New BMW X1 a step closer

The new BMW X1 breaks with its predecessor in several ways. Of course it remains an SUV, but it will be the first X1 that basically has front-wheel drive. The new BMW X1 likely to be launched on the market next year is therefore a step closer technically to cars such as the 1-series, 2-series Gran Coupé and the soon-to-be new 2-series Tourer. Of course, the new X1 will also be available with four-wheel drive. More novelties in X1 country? Of course. The new X1 is the first in its model line to come with a fully electric version: the iX1.

Electrification is not a new concept for the X1. The current generation is also available as a plug-in hybrid and the new BMW X1 will undoubtedly receive such a plug version. The fully electric iX1 is completely new. Unlike the iX, which only exists as an EV, the iX1 simply becomes an electric variant of the X1 in the same way that the i4 is from the 4 Series Gran Coupé and the i3, i5 and i7 become the 3rd generation, respectively. -, 5-, and 7-series. No dedicated So EVs, but undoubtedly very usable. The X3 also has an electric variant, the iX3. On paper, the electric BMW should be able to travel about 460 kilometers on a full charge.

BMW X1

As far as design is concerned, the new X1 does not seem to cause any major surprises. The X1 gets a relatively modest kidney grille and therefore not the enormous copy that we know from the 4-series Coupé. Although the car in the photos is still quite fanatically in the camouflage patches, we see for the first time something of the definitive rear lights. Those units simply become the well-known ‘L-shaped’ copies that BMW applies to many other models. We expect BMW to present the new X1 next year.

Since the introduction of the first X1 in 2009, BMW has sold about 17,000 copies in the Netherlands. The car had its best year of sales in 2017, when more than 2,560 X1s were delivered.