Still the go-to gateway badge for sparking suburban envy, the X1, X2, X3 and X4 are BMW premium crossover models that blend luxury appeal with family-car practicality. Which one is right for you? Here are prices and specs for those models.
Be it for survival or greed, ever since the advent of the segment-defining X5 in 1999, BMW has milked the definition of its self-styled “sports activity vehicle.” In this article, we discuss internal combustion engine and PHEV versions of the BMW brand’s premium crossover models (X1 and X2), as well as the locally produced X3 executive SUV and its X4 coupe-esque sibling. Info is correct for November 2025.
See also: BMW SUV models for sale in South Africa
BMW devised the “Sports Activity Vehicle” (SAV) concept to disassociate its SUVs – and, more recently, premium crossover models – with the body-on-frame construction (and associated dynamic and safety limitations) of traditional off-roaders in favour of a more luxurious approach to rakish family cars.
These “SAVs” sure looked the part (that was job 1) and often featured all-wheel drive, but weren’t meant to leave the tarmac; at the same time, they didn’t have the dynamic ability of the brand’s sports sedans.
The market, however, had no misgivings about that “disconnect” – the tremendous success of X models emboldened BMW to expand its line-up of urban adventure vehicles (and churn out faintly ridiculous M-badged ones). They became so popular that they now easily outsell the sedans that made BMW famous.
The BMW X3 has subsequently become the Bavarian brand’s sometime best single-model performer, which spun off into the X1 in 2010, the X4 (as a shrunken X6) in 2014 and finally the X2 in 2018.
None of this would have been possible without an obsessive bout of platform sharing, as today the X1, X2 and 1 Series are mechanically identical, using the front-driven Mini Countryman platform. That leaves the X3 and X4 to rely on the rear-driven platform also found in the 3 Series, 4 Series and 5 Series.
Despite the shared DNA, styling differences and creative buzzword soup has somehow managed to still individually define the roughly-same-sized BMW X1, X2, X3 and X4. Which one, then, should you buy?
BMW X1 premium crossover
Essentially a grown-up Mini, the BMW X1 is a (not-so-small, but technically, the smallest) BMW premium crossover that balances badge promise with budget and a reasonable breadth of capability.
Three engine types are available – turbopetrol, plug-in hybrid and turbodiesel; as well as a range-topping M35i performance variant with its 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbopetrol engine shared by the M135i/M235i.
See also: BMW X1 (2023) Review
While miles removed from what once made BMW great, the 3rd-gen BMW X1 offers a future-first cabin, engaging-for-its-category road manners, and remains a better-packaged buy than say, an Audi A3 Sportback – in terms of interior space, it’s only really challenged by the Alfa Romeo Tonale.
This iteration of the X1 was a World Car of the Year finalist in 2023 and won the Premium Crossover and Electric Vehicle (in iX1 guise) categories of the 2023/24 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards programme.
See also: 2024 Best Premium Crossover
Entry-level it may be, but proportionally, today’s X1 just about matches its 2003-era X3 forebear in terms of dimensions. It may not be all that engaging to drive, but for its target market, it ticks ALL the boxes.
Watch Ciro De Siena’s video review of the 2023 X1 sDrive18i xLine:
What does the BMW X1 cost in South Africa?
| Model Derivative | Engine | Power / Torque | Transmission | Fuel Efficiency | Price |
| X1 sDrive18i xLine | 1.5L turbopetrol | 115 kW / 230 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 6.5 L/100 km | R808 899 |
| X1 sDrive18d xLine | 2.0L turbodiesel | 110 kW / 360 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 5.0 L/100 km | R846 212 |
| X1 sDrive18i M Sport | 1.5L turbopetrol | 115 kW / 230 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 6.5 L/100 km | R848 899 |
| X1 sDrive18d M Sport | 2.0L turbodiesel | 110 kW / 360 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 5.0 L/100 km | R886 212 |
| X1 sDrive30e xLine | 1.5L turbopetrol- PHEV | 240 kW / 477 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 1.1 when hybrid battery charged / 6.8 when discharged L/100km | R1 050 000 |
| X1 xDrive30e M Sport | 1.5L turbopetrol- PHEV | 240 kW / 477 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 1.1 when hybrid battery charged / 6.8 when discharged L/100km | R1 090 000 |
| X1 M35i | 2.0L turbopetrol | 233 kW / 400 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 7.8 L/100 km | R1 188 600 |
Prices (correct in November 2025) include a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
New BMW X1 Specs & Prices in South Africa
Find a new/used BMW X1 listed for sale on Cars.co.za
BMW X2 premium crossover
Now for the less positive. The coupe-inspired X2 personifies compromise. Neither boulder-busting off-roader nor heart-in-the-throat hot hatch, unless for aesthetic motivations – it’s hard to rationalise why anyone would pick the X2 over the better-priced and more practical (though mechanically similar) X1.
