CARBARN | BMW X1 (2012) | special car for you who like the way the road and also want to please the family, this is his car, which will be launched in 2012 this will enliven the world automotive market, want to know? Ask a BMW. What we can tell you is what's new: a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine. Last time around, the X1 was rocking a 258-horsepower 3.0-liter inline-six with 228 pound-feet of torque and nary a turbo in sight. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration Actually drops by 0.7 seconds, BMW says, to just 6.1 seconds. Average fuel consumption, as Measured on the European cycle, improves by 5 miles per gallon to 30 mpg average. CO2 emissions drop by 35 grams per kilometer.
That's not bad for a Smaller, less-powerful engines, at least from a pure horsepower perspective. BMW's new 2.0 turbo puts out 241 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The virtue of the trade-offs in horsepower and torque comes to the delivery. Both engines have horsepower Nearly identical curves, but the four-cylinder 2000 RPM Earlier peaks and holds it to redline, whereas the six did not peak until the 7000 RPM redline. In fact, until 6000 RPM, the four-cylinder is Actually making more power than the six at any given RPM. Where the six built up to its peak torque at 3000 rpm then tapered off slightly, the turbo four hits peak torque at 1300 rpm and holds it to 5000 RPM before tapering off.
The power and delivery are very well-matched to the vehicle and make it a great daily driver. For the average driver, it's perfect, but for the enthusiast, it's a bit of a letdown. Winding out the inline-six made the X1 Nearly as fun to drive as a lower-trim 3 Series. We did not drive the eight-speed automatic model, but experience with other BMWs Tells us it's a fine transmission and We do not expect any issues.
Not with the transmission, anyway. Greater-than-anticipated demand in other markets, has the Leipzig plant running at capacity already, so the BMW does not have the volume Necessary to meet anticipated U.S. demand. By the time it does reach our Shores, the six-cylinder engine Should Be phased out completely and replaced by the turbo four. BMW wants to introduce more diesel models to the U.S. market to bring up its CAFE numbers, and the X1 has as much potential as any BMW. Do not expect an "M" badge, but BMW is mulling over the idea of dropping the 300-horsepower turbocharged inline-six from the X3 into the X1. Until BMW gets its production strategy sorted out, though, we'll just have to wait.
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