BMW X1 – Good News and Bad

BMW’s smallest and most presumably most efficient SUV, the X1, has been confirmed for arrival in the United States!

We first touched on the X1 in this blog, and it looks to be a winner. Conceived as a foil to the Volkswagen Tiguan and Infinity EX35, the 1-er will debut in Europe this fall. Four engine choices - one inline 6-cylinder gasoline and 3 diesels – will be available to the Euros along with either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

Early prototype press drives, a new move for BMW marketing, have revealed an impressive all-arounder, handling light off-roading as well as twisting tarmac with aplomb. Communicative steering feel and well controlled body dynamics are present and accounted for.

From what we have seen so far, we like both the exterior and interior design work, but as usual, the proof will be in the pudding – we will reserve judgment until seeing the car in person.

Which brings us to the bad news…

The X1 will not be arriving here anytime soon. In fact, we appear to be looking at the 2011 calendar year, which would mean a model year of 2012. On top of this delay, we will very possibly not have access to any of the highly efficient diesel engines, instead limited only to the gasoline powered 230-horse inline 6 cylinder.

If you can stand the wait, pricing looks to be starting in the $32,000 range in today’s dollars. This of course, is subject to change…