BMW X1 targets younger set

The baby of the marque's soft-roader brigade was revealed in the first official pictures released in Europe last week, showing the urban-targeted SUV sports a youthful, crossover look rather than the more rugged off-road demeanour of the bigger X5 and X3.

BMW Australia is quietly confident the X1, due in Australian showrooms in February, will appeal to a new group of buyers looking for a touch of luxury in the small-SUV segment, which is dominated by more mainstream offerings such as the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Dualis.

The X1's only direct competitor, Audi's new Q3, is not expected to reach Australia until the end of next year at the earliest.

"X1 buyers will differ from traditional 4WD shoppers in that they really aren't people who have any intention of going off-road in their car," BMW Australia's Toni Andreevski says.

"They're urban-based, but are looking for a little more luxury in a style of car that until now hasn't really offered that option."

BMW Australia's confidence in the urbanisation of the X1 won't stretch — at least initially — to offering a two-wheel-drive version, but Andreevski says that could be an option further down the track. "We won't be offering a two-wheel-drive model at launch, but it's certainly something we're looking at," he says. "We will monitor market requirements and, if there's a clear demand for that, then it's certainly possible."

Andreevski says the X1 will fit into BMW's model garage comfortably below the X3. Although it will appeal to people who don't intend to go off-road, it has the same points of attraction larger 4WDs offer, he says. "The X1 will appeal to people who like the styling and the practicality of a higher driving position and extra space, but don't need the size of a serious off-roader.

"It's the go-anywhere feel of the car that is most important."

BMW won't set pricing for the X1 until much closer to the launch date, but indications are the entry-level two-litre diesel will arrive below the luxury-tax threshold, in the low $50,000 range. Heading the all-diesel engine choices will be a 150kW/400Nm, twin-turbo four with variable-vane technology. This powerplant is the first all-aluminium diesel to exceed the magic 100bhp (74kW) per-litre mark.

Although final specification levels are still being determined for Australia, it's likely BMW will be anxious to squeeze as many of its EfficientDynamics fuel-saving technologies as possible into the X1.

That means Australian models may benefit from technology such as brake energy regeneration, an automatic stop-start facility and a gearshift-point indicator.

In Europe, the X1 will be offered with a choice of four engines: an in-line petrol six and a trio of four-cylinder diesels. The star of the European range will be the rear-wheel-drive sDrive 1.8d, which boasts a fuel-consumption figure of 5.2 litres per 100km and a CO2 rating of just 136g. It's the first vehicle in the segment to emit less than 140g of CO2 a kilometre.

Engineering features include a double-jointed aluminium tie bar at the front and a five-link rear axle in lightweight steel; high-precision power steering; high-performance brakes and dynamic stability control.

Standard safety features include three-point, inertia-reel seatbelts all round, front, side and head airbags, adaptive brake lights and daytime driving lights.

The interior has a wide range of open storage boxes, trays and cupholders on the centre console, as well as generous closed storage areas in the dash. The three full-sized seats in the rear have a backrest that is adjustable for angle and with a 40/20/40 split-fold. Luggage capacity ranges from 420 litres with the seats in place to a very useful 1350 litres when they're folded.

The X1 will be built at BMW's Leipzig plant in Germany.

BMW X1
Price: from $53,000 (est)
Engines: 2L/4-cyl turbo diesel 130kW/350Nm; 2L/4-cyl twin turbo diesel 150kW/400Nm; 2L/4-cyl turbo diesel 105kW/320Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic; AWD
Economy: from 5.7L/100km (Euro combined cycle)