[Untdrums]

Originally Posted by dgkli

OK, by definition, being what I personally would choose, I will give you my criteria, keeping in mind this is for the daily driver of someone who averages about 300 miles/week of suburban driving/commuting with occasional extended trips and rare country-road driving. No off-road, no racing. My typical commute includes 10 -15 minutes of bumper to bumper traffic and 10-15 minutes of relative unconstrained highway driving. Most of the time I'm the sole occupant; most of the rest of the time I have one passenger. But, must be able to candle a total of 4 occupants for decent length drives. Also keep in mind that I have a 6MT Miata in the garage.

More or less in order of priority, but all important (these are my criteria for a car, not the characteristics of any given car):

1. Fun to drive. This means I look forward to getting into it and driving it; good steering and brake feel, reasonably quick, agile handling, comfortable seats, good audio.
2. Decent looking inside and out.
3. Useful tech; acceptable device linkage, good displays (on BMWs, I include things like rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming mirrors, iDrive, automatic hi-beams, comfort access, 8-speed tranny, great heated seats). I really don't need or want lane-keeping assist.)
4. Well screwed together, solid.
5. 4+ doors, room for 4 occupants.
6. No bigger than it needs to be.
7. Decent fuel mileage.
8. Can handle bad weather and unfavorable driving conditions. I include the swiveling HID headlights and awd here. For me, good steering feel goes into this category (besides fun to drive). I put a raised seating position here too.
9. Versatile carrying capacity. Prefer 5-door layout if possible, must have fold-down rear seats. I've always preferred hatch/wagon style, but not to the exclusion of my other priorities. (I've owned, in the past, a Volvo wagon, a Rabbit, a Mazda GLC and Protege 5, and a Grand Cherokee).
10. Good outward visibility.
11. Reasonable reliability.
12. Good ergonomics

Other issues considered: extended service intervals, warranty/maintenance policies, how pleasant it is to spend time in dealerships, RFT's (a negative!).

OK, put all this together, and here are examples of cars I would consider:
X1, 3-series (including wagon), X3; Mazda 3, 6, CX5; GTI; A3, A4, Q5; Focus, Escape, Fusion; ATS, CTS; Volvo S60; Infiniti I, G37; CRV; Acura RSX, ILX, TSX; Buick Regal. I'm probably missing a couple.

So, you can see, a number of these are cars that you would not think would be cross-shopped, but by my criteria, none of these is out of the question.

As to brands, I tend to find appealing, BMW's, VW's/Audis, and Mazdas, as by my standards, these companies "get it." I also kind of like Volvos (well, some of them).

Given my criteria, the X1 xDrive, of all available vehicles, wins for me, and I don't regret that decision. It's only a matter of juggling priorities a bit to see why an X1 and a 3-series can both qualify. I really dislike the BMW EPS so that drops most other BMW's in my rankings quite a bit.

Anyway, at the top of the list when I bought the X1 were the X1 and a 3-series. The wagon wasn't quite yet available, but if not for the EPS I might have waited.

In the end, why do I prefer the X1 to my E90s? For my driving, I prefer the ride/handling balance of the X1. I love the steering. I like having the extra 3 inches or so of height when stuck in traffic or driving in bad weather. I like the 5-door form factor. For the same price as a modestly-optioned wagon, I could get a loaded X1. I look forward to getting into the car every drive. It carries almost everything I need carried. The seats are comfortable, I like the looks (actually love the red interior with real aluminum (I hate fake metal accents which so many cars seem to have. The audio is pretty good, the steering wheel is great, the transmission is excellent.

My last 3-series was a 335d (unfortunately, no sport package and the base radio with iDrive). I really liked that car, but it always felt a little heavy to me (not athletic like my earlier e90 or my e46). I think the X1 actually handles better. The earlier e90 felt athletic, but the X1's ride is much better. (My E46 may actually have been my favorite bimmer, but I like having the tech and more powerful engines of the newer ones).

I wonder it that answers your question?

We currently own a 2011 335d (non-sport) and a 2014 X1 sDrive MSport with 19s that we picked up on 11/13. As far as driving dynamics, I still personally prefer the heavier feel that the D has along with the hydraulic steering. The x1 of course has a greater amount of body roll due to it's higher center of gravity, but is lessened by the stiffer suspension package. My wife and I also have noticed the stopping power of the D is significantly greater and more balanced/controllable than that of the X1, thus giving us more confidence. I still believe that the X1 is an excellent vehicle that provides for us in ways the D can't though. This being said, the balance of utility, practicality and fun factor is split into different percentages for both of these vehicles and at the end of the day, we're just thankful to be able to drive them everyday. We're on vacation in a Corolla rental and it makes us appreciate what we have even more!