RATED X1; BMW's baby ute debuts at Frankfurt, arrives in U.S. in 2011.(NEWS)

Byline: GREG KABLE

Given the increasing focus on fuel economy, one could assume that the BMW X1 is destined to become a hit. It won't go on sale in North America until early 2011, more than a year after it debuts in Europe, but we've had a chance to drive a preproduction prototype before the production car's world debut at the Frankfurt motor show this fall.

The production version, a virtual carbon copy of the concept revealed at the 2008 Paris motor show, combines the dynamics of a 3-series sedan with the elevated driving position of the X3. It is BMW's retort to the likes of the Honda CR-V, the Toyota RAV4 and the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The X1 slots into the German carmaker's lineup below the X3, which will grow in size and price when the second-generation model arrives in 2010. Shorter, narrower and lower than its X3 sibling, the X1 rides on modified underpinnings from the four-wheel-drive 3-series wagon. ...