New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- When I received the BMW X1 Long-Wheelbase for review I did something I don't normally do first, because my curiosity got the better of me. I pushed the driver's seat well back to suit my own six-foot driving position, walked around and folded myself into the back seat behind it, and asked Anthony-who had come to deliver the car-to take me for a short drive.

During the virtual media briefing BMW had emphasized the extra room in this stretched version of its smallest SUV, and I wanted to see if this was true.

I had fully expected my knees to start arguing with the back of the seat within seconds. They never did. In fact, there was "no man's air"-that crucial buffer zone-between my knees and the scooped-out seatback. ...