New BMW X2: different approach – Looking ahead

Within BMW’s extensive SUV family, the X2 is somewhat of an odd man out. Where odd X models such as the X1, X3, X5 and X7 are always long-legged with a conventional SUV shape, the even X models have a steeply sloping roofline. For example, the X4 is the smoother-lined technical brother of the BMW X3 and the X6 is similarly related to the X5. Although the BMW X2 clearly looks different from the X1, it is less of a so-called SUV Coupé than you would expect given the name. That will change with the soon to be completely new X2, which we can look forward to here thanks to clever digital drawings by our illustrator.

In 2017, BMW presented the current and first generation of the X2 to the world at the Paris Motor Show. With that playfully drawn crossover – with BMW logos on the C-pillars – the German manufacturer sowed some confusion. Not only did the X2 have a less sloping roofline than the X4 and X6, it was also considerably smaller than the X1 for which it had to serve as a more stylish alternative. Just put them side by side: the X2 is more than 15 centimeters shorter than the X1. Perhaps the Dutch BMW driver thought the more hatchback-like X2 was too close to the 1-series? The X2 has not turned out to be a bull’s eye so far. In the little four years that the model has been for sale in our country, only 1,963 copies have been sold. In perspective: from 2016 to 2018, more copies of the X1 left the showroom every year. With the new X2, BMW is returning to a proven strategy.

BMW X2 (Illustration: Larson)

‘hang ass’

The new BMW X2 will be much more of an X1 with a steeper sloping roofline than the current model. With its relatively sharply drawn headlights, it will soon stare into the world a lot more viciously. The front of this year’s X1, revised down to the smallest nut, is in a way similar to the X2. Further back everything is different. Much more than with the current generation X2, the roofline slopes backwards from the A-pillar. In addition, the roof now flows in a smooth line into the relatively flat rear window. It makes it more ‘coupé’ and less ‘hatchback’, although the use of such terms when we talk about an SUV is certainly not without controversy. At the bottom of the rear window, the X2 will probably get a striking rear spoiler, a part that visually splits the rear into two parts to avoid the impression of a ‘hanging butt’.

We will undoubtedly find various screens in the X2. For the sake of convenience, we assume two visually linked displays that function as instruments and infotainment. Fans of the iDrive dial will undoubtedly be less happy with the new X2. That physical selection button is now reserved for higher positioned models. After all, the X1 and 2-series Tourer no longer have it.

What will the upcoming X2 bring on a technical level? We could guess at that, but in the case of the X2 we would do better to go through the delivery range of the X1. Whether that means that the X2 is available with exactly the same powertrains as its smaller brother is still the question. Unlike the X3, the BMW X4 is not available as a plug-in hybrid and the X6 also has to do without the plug variant that is available on the X5. We count on a range of four-cylinder petrol engines with a range of outputs, including an entry-level 136 hp and mild hybrid power units of 150 and 184 hp. The X1 is also available with three diesel engines, ranging in power from 150 to 211 hp, but the electric iX1 is perhaps the most interesting for our country.

Electric or not

Will there be an electric iX2? Technically that is possible, but since BMW does deliver an iX3 but not an iX4, we unfortunately have to leave that question unanswered as well. On the one hand, it is quite possible that BMW does not see an electric iX2 in view of the headroom in the back. On the other hand, given the increasing demand for electrification, nothing is impossible. We expect to be able to give you a definite answer on this in the second half of 2023, when the new X2 makes its debut.