2023 BMW X1 vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

BMW’s X1 has changed. In a good way. Especially if you’re thinking about buying one as a family car.

Yep, last year the third-generation X1 arrived and after 13 years and three different attempts on a design, BMW has nailed it. And by ‘it’ I mean built a super practical and spacious small SUV that’s great to drive. 

See, as a dad of two kids, when it comes to cars and my family ‘it’ means something totally different to what ‘it’ meant 10 years ago.

And that’s what this review is about: does the BMW X1, and specifically this xDrive20i M Sport variant we’ve tested here, make a good family car?

If you're thinking of buying it for your family then you need to read this and also consider the likes of Audi’s Q3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLB.

Australia loves Mazda.

We have all sorts of Mazdas. Big ones, small ones, relatively affordable ones, expensive ones, but one which stands above the rest is the CX-5.

That's because this mid-sizer does a lot of the heavy lifting for the Japanese brand, keeping it in the fight against titans like Toyota in the sales charts.

If you're ready to feel old, this second-generation version of the CX-5 with its eye-catching design is now a whopping seven years old, although it has been tweaked recently in 2022 to bring a few updates, as well as the addition of the variant we're looking at here, the Touring Active.

So, the question we're wrestling with is whether this car's continued massive popularity is still warranted.

Is this still one of the best mid-size SUVs you can buy for your family, or should you be considering more recently arrived alternatives?