Hot new BMW X1 M35i xDrive revealed

UPDATED 28/06/2023 1:30pm: BMW Australia has announced the 2023 BMW X1 M135i xDrive will arrive Down Under in the fourth quarter of this year, and that it will be offered with the full-fat 233kW/400Nm engine tune, making it the most powerful BMW four-cylinder model ever offered Down Under.

As usual for a locally-offered BMW model, the new small luxury/performance SUV will come loaded with gear including a 12-speaker harman/Kardon premium sound system (optional in other markets), while an M Compound braking package will become optional here in 2024.

BMW’s local division says pricing and finer specification details will be released closer to the model’s launch, but we won’t be surprised if the hot X1 arrives from just under $90,000.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 28/06/2023 8:00am: The small luxury performance SUV tussle is about to get even tougher with the imminent arrival of the 2023 BMW X1 M35i xDrive, which packs the most powerful four-cylinder engine from BMW’s latest powertrain family.

The hotter all-wheel drive X1 M35i will bring a heavily revised engine along with tauter suspension, a limited-slip front differential and far more power to the third-generation BMW X1 range released in Australia last November.

It also uses yet another BMW software update for the multimedia system, moving on to the Operating System 9, even though OS8.5 was only just launched with the new BMW 7 Series limousine earlier this year.

The new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine will surge the X1 M35i xDrive to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds, on its way to a limited 250km/h top speed, though the engine’s output is still up for debate.

The European versions of the engine will deliver 221kW of power, while the US versions get 233kW and Australia is yet to commit to one or the other.

Either way, the power peaks at 5750rpm and stays at the peak until 6500rpm, and it’s fleshed out by 400Nm of torque between 2000 and 4500rpm.

There are M-specific design tweaks scattered around the two-box bodywork, including larger air intakes at the front for engine breathing and brake cooling, and a deeper front apron.

The side skirts are more prominent than on the standard units, and there’s a model-specific spoiler atop the rear tailgate and a diffuser beneath the rear bumper.

BMW plonks the M logo inside the kidney grille at the front, which also has double horizontal bars instead of vertical ones to mark it as a high-performance variant.

Four 80mm exhaust outlets sit in two pairs under the rear bumper, for those unclear that the X1 M35i xDrive is a performance version of the school commuter.

The German-built BMW X1 M35i xDrive is heavily revised everywhere under the skin, from its suspension set-up to its brakes and it even rides on 19-inch alloy rims.

Its standard tyres are 20mm wider than the last X1 M35i, and there are also 20-inch options for the wheels and tyres.

The new M35i uses M Adaptive suspension to constantly vary the damper stiffness on both bump and rebound, and it drops the standard ride height by 15mm.

The brakes are far bigger than the stock X1 units, moving up to a pair of drilled 385mm front discs with four-piston callipers, and a 330mm rear disc with a single-piston camper. There is also the option of a more powerful M compound brake system.

The Miller Cycle engine has redesigned intake ports, a new combustion chamber, revised camshaft timing, a revised oil supply system and a new crankshaft drive, and it also uses the same bearing caps and shells as the stronger 3.0-litre six-cylinder engines.

Probably more important is the lift in turbocharger and intercooler performance, and the adoption of direct and indirect fuel-injection.

With variable valve timing and lift, the 2.0-litre unit attaches across the front axle to a seven-speed automatic transmission, which integrates its own limited-slip differential for the front wheels.

There’s a hang-on clutch to shoot drive rearwards when it’s needed and BMW has also given it near-actuator wheel-slip limitation, which is said to control wheelspin 10 times quicker than before by shrinking the distance to the big brain.

That matches up with a wide array of safety systems within the X1 M35i xDrive, including front-collision assist, a cruise control with a braking function, a reversing assistant for the parking feature.

Optional systems include active cruise control with stop-and-go function, active navigation, surround and remote 3D view, BMW’s drive recorder and a remote-theft recorder function.

The 2023 BMW X1 M35i xDrive’s curved 10.7-inch digital instrument cluster is riddled with M-specific displays and functions, setting it apart from the lesser X1 variants.

It sits next to a 10.25-inch multimedia display beneath a single curved glass screen. It’s controlled by the new Operating System 9, which hopefully eradicates some of the OS8.5 glitches, and it has an updated iDrive scroller.

The trim has changed to include Alcantara coverage for the instrument panel, plus dark trim elements around the cabin, M door-sill trims, M pedals, M graphics in the instrument cluster and the (optional) head-up display, and an M leather-clad steering wheel.

The seats are trimmed in Alcantara and sensatec as standard, but can be optionally had with diamond-quilted leather instead. Sports seats with electronic adjustment and memory are also optional.

The rear seat still splits 40:20:40 and the backrest angle is adjustable, bringing boot capacity up to 560 litres (or 1600 litres folded flat).

First Australian deliveries of the new 2023 BMW X1 M35i are expected by the end of this year.

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