BMW Offers New Turbo Engine on Sold-Out X1 Crossover

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Jan 20th 2011 at 11:02AM

BMW's compact X1 crossover has been an unexpected success. In fact, the Bavarian automaker has sold so many of them since its market debut over a year ago in Europe that it's finding it can hardly keep up with demand. As a result, reports indicate that American buyers won't be able to get their hands on the model until early next year at the soonest.

When it does arrive, however, the X1 will be offered with a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine that offers about 16% better fuel economy than the six-cylinder model – about 30 miles per gallon by American standards – while still accelerating to sixty in 6.4 seconds when mated to an eight-speed automatic and BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: BMW X1