Revealed last month at the New York Auto Show, the new BMW X1 is visually similar to the old car with external changes limited to new headlamps, which - if you choose the xenon option - include LED daytime running lights. The plastic cladding along the flanks of the X1 have been toned down, with a more pronounced under-guard now offering the look of an off-roader. There are also new alloy wheel designs and new colours. The X1's interior is now more driver orientated with, what BMW says is higher quality surface material leading to a more premium ambiance.
BMW Ireland has not yet confirmed these details, but going by BMW UK's specifications, we expect entry-level SE trim to now include 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone air conditioning, a multi-function leather steering wheel, Bluetooth and USB audio interface as standard. Sport trim adds Sport badges on the sills, gloss black finishing to the kidney grille, bumper trims and side sills. Inside, sports seats are covered in Median upholstery in Anthracite with Coral Red highlights, while the surrounding cabin trim in high gloss black and it is lit by switchable ambient lighting.
A new xLine specification brings 18-inch wheels and a chrome finish for the exhaust tail pipe and kidney grille slats. Inside, the Nevada leather seats have an 'X' embossed onto the head restraints, while the interior trim is Dark Copper with a range of exclusive colours for the lower dashboard sections. M Sport trim is the range topper in the X1 line-up with unique body styling and 18-inch M light-alloy wheels as standard. All the exterior trim and roof rails are finished in high gloss Shadowline trim. Inside, M Sport models feature Nevada leather and include front sports seats as standard, with an anthracite headliner and dark brushed aluminium trim. Drivers also benefit from an M leather multifunction steering wheel.
Engine-wise the X1 line-up kicks off with a 143hp 2.0-litre diesel unit that is available as either the rear-wheel drive sDrive18d or four-wheel drive xDrive18d (neither of which are definitely coming to Ireland). Further up the range is the 163hp sDrive20d EfficientDynamics that offers 63mpg and emits 119g/km of CO2 - for Band A emissions.
The new 218hp xDrive25d sits at the top of the range above the 184hp sDrive and xDrive 20ds. The range topper is only offered in xLine or M Sport trim and promises a 0-100km/h sprint of 6.8 seconds while returning 47mpg and CO2 emissions of 158g/km.
We expect the new BMW X1 to start at about €35,000.