This is the second-generation BMW X1 that was launched in India at the 2016 Auto Expo. It’s also the first of the BMWs built on the front-wheel-drive ‘UKL’ platform to come to India. Yes, you read that right – the X1 is built on a front-wheel-drive platform and its engine is positioned transversely. This layout has a huge bearing on the way the new X1 looks. The long-bonnet look is gone and what you see is a more cab-forward design.
In fact, the whole design is a big departure from the old car. The new X1 is slightly shorter in length but is also taller and the proportions are a whole lot nicer now. Where the old X1 looked like a jacked up estate, this one looks like a small SUV.