2012 BMW X1 Preview

Another X to battle another Q

By Michel Deslauriers,

Thursday, May 05, 2011

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Compact SUV and crossover sales are on the rise, so any such product you introduce nowadays is a sure bet. The luxury brands aren’t fools, and we’ll see more and more of these trucklets on our roads in the near future, such as the Audi Q3 and BMW’s X1.

The U.S. market won’t get the X1 yet, so we get exclusivity for now. (Photo: BMW)

In addition, this vehicle will mark the return of a 4-cylinder engine in BMW’s Canadian line-up. Oh and by the way, the U.S. market won’t get the X1 yet, so we get exclusivity for now.

In mid-January, BMW announced that the X1 will receive a turbocharged, 2.0-litre inline-4 that will develop 241 horsepower as well as 258 pound-feet of torque that peaks from 1,250 to 4,800 rpm; it’s just as powerful as the X3’s 3.0-litre six but has more torque and is much better on fuel. Ratings for the X1 are 9.2/6.4 L/100 km city/highway.

All-wheel drive is standard, and so is an 8-speed automatic transmission with manual mode; despite being the smallest and cheapest X model, it doesn’t get the crumbs. As for performance, BMW claims a 0-100 km/h time of 6.7 seconds.

Compared to the new X3, the X1’s wheelbase is 2 inches shorter, as with every other dimension of the vehicle. It’s also smaller than the first-generation X3 that was sold up until 2010, but the difference is negligible.

The X1 truly looks like a scaled-down X3, although some details aren’t exactly identical and shouldn’t be either, like shape of the headlights and the grille, or the dash and steering wheel design. After all, the X1’s design was completed before the X3, and has been on sale in Europe for a year and a half now.