Remember the good ‘ol days when automakers kept their debuts for the press days of important motor shows? Those practices are slowly going the way of the Sunday Classifieds.
The second generation BMW X1 is a typical example of how automakers are changing their methods in the days of the internet, with the small crossover having been revealed all the way back in June. But you can’t really blame them, as it serves their goal of gaining as much online exposure as possible.
In any case, the smallest member of BMW’s growing family of crossovers made its motor show debut in Frankfurt today.
The headline news is that it switched over to front-wheel drive underpinnings shared with the likes of the BMW 2-Series and MINI range, with a tweaked xDrive four-wheel-drive system that primarily drives the…front wheels, but which can send up to 100 percent of torque to the rear axle, being offered on most engines.
Speaking of powertrains, when it goes on sale in Europe this October, consumers can choose from three diesel and two petrol units producing from 150PS to 231PS (148hp to 228hp), all of which have four cylinders, with fuel consumption and emissions said to be reduced by up to 17 per cent, compared to the respective versions of the previous gen.
Later this year, the new 2016 X1 will hit North American showrooms available exclusively in xDrive28i trim with a 2.0-liter turbo’d four returning 228hp and 258 lb-ft of peak torque connected to a standard 8-speed automatic for a 0-60mph (96km/h) time of 6.3 seconds.
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