| First Drive | Mallorca, Spain | BMW X1 |

BMW is moving into unchartered territory with its new X1 crossover by going after the mainstream manufacturers. But while potential Ford Kuga and VW Tiguan buyers will soon have a BMW to add to their shopping list, is that necessarily something to get excited about?

In the Metal

Tough one this. Because this is a pre-launch drive, the cars are still covered in magic-eye camouflage so it's difficult to make out exactly what the X1 will actually look like. We do know that, having seen it parked close to a BMW X3, it is noticeably smaller; about as wide but much lower and a good bit shorter, too. In isolation, however, it looks very grown up with its upright grilles, angry scowl and broad, muscular stance, although the long bonnet and short tail make it look more car-like than SUV-like in profile. To be honest, BMW needn't have bothered with all the camouflage. The production version of the X1 is almost identical to the Concept X1 that debuted at the Paris Motor Show last September.

Inside, the basic layout of the X1's cabin is reminiscent of the 1 Series', although the top half of the dashboard falls away towards the windscreen as is customary on X-badged BMWs. There are new dials, a newly arranged centre console and an integrated i-Drive screen instead of the pop-up item found in the 1 Series and X3, but otherwise it's all pretty much as you'd expect from an entry-level BMW. Space for front-seat occupants is decent and the driving position is spot on but the rear seat has an unusually short base and it's as tight as any of its mainstream rivals in there. As a package, the X1 is acceptable but hardly revolutionary - not that BMW is known for performing miracles of interior versatility.

What you get for your Money

Lined up alongside comparable VW Tiguans and Ford Kugas, the X1 will be a little pricey and will probably not be as well equipped. That said, all will have 17-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, dynamic traction and stability control, steering wheel remote controls and, most likely, a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating. You'll have to dig a little deeper for extras like leather trim, electric seats, satellite navigation, the M Sport pack and adaptive Xenon headlamps, however, but at least a full array of options will be offered. The top diesel model - the xDrive23d that we drove - should cost around £28,000 when it goes on sale later this year and it should also offer a higher level of standard kit than entry-level models, but until final specification and pricing has been announced all we can do is speculate.

Driving it

Despite the badging, the X1 is actually based on the current, all-wheel drive 3 Series estate (not sold in Britain or Ireland), rather than 1 Series. For now, all models boast all-wheel drive with a multi-plate clutch central differential to distribute torque between the front and rear axles. It's normally 70 percent rear biased to give the X1 that distinctive BMW feel, but it can redirect up to 100 percent of its torque to the front or rear wheels as necessary. There is no mechanical limited slip differential in the rear; instead, the X1 employs BMW's impressive 'Dynamic Traction Control', which uses the ABS brakes to re-distribute torque between the rear wheels.

Normally, I'm not a fan of these 'electronic limited slip differentials', but in the X1 the system works pre-emptively rather than responding after a wheel starts to spin. It's so clever, in fact, the X1 can to be drifted around on loose surfaces with seemingly expert precision, and when I tried to replicate my beautiful sideways arc without the help of the new DTC system all I did was lunge this way and that and kick up a lot of sand. Beyond slithering about neatly in sand, mud and snow, though, the X1 really has no real off-road ability. It bottoms out easily due to its long wheelbase and there isn't a lot of ground clearance.

The chassis engineer I drove with also explained that the main criticism levied at the X3 by its owners was its rock hard ride quality, so special attention was given to the X1's suspension to ensure it offers higher levels of comfort and refinement. It's definitely more comfortable than the X3, but the trade-off is a lack of body control, which, when combined with a high centre of gravity, also necessitated disappointingly slow steering. Unable to engineer in many of BMW's fancier chassis systems on cost grounds, the development team had to find the best compromise between comfort, safety and sharpness but in its effort to make the X1 more family friendly the sharpness has been lost. There is some feedback through the rim, however, and there's no denying it's grippy, predictable and easy to drive. But fun? Nope, not really. Not in the way you expect a BMW to be.

Worth Noting

The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine fitted to our test car is basically the same as that fitted to the 123d Coupé - packing 204bhp and 294lb.ft of torque - and all were fitted with BMW's fine six-speed automatic. A six-speed manual will also be offered, while 143bhp and 177bhp versions of the same engine, badged XDrive18d and XDrive20d, will line up alongside the top XDrive23d. The petrol range will comprise a 143bhp 2.0-litre XDrive18i, a 170bhp XDrive20i and a six-cylinder, 258bhp, 3.0-litre XDrive30i. Unsurprisingly, there are no performance or economy figures yet but BMW hinted that the top XDrive23d version should hit 60mph in around 7.5 seconds and top 135mph, while returning around 45mpg on the combined cycle. A senior engineer also swears that the M Sport package will sharpen up the X1's handling to the level perhaps expected from a BMW, although that could be at the expense of ride quality.

Summary

There is no doubt that the new BMW X1 will be a huge success. A BMW-badged VW Tiguan rival? Need we say more? To be fair to the X1, though, it has a lot going for it apart from the badge: it's well made, refined, quick and easy to drive - even if the Ford Kuga is a better steer and the Nissan Qashqai offers more interior space and versatility. We'll have to wait until we sample the finished product to offer a definitive verdict on the baby X, but our early drive indicates that BMW's X1 is a decent if unspectacular effort from Munich's finest.