2017 BMW X1 vs Mini Countryman

What's the difference?

The BMW X1 is the smallest and most affordable BMW SUV you can buy. But does this mean it’s cheap and tiny, or maybe not a ‘real’ BMW? Should you be sensible and spend the money on something bigger but with a badge that’s not as fancy? Should you pay for an all-wheel drive (AWD) one, when front-wheel drive (FWD) costs less? And what’s the point of diesel fuel?

I’m a dad with a small family, who has driven a squillion BMWs. I’m also a part-time brand snob and a full time cheap-skate. There’s nobody else better placed to tell you the answer to these questions.

We drove the BMW X1 sDrive 18d for a week and here’s what we learned.

Way back in January (yes, it's August already), I was piloting a second-generation Mini Countryman through Oxfordshire's back roads and I rather enjoyed it. Partly because my perverse nature marvelled at how cranky this car makes traditionalists but mostly because it was good. Very good. 

Another reason I enjoyed it was the fact that there was clearly plenty more to come from the chassis. 

Mini agrees and as surely as night follows day, the Countryman now has a JCW pack which will no doubt make the even crankier. Mini put us to work driving the new Countryman JCW on both sealed roads and gravel for the first time in Australia.