BMW is the next manufacturer who is looking to appease the Chinese premium car customers with an extra bit of rear room. The boom in the China’s automobile sector has led to manufacturers entering their existing products with some modifications exclusively for that market. The most populous country in the world prefers cars with more room at their back and thereby came the long wheelbase models.
The entry-level premium X1 SUV has been given additional wheelbase to cater for the demands of the Chinese market and it’s been revealed at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show. The BMW X1 L measures about 4.56 metres in length, 81 metres in width and 1.62 metres in height.
By being 13 cm longer than the standard X1, about 5-18 cm more knee room has been gained for the rear occupants. Depending on the position of the rear seat, the boot capacity extends from 465 litres to 675 litres and with the rear seats put down nearly 1,000 litres of additional space will be accumulated.
The BMW X1 L will have all the goodies being offered in the regular SUV which include a 8.8-inch iDrive navigation plus display, touch controller, LED headlamps, driving assistant technologies, Harman Kardon audio system, HUD (Head Up Display), panoramic sunroof, outside rearview mirror assembly integrated with electric folding, run-flat tyres, parking assist and memory functions, rear Park Distance Control alarm, keyless start, electrically adjustable front seats, etc.
Other notable features are Dual Zone automatic air conditioning with rear vents,, a multi-function sports steering wheel, interior lighting package, an electronic handbrake, Driving Experience Control, Emergency Call, automatic parking assist system, cruise control, interconnected driving and real-time traffic information. The two personalised body styles are cross-country xLine and sporty Sports Line models.
It will be available in three versions such as sDrive18Li, sDrive20Li/xDrive20Li and xDrive25Li featuring BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. The sDrive18Li is equipped with 1.5-litre three-cylinder motor producing a power of 136 hp; the sDrive20Li/xDrive20Li gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder mill generating a maximum power of 192 hp and the xDrive25Li producing 231 hp from the 2.0-litre four-pod engine.
All the engine options will be coupled with either a six-speed Steptronic gearbox or an optional eight-speed automatic transmission in the two litre variants. It will be manufactured by BMW Brilliance in Shenyang at the Tiexi plant where 200,000 examples of the first generation variant were assembled. The BMW X1 L will go on sales in the coming months.
The regular BMW X1 recorded a cumulative global sale of 800,000 units with China being one of the prominent markets. The driver can choose from COMFORT, SPORT or ECO PRO mode at the touch of a button. The safety systems provided are Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Brake Assist system, Start-Off Assistant, DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), Active Differential Brake (ADB) and Performance Control.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & on Youtube