BMW is famous for its ability to create a niche in the automotive landscape and then find a surprising number of buyers to fill it, including Australia's favourite segment – the SUV.

Since 2010, the German car-maker has offered its smallest SUV – or Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) in BMW speak – the X1, alongside the larger X3, X5 and their derivatives, and after five years attracting reasonable numbers of Australian customers, the second generation is here.

Where the first-generation versions offered a more typical BMW recipe of longitudinally mounted engines including a six-cylinder and a rear-drive option, the latest X1 has gone to transverse engines driving just the front wheels or all four.

Will another step away from BMW's mantra of rear drive alienate driving enthusiasts, or does the new X1 talk to a more practicality focused customer with space, efficiency and ease of use the priority?

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