The Launch Film for the 2016 BMW X1 Is All about Active People

The new X1 is definitely a step up in terms of practicality and design. It looks a lot better from the front to the back and it’s all fresh everywhere you look. Even the interior was drastically upgraded and moving to a front-wheel drive platform allowed the designers and engineers to offer more space inside.

If you will, that was the Achilles’ heel of the previous gen model. That’s because the exterior dimensions couldn’t be too generous while the rear-wheel drive configuration cut into the room by quite a considerable amount.

That’s all gone now. Sure, the transmission tunnel is still there, in between the seats, but it’s a lot smaller and shorter. The rear differential was changed, offering even more room while bigger, 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engines mounted longitudinally have become history.

All the plants under the bonnet of the new X1 are 2-liter 4-cylinder units so far. In the future, we’re expecting 1.5-liter 3-cylinder mills to show up as well, with power outputs going from 136 to around 150 HP on both petrol and diesel guises.

Even though BMW didn’t confirm it yet, we’re also pretty confident that a plug-in hybrid model will come out according to our sources.

There are a couple of downsides to this mix as well. The handling isn’t all that great because of the taller body and higher center of gravity. The steering lost its feedback, the previous model being the last BMW to use a hydraulic setup in this department.

Most of all we’ll miss the handling that was impeccable due to the 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine and the rear-wheel drive setup (even with xDrive, the transmission would be RWD biased). Oh well, for most people that won’t make a big difference and we’re sure that the styling and practicality of the new X1 will make it a top seller in the same segment with the Mercedes-Benz GLA and Audi Q3.