2010 BMW X1 Official Photos and Details

Finally!  It's here!  The BMW X1 has arrived! Ok...  that's all the fake excitement I can muster.  BMW's released the first details and high-resolution official photos of the new (and seemingly totally pointless) X1 SUV, and oh boy are they fantastic.

By which I mean, if it weren't for BMW SUV's, what else would I make fun of constantly?  Look at that!  Absolutely hideous, just horrible.  It really looks like a Hyundai Sante Fe had a fight with a Nissan Qashqai, and they both lost.

Questionable appearance aside, the X1 will come equipped with a wide range of appealing powertrains.  Rather than complaining about how awful it looks, let's take a look at those.

X1 xDrive and sDrive18d - comes equipped with a 2.0L all-aluminum common-rail direct-injection turbodiesel I4 with variable intake geometry, 143bhp@4000rpm and 236lb-ft@1,750-3,000 rpm.  The sDrive is rear wheel drive, the xDrive is all-wheel-drive.  The rear-wheel drive 18d gets to 60mph in 9.6 seconds, the AWD in 10.1.  Fuel consumption is 54.3mpg for RWD, 49.6mpg for AWD.  Top speeds are 124mph for RWD, 121mph for AWD.

X1 xDrive and sDrive20d - comes with the exact same 2.0L turbodiesel, but in this configuration it's good for 177bhp@4000rpm and 258lb-ft from 1,750-3,000 rpm.  0-60 in 8.1 seconds for RWD, 8.4 seconds for AWD - top speed of 127mph for both.  Fuel mileage: 53.3mpg for RWD, 51.4mpg for AWD.  I'd say this is probably the best powertrain choice, very good fuel mileage plus 350nM of torque sounds like a winner to me.

X1 xDrive23d: this is the top-of-the-line diesel X1, and comes only with AWD.  The EXACT SAME 2.0L turbodiesel makes an impressive 204bhp@4,400rpm, which is more than 100bhp/l out of a diesel - what's the world come to?  There's also 400nM of torque (295lb-ft) from 2,000-2,250 rpm.  This one can scoot: 0-60 in 7.3 seconds, top speed of 138 with optional high-speed setup, and all with average consumption of 44.8 US MPG.  BMW's diesels are some of the best in the business, and this is pretty solid proof of that.

X1 xDrive28i: the only gasoline-engined X1 in the lineup, for now.  It uses the 3.0L all-aluminum I6 out of the 1 and 3 series, making a very healthy 258bhp at a lofty 6,600 rpm, but only 228lb-ft of torque from 2,600-3,000 rpm.  It's the quickest of the four X1's, with a 6.8 second 0-60 time and a top speed of 147 with the "high-speed setup" BMW mentions in their press release.  This, however, is offset by comparatively heavy fuel consumption: approximately 30.0 MPG on the US scale lags well behind the almost-as-fast 23d Diesel model.

The big question with the X1 is where exactly it fits in BMW's extensive lineup of pointless SUV's, which already includes the awful X3, huge X5, and hilarious X6 - as well as the upcoming 5-series GT, depending on which angle you look at that particular car.  The X1 is based on the 3-series architecture, and it's a titch smaller than the X3 in most dimensions.  Sizewise, it's 4.3" shorter, 5.5" narrower, and 2.4" lower than the already uselessly small X3.  Fabulous!  Cargo capacity totals up to 47.3 cubic feet with the rear seat folded, which is... alright.

The hella-exciting X1's official debut is scheduled to hit showrooms this fall, with a base-model X1 sDrive18i gasoline model with a standard transmission starting at €27,200, which seems rather steep.  The model predicted to be the biggest seller, the xDrive18d with all-wheel-drive and the 143bhp turbodiesel, will go for €31,550.  For comparisons sake, the X1 will be somewhere between 7-11% cheaper than an equivalent X3.  So... it's really rather pointless.

Still, with US sales slated to begin some time in 2011, the X1 will have almost limitless stiff competition in Europe, with damn near every automaker selling a useless compact SUV like this these days.  With no lawyers buying these for their college-aged sorority daughters for another two years, will the X1 even survive?  It remains to be seen.  I personally would go for the xDrive23d.  But I'm big into the diesels.

In the end, the X1 might be utterly pointless.  But if history's anything to go by, the general rule of thumb is "If BMW builds it, they will come."  Hopefully the X1 will at least be fun to drive.