BMW just announced that it plans to bring its X1,to the U.S. in 2011. But the biggest news about the compact crossover may be the clean-diesel powerplant option.

The diesel version of the X1 achieves more than 45 miles a gallon while still achieving a top speed of 124 miles per hour, BMW says.

In Europe, where the X1 goes on sale this fall, there will be three diesel versions in addition to the gasoline version. It's yet to be seen whether diesel catches on in the U.S. by then.

As of April, BMW officials had said they were disappointed clean-diesel sales were sluggish in the U.S. despite their efforts to promote the technology.

The X1 will come in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive versions. No price yet.