BMW X2 review

Some numbers to begin with: 2023 was BMW’s most successful year ever, with 2.25m cars sold globally. This is surely due in part to its sprawling line-up, whose tendrils now spread in every direction (though sadly not into supercar territory).

Still, what it lacks at the oxygen-thin end of the market it gains in the more accessible sphere. Witness the rise of the 2 Series, and the crossover X2 in particular. Since its arrival a few years ago more than 390,000 have been sold, and the new one aims to double down on that success.

Four models will be available in the UK, two combustion, two fully electric. The entry-level model is the X2 sDrive20i M Sport, which costs £40,515, while the more powerful, 296bhp M35i is £49,340. The US and other selected markets get 314bhp for some reason.

As ever, the electric models carry a premium. The iX2 xDrive30 starts at £51,615, the iX2 xDrive30 M Sport costing £57,445. Other European markets have a diesel option that the UK is denied. Rivals include the Audi Q3 Sportback, Mercedes GLA, Range Rover Evoque, and the excellent Cupra Formentor.

It’s not a looker, is it?

The new X2 and iX2 will be made side-by-side in BMW’s factory in Regensburg, a state-of-the-art, sustainable facility that uses AI-enabled robots.

We wonder if AI was involved in the new X2’s creative execution, while BMW’s design A-list were focused on the upcoming Neue Klasse cars. They promise to be crisp, cohesive and modern looking cars, but X2 and iX2 are sadly ill-proportioned and over-bodied, even on 21in alloys.

BMW says the upright grille and flowing coupe roofline are signatures of its sport activity cars, but the net result looks a bit off from pretty much every angle. The front and rear wheelarches are flared, and there’s an indent beneath the rear window to create a bit of extra heft and shoulder muscle. There’s a clear visual throughline to the X4 and X6, which is fine until you remember that neither are canonical BMWs.

Perhaps the concept of a four-door quasi-off road coupe crossover is simply too spurious to work, though the Cupra Formentor shows that it can be done. Clearly cars like the X2 are popular. But there’s something dishonest about the format. It’s marketing-led, basically.

Hmm, you really don’t like it, do you? Are there any redeeming features?

Graphic elements include the ‘double icon’ head- and tail-lights, with LEDs as standard. The double kidney grille is unmissable, especially if you plump for the illuminated Iconic Glow version.

It’s slippery though, touting a drag coefficient of 0.27 (an impressive 0.25 for the iX2). Combustion X2s have an active air flap in the kidney grille and a lower intake with air curtains on either side, while the exterior mirrors and flush-fitting door handles all promote aero efficiency. The iX2’s kidney grille is closed off. The M35i is the only model with visible exhaust tail-pipes; four of ‘em.

Note also that the X2 can be had in a selection of lysergic colour schemes. Our M35i was in a violent shade of green. Rebellious, yes, but also horrible. Inevitably, it’s also bigger. Well, no car company ever crows about making a car smaller, does it?

The new X2 is 4,554mm long, 194mm more than the outgoing car, and also taller and wider. BMW claims greater efficiency in its construction and manufacture, though. Hot-stamped steels and aluminium are used in the safety cell.

The new X2 is an odd one. Everything’s there on paper but the M35i we drove stubbornly failed to excite us. We could live with the questionable looks if the dynamics were fully up to scratch, but honestly it feels like a car BMW didn’t expend a huge amount of time or love on. It seems impossible to believe that a company with its track record could fumble the ball, but nobody’s perfect. The iX2 is better and benefits from BMW’s rapidly growing, ever-evolving electric ecosystem. But it’s not massively exciting either. A rare mis-step, all in all.