- Facelifted X1 adopts Neue Klasse front end from electric iX3 SUV.
- Interior gets new iDrive display and minimalist BMW cabin layout.
- Same engines expected, including 241 hp and 312 hp for the US.
BMW’s slick new design language is too good to reserve for EVs. We’ve already spied the next combustion 3-series dressed in Neue Klasse threads, and now the X1 SUV is getting some of the same visual tricks for this year’s mid-life facelift.
Up front, the familiar traditional grille and separate headlights are gone, replaced by the new visor-style front end that debuted on BMW’s Neue Klasse iX3. It connects the headlights and kidneys with one smooth, wide panel that gives the brand’s smallest ICE SUV a harder, more digital look.
Related: BMW’s First Neue Klasse Sedan Is One Big Step Closer To Your Driveway
Around the back, the changes are more subtle. The overall shape of the taillights looks largely unchanged, but the lower bumper now features vertical reflectors at each corner, again lifted from the iX3. It’s a small tweak, yet it lines the X1 up visually with newer BMW models and gives the rear a slightly more planted, technical vibe.
SH Proshots
Panoramic iDrive
Inside is where things get more dramatic. We know from previous spy sightings that the updated X1 borrows the latest cabin tech from the iX3, which means a wide Panoramic iDrive display stretching across the dash and a cleaner layout with fewer physical buttons. A new steering wheel design is also likely, the iX3 having a weird cross-shaped four-spoke design last popular in about 1936.
Underneath, though, this is still very much the same X1. It rides on BMW’s FAAR platform, which also underpins the electric iX1, and the facelift is not expected to bring major mechanical changes beyond maybe gaining a few extra horses. In the US, the xDrive28i has a 241-hp (244 PS) turbo four and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the all-wheel drive M35i enjoys a punchy 312-hp (316 PS) version with sportier hardware.
Electric iX1 joins in
Other markets will still get diesels and various hybrid flavors, because Europe loves a powertrain buffet and hates paying for gas. And the electric iX1 will receive the same styling and interior updates, making it almost a mirror image of its gas sibling, just with a charging port instead of a fuel flap, and fewer air intakes in the nose.
Today’s iX1 lineup, which isn’t sold in the US, starts with a 201-hp (204 PS) eDrive20 that was recently boosted to 319 miles (514 km) of electric range.
The current X1 debuted in spring 2022, so we shouldn’t have long to wait to see the facelifted car. And if it does land this year, 2026 is going to be a busy one for BMW, which is also launching the X5 and giving us a look at the new 3-series and i3.