Watch Ciro De Siena’s launch review of the BMW X2:
On the other hand, even the base model is specced in M Sport grade (mind you, still R36k dearer than the X1 M Sport equivalent); alongside the range-topping BMW M35i version of the coupe-like premium crossover that, owing to its 1 700 kg mass, is nowhere as athletic as its numbers suggest.
Watch Jacob Moshokoa’s video review of the BMW X2 M35i:
Recognising the X2’s urban fanbase, BMW have opted not to offer a hybrid option for the local line-up – only serving to underline the car’s limited appeal beyond that of a glamour model.
See also: 2025 CarsAwards: Best Premium Crossover in SA
What does the BMW X2 cost in South Africa?
| Model Derivative | Engine | Power / Torque | Transmission | Fuel Efficiency | Price |
| X2 sDrive18i M Sport | 1.5L turbopetrol | 115 kW / 230 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 6.7 L/100 km | R884 738 |
| X2 sDrive18d M Sport | 2.0L turbodiesel | 110 kW / 360 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 5.2 L/100 km | R921 884 |
| X2 M35i | 2.0L turbopetrol | 233 kW / 400 Nm | 7-spd dual-clutch automatic | 7.8 L/100 km | R1 228 936 |
Prices (correct in November 2025) include a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
New BMW X2 Specs & Prices in South Africa
Buy a new or used BMW X2 on Cars.co.za
BMW X3
Remember the days when a new 3 Series still cost R300 000? (That’s the surest way of feeling really old, really fast.) The answer, should you care, is around 2010. Today, a rep-spec 320i will set you back more than 3 times that: nearly a 7-digit price for an entry-level BMW sedan fitted with zero options.
There’s a multitude of factors to blame for that spine-chilling jump in price, yet most significantly the cessation of local production by BMW of the F30-gen 3 Series, and replacing it with the imported G20-iteration of the business class sedan, which was subjected to a raft of SARS-appeasing taxes and duties.
For that money, it’s no wonder that smart buyers have eschewed the 3 Series – and not just in Mzansi – in favour of the more commanding X3 with a manageable SUV footprint and broader palette of lifestyle-enabling abilities. Unlike in the X2, all 3 engine types make a welcome return, and the proudly South African-made X3 is pleasingly headlined by the M50, powered by BMW’s superb turbocharged inline-6.
See also: BMW X3 (2025) Review
Released as an all-new model in 2024, the latest-gen X3 is big on tech but equally big on divisive looks; and certainly its compatriot rivals in the Mercedes-Benz GLC and Audi Q5 prove that less is usually more in the styling stakes.
Nonetheless, the X3 remains a cut above the rest. Its 30e xDrive M Sport variant famously defeated the Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport and Mercedes-Benz GLC 300d 4Matic AMG Line to bag the Executive SUV category trophy in the 2024/25 Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa, programme.
See also: 2025 CarsAwards: Best Executive SUV in SA
Besides, as far as size is concerned, more is more. As another oversized BMW crossover, well, more of an executive SUV, today’s X3 easily compares to the first-gen X5 once the tape measure is rolled out.
