German Car Zone

Well this segment is actually going to get pretty crowded soon - with Audi Q3, Mercedes BLK (or whatever they decide to call it), Range Rover LRX joining the fray in the next year or two. So I think the market is pretty clearly there. I didn't particularly enjoy the styling of the X1 concept, but I'd take it over a regular estate car of comparable size.

Off topic...but if LRX looks anything like the concept, the OMG!

Yes, LRX is the first Land/Range Rover that is... actually... sexy

Now you can have some fun.
JOY IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.

Wow, talk about viewing the world only as far as to the tip of your nose. With that sort of narrowminded mentality, it's obvious that the X1 is NOT targeting your specific demographic.

The X3 is a sales success for BMW, the 1 series is a sales success for BMW... put them together and you have the next sales success for BMW.

You have to remember, just because the X1 might show the active/out-going lifestyle theme in its marketing campaigns, it is not just aimed at those who actually live this lifestyle, it is also aimed at those who WISH to live such a fun lifestyle...and by buying an X1 it gives people like this their own little slice of that lifestyle even if they never actually go snow-boarding or surfing or rock-climbing or mountain-biking or whatever other active lifestyle imagery is shown in the X1 marketing.

I'm 23 years of age, and the idea of an X1 is very attractive. I tend to like Compact 4WDs/SAVs in the size range of the Rav4, Subaru Forester, current X3, MB GLK, Audi Q5, etc.... not the big SUVs, but compact ones because for me there is such a thing as a car that is too big. If I had the money to buy an X5 or ML or Q7, I would easily opt for a fully-loaded X3/GLK/Q5 instead simply because I prefer the size of the SAVs in that segment.
Only problem for me is that I cannot afford to buy an X1 at this stage of my life, so I don't fully qualify as BMW's target audience for the X1...but someone with a similar mentality, but with more money (or a greater willingness to accept large monthly repayments) would be a prime candidate for owning the upcoming X1.

First the X5, then the X3, and now the X1.... Success with a capital 'X'!

Well put Beemer. In other words a car needn't always reflect what a person is but also what they aspire to be.

X1 is very much an aspirational vehicle with a good dose of practicality built in.

Gawd darnnit Martin!! How the hell do you always know how to regurgitate a paragraph of text into a beautifully succint yet all-encompassing one-line statement.

Initially when Eni and Scott stated that BMW were building an X1 I was utterly confused about its purpose and feasibility because I couldn't imagine the X1 having much space and utility since the current X3 is already a compact SUV/SAV, but now that we've seen more photos to get a feel for the size of the car, it does make good sense, and I can see BMW really doing a great job with their X1 marketing efforts as they have done with the 1er.
The biggest factor for success for the X1 over the 1er hatch is that it will be sold in the US market... which as we all know is SUV/SAV hungry, and eventhough compact-anything isn't exactly looked on favourably in America, there will definitely be a strong market for it.

An Insight into Joy. YouTube - BMW X1 online campaign. JOY IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.

All Routes lead to "X" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzjwdjpckFs

I like the second vid much better than the first one. The brown looks really good in natural sunlight.

Nice videos! Good to see that bmwblog is among the leading blogs in the X1 promotion.