History
Today, it's hard to imagine a BMW line-up without an X Series range of performance-minded SUV models. The Bavarian brand calls these 'SAV's or 'Sports Activity Vehicles' and these days, they account for over a fifth of the company's worldwide sales, with the starting point of the line-up being the X1. The X1 model we're going to look at here is the one launched in 2019, a substantially improved version of the 'F48'-series second generation design.
This was a car provided to get customers onto the first rung of a ladder that the Munich maker hoped would lead on to ownership of its larger and faster X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 or even X7 models. But it was also there to give BMW something that its larger Audi Q5-sized X3 design was too heavy and expensive to deliver: namely, entry into the volume part of the SUV market, specifically here the lower part of the mid-sized segment. Like its close rivals, the Audi Q3 and the Mercedes GLA, this was the kind of car BMW hoped you'd like if you needed a Crossover sized like a Nissan Qashqai, a Volkswagen Tiguan or a Ford Kuga but wanted it with a smarter badge.
These days, this is an important niche for a premium maker and to begin with a few decades back, BMW rather struggled to credibly fill it. The original 'E84'-series first generation X1 of 2009 was. well, very average. Based on an old fifth generation version of BMW's 3 Series Touring estate, it looked odd and had to carry around a rear wheel drive platform that compromised the space and practicality that a car of this kind really ought to have. Importantly though, it was one of the earliest arrivals in this segment, so sold well anyway. But by 2015, with premium competitors piling into this sector, a far more competitive proposition was required and this 'F48'-series second generation model provided it. Redundant rear-driven mechanicals were ditched in favour of the hi-tech UKL chassis the brand had created for its 2 Series five-door models and the third generation MINI Hatch, which provided the perfect platform for a considerably more sophisticated X1.
Buyers responded and the original MK2 X1 sold in its hundreds of thousands; in 2018 alone, almost 280,000 X1 models found new owners, which made the car the segment's sales leader. Indeed, such was the interest that BMW also produced a sportier version based on the same mechanicals, badged the 'X2'. But the Bavarian maker was well aware that the competition was gaining ground. 2017 saw the arrivals of key segment rivals, the Volvo XC40 and the Jaguar E-PACE. A year later, the second generation Audi Q3 arrived, alongside the new Lexus UX and, shortly afterwards, a MK2 generation version of the Mercedes GLA. Hence the need for a significant package of X1 changes in 2019 to keep pace, creating the car we're going to look at here. It sold until late 2022 when an all-new MK3 design was launched.
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