 20-inch wheels have largely gone out of the window as the ride quality is perfectly acceptable – with a dash of ‘sporty’ thrown in. Performance is decent, as is expected from most BEVs, with miles being covered in a pretty refined cabin. There’s a touch of road noise to contend with, but only what would have previously been masked by the engine in an ICE version of the car.

Meanwhile, the BMW has also proved its versatility with its first trip to the local tip/recycling centre. One Sunday spent building flatpack furniture meant a LOT of cardboard and plastic was generated, but the iX1 – with its three individual seats all folded – swallowed the lot with ease.

A delve into the BMW app sorted the radio stations issue

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I’m the first to admit that I’m a) not that great when it comes to technology and b) a creature of habit. So, when a new car arrives at Challen Towers, I’ll preset the radio stations before I do anything else – and hope and pray that navigating between them doesn’t require going through a series of taps on the touchscreen. Thankfully, those days are mostly over, but I wasn’t quite prepared for what I had to do to complete that relatively straightforward task in the BMW.

It turns out that the driver can’t choose their favourite stations as presets without logging into their car through either the app or their BMW account. Bit weird and certainly something I’d not encountered – and a task that left me wondering why. Was BMW suddenly going to start bombarding me with ads for new albums from my favourite bands/artists? Was it worried I might cheat on it with a Mercedes-Benz or Audi? Who knows…?

Anyway, it turns out that getting connected was more straightforward than I thought – and five minutes before a meeting was all I needed for the iX1 and I to be, er, one with each other. Choices made and I was able to flick between channels with ease. Meanwhile, on the app, I still need to do something else in the car’s setting to allow me to see a record of my previous journeys. When I popped onto the app to find out the exact details, I kid you not, dear readers, it froze on me! Trying again, I eventually discovered I was instructed to “Activate ‘My Trips’ in your BMW”.

Technology, eh? At the heart of creating solutions to problems that didn’t exist!

The all-electric version of the X1 SUV is well equipped and looks the part

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I write these words without even having set foot inside our latest long-termer – a ‘Black Sapphire’ BMW iX1.

However, there’s plenty I can tell you about the car without getting behind the wheel. We drove the iX1 in a ‘near production’ form late last year and came away pretty impressed with its powertrain installation, performance and overall quality. What’s more, the iX1 is not that much smaller than the iX3 – a former member of the FW Fleet that is still fondly remembered and greatly missed!

But back to this iX1, which comes equipped with Technology Plus Pack (£2,750) and Comfort Pack (£1,050) which bring a whole host of additions to an already pretty impressive spec.

The claimed driving range of 270 miles is plenty and, in my previous experience of electric BMWs, likely to be pretty accurate, which is more than can be said for some other models on the market. It’s helped by the addition of a heat pump, which comes as standard. Charging times, even at home, appear to be pretty decent too – AC charging up to 22kW enables the battery to be fully replenished from empty in under four hours.

Away from the cost and efficiency stuff, however, I was drawn to the car’s wheels. The 20-inch multi-spoke bad boys (a £1,390 option) look stunning, but I’ll reserve judgement about the subsequent ride quality until next time.