Any owners here of the previous X1 - what is the hatch on the top of the dashboard?
Is it just a cubby hole or is there a screen behind it?
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I had one have no memory of the flap you mentioned ! Have you a photo ?
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Was this the flap where the computer screen would be on higher spec cars ? I seem to recall I used this as an oddment storage for phone etc
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Yes. That's the site for the computer screen. Mine had that - oddment storage - maybe more useful than a screen ! I have a dog guard for one of these if you're in the market !
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so do they all have a screen or only some?
Just browsing auto trader as you do and none of the photos of the X1s that I have seen actually show this flap up so curious as to what was behind it?
If its only an oddment tray on a car that dear then thats pretty naff! Also that then means that as far as radio display goes, well it only has the wee red LED display along the radio that wouldnt look out of place in a 1980s car?
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It is what is ! A fine little car - I chopped it for the 328 saloon (which was my FiL's motor) that I bought. No real regrets on selling it - the interior/dashboard was definitely not as good as it could have been either in spec or finish. Light rotary control fell out one evening...not good on any car
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>> so do they all have a screen or only some?
>> the wee red LED display along the radio that wouldnt look out of place in
>> a 1980s car?
Its because someone was too tight to specify the sat nav or the uprated stereo when new.
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Ha ha I told the missus that my next car is going to be something different from my usual bland family cars.
I fancy an auto Merc of some sort - I just showed her a Merc R Class for a laugh thats going for £8k - she spat her tea out and said that looks like one of those singsong cars (I knew what she meant).
I fancy a
C Class estate - dont need the size, or have the space for it, but the dog would love it and I just feel the inside is just so classic Merc!
B Class (I know boring but I like them)
X1 but would need toys
VW Transporter / Caravelle thingy - love driving my works Transit - this would be more luxurious but be very practical.
Ach well it will probably be another year at least so plenty of time to browse autotrader!
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Yeah noticed that Zero on the back door
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X1 is fine. As you say it needs the toys and the X Drive.
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Next car is definitely auto.
Add Lexus CT and Toyota Auris hybrids to the list
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The the X1 dash is based on the E87 1-Series and is a model of clarify and great egonomics with three displays, one for the aircon (dual zone on almost all), one for the radio which also displays all sorts of other info depending on radio type) and one on the dash that is toggled from the left hand stalk and features service info, TPMS etc. Ones with satnav have a separate screen.
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But it seems the display at the top of the dash was optional. I am surprised that is the case for even a BMW X1 even if it did not get sat nav.
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The E87 one series was launched in 2004; it was pretty normal back then for screens only to be fitted if NAV was specified - in the then current 3 series, Audi A4 and Merc C class the optional navigation screen replaced the stereo. The E60/61 5 series launched in '03 had a dash top screen whether or not navigation was fitted, as did the E90/91 3 series launched in '05. The current one series has one - a case of the E87 being launched just before screens became common, and then staying in production for 7 years? That's the problem with in-car tech - the rate of change in technology outpaces platform life...
My opinion of the clarity of that generation one series dash is slightly at odds with the comment above, but only because we found the stereo in ours (a 2006 120d) was a mass of identical looking buttons. It had the upgraded 'professional' stereo, though I think the basic design was the same. All of the displays were in classic BMW red/orange, and all pixilated LCD so quite dated even then!
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>> The E60/61 5 series launched in '03 had a dash top screen whether or not navigation
>> was fitted, as did the E90/91 3 series launched in '05.>>
The E90 etc did not have a standard screen, the optional satnav meant a completely redesigned dash top which was similar to the E60 and far less attractive that the standard E90 dash IMO.
>> My opinion of the clarity of that generation one series dash is slightly at odds
>> with the comment above, but only because we found the stereo in ours (a 2006
>> 120d) was a mass of identical looking buttons. It had the upgraded 'professional' stereo, though I think the basic design was the same. All of the displays were in classic
>> BMW red/orange, and all pixilated LCD so quite dated even then!
>>
I have to say that I totally disagree, our 2005 120i (current) and my 2010 123d (previous) both have/had the professional radio and it works brilliantly, the buttons are illuminated though not labelled, rather their function corresponds to the label adjacent to them within the display above, so the function of a button changes whether you are setting a radio station, making a call or looking at the trip computer, a great system.