Watch Ciro De Siena’s video review of the BMW X3 M50:
What does the BMW X3 cost in South Africa?
| Model Derivative | Engine | Power / Torque | Transmission | Fuel Efficiency | Price |
| X3 20 | 2.0L turbopetrol | 148 kW / 310 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 7.5 L/100 km | R1 047 760 |
| X3 20 M Sport | 2.0L turbopetrol | 148 kW / 310 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 7.5 L/100 km | R1 097 760 |
| X3 20 Pure Design | 2.0L turbopetrol | 148 kW / 310 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 7.5 L/100 km | R1 107 760 |
| X3 20d xDrive | 2.0L turbodiesel | 145 kW / 400 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 6.2 L/100 km | R1 136 417 |
| X3 xDrive20d M Sport | 2.0L turbodiesel | 145 kW / 400 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 6.2 L/100 km | R1 186 417 |
| X3 20d xDrive Rugged | 2.0L turbodiesel | 145 kW / 400 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 6.2 L/100 km | R1 232 417 |
| X3 30e xDrive | 2.0L turbopetrol- hybrid | 220 kW / 450 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 1.1 when hybrid battery charged / 7.9 when discharged L/100 km | R1 260 000 |
| X3 30e xDrive M Sport | 2.0L turbopetrol- hybrid | 220 kW / 450 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 1.1 when hybrid battery charged / 7.9 when discharged L/100 km | R1 310 000 |
| X3 M50 | 3.0L turbopetrol | 293 kW / 580 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 8.2 L/100 km | R1 545 447 |
Prices (correct in November 2025) include a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
Buy a new or used BMW X3 on Cars.co.za
BMW X4
Some discontinued cars eventually turn into classics – and some don’t. As part of a consolidation of its model line-up ahead of the arrival of the Neue Klasse electric platform in 2027, BMW is discontinuing several of its slow-selling cars, including the 8 Series, Z4 and X4, with no replacements in the pipeline.
Of these, the X4 will be the least missed. Yes, the Quasimodo-backed X6 is a spatially and visually compromised version of the X5 premium SUV, but for better or worse, it has plenty of kerb presence.
As a shrunken version of the X6, the X4 does BMW no favours when the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe and Range Rover Velar are better-looking and more respectable takes on the humpback crossover genre.
Watch a drag race between a Jeep Trackhawk and a BMW X4 M:
To its credit, the X4 (based on the previous iteration of the X3) is sportier than the current X3, which is admirable. Except – if you’re truly after a sport utility, why aren’t you considering a Porsche Macan?
As far as BMW’s even-numbered X models go, and radical styling jeopardises practicality – especially in family vehicles – thinking out of the box is overrated: you’re best off with everyday superheroes like the X1, or X3, provided your budget allows it.
What does the BMW X4 cost in South Africa?
| Model Derivative | Engine | Power / Torque | Transmission | Fuel Efficiency | Price |
| X4 xDrive 20d | 2.0L turbodiesel | 140 kW / 400 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 5.6 L/100 km | R1 208 731 |
| X4 xDrive 20d M Sport | 2.0L turbodiesel | 140 kW / 400 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 5.6 L/100 km | R1 248 731 |
| X4 M40i | 3.0L turbopetrol | 285 kW / 500 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 8.9 L/100 km | R1 618 301 |
| X4 M Competition | 3.0L twin-turbopetrol | 375 kW / 650 Nm | 8-spd automatic | 10.6 L/100 km | R2 225 017 |
Prices (correct in November 2025) include a 2-year/unlimited km warranty and a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
New BMW X4 Specs & Prices in South Africa
Buy a used BMW X4 on Cars.co.za
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What are the core mechanical differences between the smaller BMW X1/X2 and the larger X3/X4?
A: The BMW X1 and X2 are mechanically identical, using the front-driven Mini Countryman platform. In contrast, the X3 and X4 rely on the rear-driven platform also found in the 3 Series, 4 Series, and 5 Series.
Q: Which BMW crossover won the Premium Crossover category at the 2023/24 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards?
A: The 3rd-generation BMW X1 won the Premium Crossover and Electric Vehicle (in iX1 guise) categories of the 2023/24 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards programme.
Q: Is the BMW X4 being discontinued?
A: Yes, as part of a consolidation of its model line-up ahead of the Neue Klasse electric platform in 2027, BMW is discontinuing the slow-selling X4, with no replacement currently in the pipeline.
Q: What does BMW call its SUV/Crossover models?
A: BMW devised the “Sports Activity Vehicle” (SAV) concept to differentiate its SUVs and premium crossover models from traditional body-on-frame off-roaders.
