Featured Guide
Featured Guide
Featured Guide
Featured Guide
Featured Guide
Featured Guide
Featured Guide
BMW’s tiny SUV is redesigned for 2016 with more interior room and a new powertrain. Outside, the new X1’s styling is in line with its larger X5 sibling; it wears the brand’s large, upright dual-kidney grille as well as standard LED daytime running lights and optional LED headlights. Pronounced fender flares this year add to its muscular look.
Related: Research the BMW X1
Although the new X1 is slightly shorter than the outgoing model, it’s 1.7-inches taller, and both cargo and passenger room have increased for 2016. Power front seats are newly standard and BMW says it raised the seating position by more than an inch in the front and more than 2 inches in back. Backseat legroom has increased by 1.5 inches and is up to 2.6 inches with the optional sliding rear seats. Cargo space is also roomier with 27.1 cubic feet for 2016; last year’s X1 offered 25 cubic feet of space.
At launch, the all-wheel-drive xDrive28i will be the only model available, powered by a new twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 228 horsepower and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The setup replaces the outgoing 240-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Fuel economy estimates are still pending, but BMW expects the new model’s mileage to beat the previous version’s 22/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined rating thanks in part to its more efficient powertrain; the 2016 X1 is also lighter and more aerodynamic with smoother underbody paneling as well as air deflectors on the front wheel arches.
Pricing has not yet been announced; the 2016 BMW X1 xDrive28i goes on sale this fall. Check out the gallery below.
Hellbent on finding a journalism job after earning an English degree from DePaul University, I stumbled into the automotive industry in 2003 — much to the delight of my Corvette-obsessed dad. After working as an editor at Consumer Guide Automotive for several years, I joined Cars.com in 2011 and am currently an expert reviewer, certified car-seat technician and mom of three. I wear a lot of hats — many of them while driving a minivan. My first car was a 1994 Mercury Tracer, and I currently drive a 2012 Mazda5.