When the BMW X1 first debuted, it was quite controversial. It was the first ever front-wheel drive-based BMW sold in America and it replaced a beloved enthusiast’s car. Now, though, as time has gone by and we’ve all been given time to drive, understand and become accustomed to the X1, we now know it’s one of BMW’s better SUVs. It’s even one of its better looking SUVs. That hasn’t stopped BMW from working on a facelift, though, and that newly facelifted model has just been caught testing in China.
The BMW X1 LCI (Life Cycle Impulse, which is facelift in BMW speak), seems to look very similar to the car it replaces. There really only seems to be one major visual chance and that’s to its Kidney Grilles. Now, said grilles are very large, in keeping with BMW’s new X5 and 7 Series designs, which puts it in line with its siblings. They also seem to meet at the middle, much like said X5.
While there’s quite a lot of camouflage at the front, we can still make out that these new grilles are different than before. The headlights seem a bit different, too. Not the housing but the actual lights themselves, which are more open and less circular than the previous pre-LCI car. They’re similar to those you’ll see on newer BMWs as well. So the Bavarians seem to be using this LCI to update the BMW X1 along with its newer siblings.
Out back, the taillights and rear bumper are covered in camo, so we really can’t make much out. However, the taillights look pretty much the same as the pre-LCI BMW X1. They might get a few tweaks but they seem largely the same. There aren’t any photos of the interior but we can imagine that it will get a bit of updating, maybe even to BMW’s latest iDrive system.
The BMW X1 is a good car and a good looking one, if people would just give it the chance. Maybe with the LCI, its better looks will bring more people over to its side.
[Source: IndianAutosBlog]
