New, Smaller BMW Coming In 2010 - The X1
September 26th, 2006
BMW has kicked off a top secret plan for a baby SUV – the X1 – to take on Toyota’s Rav4. The junior ‘X’ model will mix a 1-series footprint with the X3’s four-wheel drive. The four-seat X1 will run four- and six-cylinder engines, and arrive in showrooms in 2010. Photo above was sourced from carmagazine.co.uk.
BMW predicts that the mid-size SUV market will double by 2016. And the cheapest X car will be pitched at the largest sector of the market, targeting young families, active singles and empty nesters. Those punters want vehicles with a higher seating position, decent safety, extra space and a premium interior, but they are not obsessed with status-through-size and high-performance engines. Like its competitors, the X1 won’t be a hardcore mud-wrestler but a tall, pumped up estate, which majors on visibility and versatility.