BMW X Models 2015 Video Review

Second-generation X1 SUV moves to a front-wheel drive platform, bringing great gains in space and practicality, but at what cost?

For decades, senior BMW executives were adamant the company would never build a front-wheel-drive car. Rear-drive was central to the "Ultimate Driving Machine" philosophy, they insisted. Back in 2006, the company cemented this position (while taking shots at its German rivals) with an ad campaign for the 1 Series which portrayed a rabbit with big, clumsy front paws and tiny hind legs. The tag line read: "That's why we don't have front-wheel drives."

Well, clearly "never" in the automotive business equates to "at least not before late 2014", which was when the front-drive 2 Series Active Tourer hit the market. The wall of the dyke had cracked. The floodgates were primed to open.

Read the full BMW X1 2015 review: first drive.