Early E87s had an optional satnav where a screen replaced the radio and displaced the aircon controls, later E87/81/82/88s with satnav had dash top screens of which there are two generations, the latter looks a bit more contemporary and I think was from late 2009 ish.
I think E84 X1s broadly follow the late E87 etc in spec terms though the locations of the radio, aircon controls etc differ a little.
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Sorry... of course, you're right. The 3 series didn't. I was thinking of mine, which did! I actually preferred the dash layout without the 'hump' :)
On the radio, yes the buttons wre labelled and illuminated. There are a lot of them though, which all look the same so, for me at least, it always meant a glance away from the road rather than identifying by 'feel' what was what. Very reminiscent of the layout in the E39 and E46. Not that dissimilar to that in my two series either, although they are programmable. I've only programmed two - one for tyre pressures and one for email. The other (6?) shortcuts remain unused! I wish the voice recognition worked as well as that in the Audi, though I imagine that the higher levels of background noise make it harder to interpret what I'm saying ;)
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>> But it seems the display at the top of the dash was optional. I am
>> surprised that is the case for even a BMW X1 even if it did not
>> get sat nav.
>>
As I say ones with satnav have a separate screen.
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Cheddar, surely you can't be looking at that X1 that I posted the link to and say it's great ergonomics?
Look at where the radio is, totally out of sight with a tiny display.
My 2007 Altea had a big screen radio.
My previous three Scenics had a high level display going back to T reg.
Am sure my old Vauxhall Nova even had a higher mounted radio!
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>> Cheddar, surely you can't be looking at that X1 that I posted the link to
>> and say it's great ergonomics?
You are thinking "toys" and you are not thinking "driving"
BMW's have always claimed to be "driving machines" and to that end, the ergonomics for the act of driving have been perfect for years. The two instruments you need, very large and clear, right in front of you, lovely spaced and hight pedals for heel and toe, the steering wheel and rim, just the right size and thickness, the gear lever always appeared in your hand whenever you needed it, short of throw - very precise.
Ok, indicators were a difficult to find and worse to use afterthought, and the radio was there because people said they might want one to listen to it in the car park.
Only recently have they managed to accommodate and marry tech, convenience and driving in the same way. In my new 5 series the screen is now the perfect location and size, and after many years the i drive is no longer the confusing mess it used to be, but very functional and logical. Ok the radio buttons (and environmental controls) are still too low small and fiddly, but most stuff is replicated on the screen or wheel.
Checkout the new Jaguar XF dash and internals. Its exactly where BMW was 5 years ago.
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>> Ok, indicators were a difficult to find and worse to use >>
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I think the touch = three flashes and operate = continuous system is great to use once you are familiar with it, one problem is that it is configurable within the iDrive on many later cars and not everyone bothers to configure it.
I even read a review the other day where it said that the car in question did not have the system, the truth was the reviewer had not enabled the system.
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>> Cheddar, surely you can't be looking at that X1 that I posted the link to
>> and say it's great ergonomics?
>>
I was commenting on the E87 upon which it's based, not the X1 specifically.
The dash top cubby came along with the E87 2007 facelift and featured on the E81 3dr, E82 coupé and E88 convertible from launch, so our venerable 2005 E87 120i does not have it though my 2010 E81 123d did have it, useful though got very hot in the summer.
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BTW Bobby whatever the car is a -20d is much livelier than a -18d and no less economical.
And the car you link to is a 63 plate E84 so the interior is aligned to the 1-Series E82 coupé and E88 conv that were in production then whereas the 1-Series E87 5dr and E81 3dr had already been replaced by the F20 and F21 respectively which have iDrive and screens as standard.
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Can BMWs not just follow Ford's example of having models represented by Marks?
Coincidentally I realised that one of my colleagues has a 63 plate X1 so will ask her for a wee nosey !!
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Life is way too short and my brain already too full to bother remembering or looking up BMW E numbers.
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>> Life is way too short and my brain already too full to bother remembering or
>> looking up BMW E numbers.
Tut Tut, the bimmerkids love their secret code numbers, makes them feel all nerdy and knowledgeable.
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BMW X1 E84 - Flap on top of dashboard - Boxsterboy
