2nd BMW X2
It’s great to drive, but a firm ride and higher running costs peg BMW’s sporty crossover back
LIKE the UX, the BMW X2 is a compact SUV that focuses on style – more so than its more practical X1 sibling, too. The car is based on the same UKL2 platform as the X1, and with lesser engines this features front-wheel drive, as opposed to BMW ’s more traditional rear-driven approach.
However, here in xDrive20d form the BMW is four-wheel drive. There’s a four-wheel-drive version of the UX 250h available, but no front-wheel-drive X2 xDrive20d. In this sector, where style matters more than off-road ability, it’s not imperative.
Despite the front-wheel-drive architecture, the X2 drives like you’d expect a BMW to, with weighty steering that offers good precision. The dampers deliver taut body control, too, but this M Sport car’s 19-inch wheels (our images show an M Sport X with 19-inch alloys) mean its ride is on the firm side.
The suspension’s response to bumps is more aggressive and the damping feels more jagged over certain sharp bumps, whereas the Lexus does a more convincing job of rounding these off.
It’s less comfortable as a result – still not so bad that you couldn’t live with it, but you’ll feel more of a bad road surface’s texture than in the UX.
The BMW is more agile than the Lexus, but it still rolls because of the higher ride height. It has plenty of punch low down from its 2.0-litre diesel engine (there’s 400Nm from 1,750rpm), though, so the X2 is quick without having to try very hard.
Its eight-speed auto transmission is great – as easy and unobtrusive as a CVT around town, but quick to kick down and responsive. The result is that, when you ask for more performance, it still feels more natural than the UX ’s set-up.
The X2 sprinted from 0-60mph in 7. 2 seconds, and through the gears from 30-70mph in 6.8 seconds; the latter was 0.7 seconds faster than the Lexus. Even though the two cars’ in-gear figures aren’t directly comparable because of their different transmissions, both offer similar acceleration from mid speeds.
As you’d expect from a four-cylinder diesel, the BMW ’s engine gets noisier at higher revs, but it settles well on the motorway and the powertrain cruises strongly. Around town the motor’s punchy low-down torque means that it’s also simple to drive, even if the visibility in both machines isn’t the best because of their styling.
Quality is good enough to support the premium tag, with M Sport trim getting LED lights, heated leather seats, cruise control, DAB, sat-nav, parking sensors and two-zone climate control. The Active Guard autonomous braking set-up is standard, too.
DRIVING
Steering precision is good, but while the X2’s handling is fine, the ride feels a little knobblier than we’d like in a small SUV. The engine is good though, and proves that, done well, diesel should still have a future.
GEARBOX The regular eight-speed auto makes the most of the 20d’s torquey performance and suits the car well. Meanwhile, the electrically assisted CVT ’box fitted to the
UX is a good choice.
RUNNING COSTS
Both claim similar economy, and the X2 wasn’t far behind the hybrid Lexus in our efficiency test. It returned 44.4mpg to the UX’s 45.5mpg, which means the two cars will cost £1,653 and £1,530 to fuel over 12,000 miles.
DEPRECIATION Many will buy on finance (see right) but for cash buyers the UX will hold onto more money. It has a predicted residual value of 47.6 per cent, equating to £18,075; on the X2, the figure is 44.8 per cent, or £17,575.
PRACTICALITY
The X2 has a much bigger boot. Its 470-litre capacity is 150 litres more than the Lexus’s – a significant amount that should make holidays or tip runs much easier. This is despite the X2’s slightly more compact footprint.
VISIBILITY Both SUVs sacrifice a little visibility for style. BMW’s £610 Vision pack adds a reversing camera to complement the rear parking sensors, and you can add Park Assist as part of the £790 Driver pack. The Lexus gets a reversing camera, plus front and rear parking sensors, as standard across the range. Also standard on the UX are a powered tailgate and keyless operation; the BMW comes with the former as standard, but the latter costs £350.
INTERIOR & TECHNOLOGY
Cabin quality is a match for the Lexus’s, and storage is better in the front, too. But, the biggest benefit over the UX is BMW ’s far better infotainment. Our car had an upgraded 8.8-inch screen.
INFOTAINMENT The interface is much more intuitive, it responds quicker to inputs and has sharper graphics. Apple CarPlay is a £235 option, and while it’s not vital when the system is so good, it’s nice to have the choice of this connectivity.
OWNERSHIP
Euro NCAP hasn’t crash-tested the X2, but it shares much of its safety kit with the X1, so that car’s five-star rating applies equally to this model. All cars get LED headlights, rear parking sensors and auto wipers. DRIVER POWER BMW’s 25th-place finish in our ownership survey isn’t strong for a premium brand. Lexus topped the dealer poll, too, while BMW was 19th.