Take another look
BMW X2 morphs into something fresh.
Motor racing styling or rallying styling for your BMW X2, sir? You choose. A feature of BMW’s brand-new small SUV is that the 2.0-litre version just arrived in New Zealand is being offered with a choice of two styling packages for the same price.
There’s an M Sport Package which has an exterior that is all body-coloured to help give the optical impression it is lowered like a race car. And the interior’s signature colour is what is known as Dark Shadow, to give a hi-tech impression.
And then there’s an M Sport X Package, which uses exterior cladding coloured what is known as Frozen Grey to give it a more rugged, higher-riding rallying appearance.
There’s no difference in the performance credentials of these two versions of the same X2
sDrive20i - one simply looks more on-road than the other.
They’re both powered by the same 2.0-litre TwinPower four cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that develops 141 kilowatts of power and 280 Newton metres of torque, mated to a fast-acting seven-speed Steptronic dualclutch automatic.
There’s no difference in price either; they both enter the New Zealand vehicle market at $70,900, which is $1100 more than the equivalent X1.
In May an entry version of the new X2 will arrive.
It’s the sDrive18i which will be powered by a 1.5-litre three cylinder engine that will deliver
103kW and 220kW. This model will be priced at $60,900 which is $1000 more than the entry X1 powered by the same engine
All these details were revealed at a media function in Auckland, held to introduce this new sixth member of BMW’s X family of SUVs.
BMW Group New Zealand managing director Florian Renndorfer pointed out that more than 5.4 million BMW X models have been sold since the first version, the X5, was launched in
1999.
In New Zealand, the X models now account for half of all BMW sales.
‘‘And there are a lot more models to come,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve just launched the new
X3, now the X2 is arriving, and soon we will get a new X4.
‘‘There’s going to be an X7 next year, and beyond that there will be electric models starting with a fully electric X3 from late 2020.’’
Just as the X4 is intended as a coupe version of the X3 SUV, and the X6 is a coupe version of the X5, so the X2 is being marketed as a coupe version of the X1.
Except it’s not an SUV. Not really. In fact it’s not even a coupe.
It is a higher-riding frontdriven hatchback that is perhaps the best example yet of how hatchback and SUV designs are morphing into something appealingly fresh.
The X2 is built on the same platform as the X1 and for that reason the wheelbase is the same as 2670mm.
It is 79mm shorter and 69mm lower which means if doesn’t have the same luggage capacity as the X1, but significantly the X2 is wider than the X1, something which underpins the fact that the vehicle has been designed more with urban use in mind.
As a hatchback, maybe? The X2 might be more streamlined than the X1 which is an obvious small SUV, but we still find it difficult to describe the body design as swept or coupelike. It’s attractive though.
And it offers a drive that is superior to the X1.
The X2 sDrive20i is powered by the same engine as its X1 equivalent, and it’s a lovely unit that is really flexible thanks to its turbocharging. It’ll get the vehicle to 100kmh in a pretty impressive 7.7 seconds, and fuel economy is rated at 5.9 L/100km and CO2 emissions are 134g/km.
While the X2 is built on the same chassis as the X1, the 20i is the better drive thanks to the fact the body style is 10 per cent stiffer, and the steering has been tuned so it is more direct.
It also has stiffer M Sport suspension settings, and the vehicle used during the media event were shod with optional 20-inch wheels instead of the standard 19-inch versions.
All that adds up to a pleasant performer.
Some traditionalists might say it isn’t a true BMW because it is front-wheel driven, and obviously it doesn’t offer the sure-footedness and off-the-seal capability of its allwheel drive xDrive equivalents in the X1 range, but this new X2 instantly appeals as a fine drive.
At the 18i level the new X2 will feature what is known as Sensatec upholstery, LED headlights, navigation, Parking Assistant and a rear-view camera, Driving Assistant which includes lane departure warning, high-beam assist, collision warning and pedestrian warning with a city braking function.
The 20i has sports front seats which are heated, an anthracite headliner, and Driving Assistant Plus which includes active cruise control with a stop and go function, and a Traffic Jam Assistant which uses steering assistance to help keep the car in the middle of its lane.
All this adds up to what is an appealing car - a vehicle that should offer strong competition to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Range Rover Evoke.
But it’s not an SUV or a coupe, even though on its C-pillar there’s a BMW roundel that is there to pay homage to some famous BMW coupes of the past.
It’s a hatchback, and a refreshing one at that.