HOT NEWS The BMW X1 Is The Best Subcompact Luxury SUV

BMW X1. In our recent comparison test of subcompact, premium-brand crossover SUVs, we referred to them as “haughty hatchbacks,” and to some extent that’s an accurate descriptor.
But with crossovers of all stripes surpassing sedans in popularity, this class is the new entrée into the luxury-brand arena. To create its latest baby SUV, the X1, BMW adopted a mechanical format (a transverse engine and a front-wheel-drive-based chassis) that’s quite different from the brand’s other offerings, not to mention its historical tradition. BMW did try to adapt its traditional-style layout to this genre with the first-generation X1, which was built on a rear-drive platform and offered (as an option) the brand’s signature inline six-cylinder engine. But shrunk to this segment’s dimensions, that blueprint was just too cramped and space inefficient. So the new X1 switches to a front-wheel-drive platform shared with the latest Minis.