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Cha-ching! BMW dealerships are well used to that sound, even in these days of recession, but when the X1 is released in December, we reckon Beemer sales managers will hear it so often they'll be taking their fat commission cheques and resigning before they go insane.
These are the first official pictures of the mildly anticipated X1, BMW's junior SUV and dead cert to become middle England's hottest new accessory for 2010. It goes on sale in October, though BMW is holding back the cheapest versions until December.
Which means it'll be a lean Christmas for those who opt to wait, because the base model X1s are powered by the 18d engine found in the 118d and 318d, making the new Beemer a particularly planet-friendly mini gas guzzler. The X1 also has the distinction of being the world's first rear-wheel drive SUV.
Launch versions will be the sDrive20d, xDrive20d and xDrive23d, the latter coming as standard with 4x4 and a six-speed auto. A six-speed manual is standard for the rest of the range. The X1's underpinnings come from the 3 Series, including the four-wheel drivetrain from 'x' versions unavailable in the UK.
So, the figures: 136g/km, 54.3mpg, 141bhp and 236lb.ft is where it's at for the sDrive18d. There's a four-wheel drive xDrive18d too, which takes a hit performance, economy and emissions-wise, but hey, at least you'll be able to scale the treacherous peaty wasteland that leads to your front porch. The sDrive and xDrive20d get 174bhp and 258lb.ft, while the twin-turbo xDrive23d gets 201bhp and 295lb.ft. The latter's economy and emissions are pegged at 44.8mpg and 167g/km. All versions benefit from EfficientDynamics measures, including start/stop for the manuals; performance stats vary incrementally between a 10.1-second sprint to 62mph for the xDrive18d to 7.3 seconds for the 23d.
Because the X1 is only a little smaller then the X3 (116mm shorter to be exact), BMW now has carte blanche to move its mid-size SUV upmarket, which it is of course going to do. Petrol powered X1s will be available in Europe, but for the time being we're not getting those in the UK, making the flagship version the 23d, priced at a shade under £30k. The sDrive18d kicks off at around £23,000, while an additional £1,300 will get you the extra differential to drive the front wheels too (with a 30/70 torque split front to rear, as it happens). And just by way of comparison, a bog standard 318d ES costs just over £24 grand.
The BMW X1 will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, though we drove a pre-production version earlier this month.
Mark Nichol - 2 Jul 2009
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