X1 F48 Thoughts

[FILV]

Hi Guys

While i have been pondering cars to replace the wife's Fiesta since we had a little one, i today i started looking at a car i have never even considered - the F48.
As i know it is based on the Countryman, if the S-drive it is front wheel drive, and having an Aisin gearbox, i never considered it a 'real Bmw'

After reading multiple reviews from our local Car magazine, to various EU, US and even Indian road tests they all praised it as being a great buy.
some interesting points from these reviews was that it has slightly more room then a F25 in certian aspects:



Im still confused if they all come with the Aisin geabox, or if the ones spec'ed with sports transmission is still an Aisin or a ZF gearbox.

Price wise, i think they are priced way to close to a LCI X3 F25.

Has anyone had any experience with them, particularly the 20D?
Are these gearboxes unreliable?

 

[Riaad]

Hi Guys

While i have been pondering cars to replace the wife's Fiesta since we had a little one, i today i started looking at a car i have never even considered - the F48.
As i know it is based on the Countryman, if the S-drive it is front wheel drive, and having an Aisin gearbox, i never considered it a 'real Bmw'

After reading multiple reviews from our local Car magazine, to various EU, US and even Indian road tests they all praised it as being a great buy.
some interesting points from these reviews was that it has slightly more room then a F25 in certian aspects:
View attachment 21428


Im still confused if they all come with the Aisin geabox, or if the ones spec'ed with sports transmission is still an Aisin or a ZF gearbox.

Price wise, i think they are priced way to close to a LCI X3 F25.

Has anyone had any experience with them, particularly the 20D?
Are these gearboxes unreliable?

They all use Aisin, supposedly reliable (and non serviceable) - however, most international bmw owners complain about how the box operates.
Whereas Mini owners say that they are great (with most mistakenly assume that their mini has a ZF8) - consensus is that bmw tuned the box poorly.

That said, I have no first hand experience with Aisin, but they are in a fair share of different brands in the market.

Price wise, I'd be more inclined to the F25 or G01 at a premium. F48 has better tech than the F25, but build quality is lacking.

Imo, the Countryman (in S or JCW trim) is a better buy vs the F48, they come better spec'd, feel more premium inside, better to drive (faster or much faster in case of the JCW), and surprisingly feels more spacious inside. B48 seems to be holding up well.

Also, they are relatively cheaper, considering that any 20D these days go for a premium.

 

[Eust]

Agreed.
My wife has a Countryman S as a daily and it's great. No issues over the years and I've taken it to CT a few times and it's a stellar long road cruiser.
Car is comfortable, fast enough, reliable and seems to hold it's value decently.
Looks are subjective, but I think it's also better looking than the X1.

 

[FILV]

I think its just better off going for an F25 LCI for the same money then.

 

[MR_Y]

I had an Aisin in my Volvos.
The boxes are also used in some Toyotas too.
No where close to a ZF box in terms of shifting performance.

Agree that an F25 may suit you better

 

[hansi06]

I've had the xdrive 20d (2017) for about a year and a half, and has been treating me well so far, except for a couple of things that were done in the last few months before the motorplan expired.

To be honest, the primary reason I chose this car was that my wife needed a car, and her cousin was selling it with a few months remaining on the motorplan. (and it hadn't given him any issues since his ownership as a demo model) So I had ease of mind in terms of reliability, and the price was less than buying at a dealer.

I would say the main advantage of the X1 is the smaller size, so it's easier to use around town, parking etc., but it also does well on gravel on the berg trips. As you mentioned, despite the external dimensions being smaller, the internal space is surprisingly good.

I can't really compare it to my f10 530d as they are in completely different categories, so obviously the x1 may not be as "luxurious" as the X3, but it is quite planted, nippy and decently fun to drive, and probably more so than an X3. I haven't driven an s-drive model, so I'm not sure how the drive would differ. I personally don't feel the gearbox is bad (not as good as a zf though), but I guess drive one and see.

That being said, if the car is going to be used mostly for longer, highway driving then the X3 would probably be better, but if used for in town driving, perhaps the X1 would be better.

Edit: The Countryman S or JCW does seem to offer better value to the comparable X1, however compare the interior space to the X1, and if a diesel is important.

 

[Milisela]

Wife's got the 2016 Xdrive 20d. Its a great small crossover - very good fuel consumption as she drives between PE to Humansdorp regularly. I wanted a highish mileage (100k km) that was reliable and comfy for her travels. Not as luxurious as the F25 but we enjoy it.

 

[dvst8]

Had a 2.5i XDrive, no issues while i had it. Has enough space ie. front and rear passenger comfort and decent enough boot.

With regards to the Aisin box, also no issue there. Had it on the x1 and on the 4th Mini with that box.