IN my experience, no car maker is infallible and all bar one have produced cars that were not up to standard.

That one, until now, was BMW, whose machinery never failed to please and excite me, with a driving experience that was second to none.

But the new X1 is, I'm afraid, not quite up to the mark. Firstly, although it has power steering of course, that in my test 123d was far too heavy at slow speeds making it very unwieldy at times.

Secondly, it had a ride that was uncomfortable for all four passengers at slow speeds, and for rear seat passengers all the time.

All that said, the X1 is a BMW and will probably sell like hot cakes just because of the cachet that name still brings to most people.

The 123d has a 2.0-litre turbodiesel with plenty of power for most eventualities and this drives all four wheels through a six-speed gearbox.

The handling and road-holding are excellent and the steering has plenty of feel at speed.

The front seats in the SE I drove had excellent adjustment for all sizes and the high driving position is one I have always loved about 4x4s.