Does the market demand this or do marketers think of this for us?
After a coupe and a ‘gran coupe’, BMW is now also introducing a ‘sports activity coupe’ in the compact middle class: the X2. With its sloping roofline, this is the more elegant variant of the sturdy X1 and therefore the little brother of the BMW X4 and BMW X6. We drive it as the electric iX1. Nice, but what else does this car add?
Where does the X2 stand in the BMW range?
There seems to be no end to the number of models that BMW builds based on its UKL2 platform architecture. The system is fully utilized. With a wide range of drive variants, we already know a hatchback, a sedan or gran coupe, an MPV and an SUV from BMW itself and from Mini also the Cooper and Countryman. The latest additions are the X2 and its electric variant, the iX2, crossovers that with a little good will you could consider the coupe versions of the X1 and iX1 SUVs. The previous generation X2 was difficult to categorize. Now it works better. The new X2 is little different from the coupe version of the X1 SUV. With this, BMW continues the logical line that was previously started with the X4 and the X6 as the four-door coupe versions of the X3 and X5 SUVs respectively. BMW itself calls the new X2 a SAC, which stands for a Sports Activity Coupé. Oh well, as long as the animal has a name. The new X2 is longer and lower than the X1, but in terms of wheelbase and width, the SAC and the SUV are exactly the same. The difference in length is mainly behind the rear axle, which directly results in more luggage space for the X2, at least under the parcel shelf. The electric iX2 has a spacious compartment for charging cables under the floor of the trunk. A frunk is missing, because under the hood it is full of electrical technology, in both the two- and four-wheel drive versions. The UKL2 platform that BMW uses for this car was basically designed for front-wheel drives.
With its generously opening tailgate, the iX2 is more of a liftback than a coupe.
Is the BMW iX2 a spacious car?
You can sit comfortably on the relatively low seats (you certainly don’t feel like you’re sitting on the trestle, as with many other crossovers), which leaves you with a completely acceptable distance between the seat and the headliner. As a driver and co-driver you have nothing to complain about space. Things are different at the back. The legroom between the rear seat and the front seats is still good, but headroom is substandard for adults due to the low-sloping roofline. In the electric iX2 you sit even more cramped (the seat is 2.1 cm closer to the roof) than in the X2 with a combustion engine, due to the battery pack concealed in the bottom. Electric or not, in both variants you can, with good decency, only allow small children to sit in the back seat. And to think that the back seat is also relatively low, with the result that you only sit with your buttocks on the bench and your knees have to make a sharp angle as if in a squatting position.
As an adult, you have no business sitting in the backseat of the BMW iX2.
How does BMW’s OS9 work?
The dashboard is identical to that of what we know from the X1 and therefore little different from that of the 225th Active Tourer that we had in our endurance test fleet last year. While last year we had to live with a multimedia system running on BMW’s OS8 software, Operating System 9 is now the standard. That’s a step forward. In a world where accountants determine that the number of physical buttons should be eliminated to a minimum, it is important to have a good digital alternative that requires only minimal attention while driving. There are still some flaws here and there. BMW has taken the criticism of OS8 to heart. With OS8, the infotainment system was a fairly confusing motley mess. This improved slightly last year with the arrival of OS8.5 in, among other things, the new 5 series. The X2 and iX2 have more modern hardware in their electronic innards from the start, hardware that can run OS9. The BMW OS9 still works with an excess of icons, but because you can now scroll vertically through the main menus (on the left side of the screen), the system is clearer. And in the meantime, the navigation information on the rest of the screen remains neatly displayed while scrolling and swiping, which is nice.
From now on, your navigation information (right) will remain on screen when you scroll through the main menu (left).
How does the drivetrain behave?
The iX2 eDrive20 will be released later this year, an electric front-wheel drive with an electric motor peaking at 204 hp and 250 Nm. First comes the four-wheel drive iX2 xDrive30, with its two electric motors together producing 313 hp and 494 Nm. This is also the car we first met. The two electric motors ensure that the 2,020 kg iX2 moves forward smoothly. There is one flipper behind the wheel and you activate the Boost function and the car shoots off like an arrow from a bow. Where we often see with other brands that you can use two paddles behind the steering wheel to control the degree of engine braking when you release the power pedal, with the iX2 you have to control this via the multimedia system. That’s a bit of a shame. We like to recover vigorously in inner-city traffic and in traffic jams. On the other hand, at higher speeds we find it annoying when we dive forward when we release the power pedal. The electronics can adapt this adaptively if desired. We prefer it when you can quickly adjust the degree of regeneration with the flippers yourself. Setting up via swiping and scrolling requires too much attention.
To keep up with traffic smoothly, you don’t need the sport mode yet.
What are the EV qualities of the iX2?
The two iX2s have a battery pack with a usable capacity of 64.8 kWh, which means that the iX2 xDrive 30 should be able to travel up to 449 kilometers and the eDrive20 even 478 km, according to WLTP. Both versions have an 11 kW AC charger as standard. A 22 kW AC charger is a €768 option. The DC fast charger peaks at 130 kW, a value that can hardly be called ground-breaking these days. We know cheaper cars where this is a lot faster.
The iX2 charges at the AC pole at 11 kW as standard, a 22 kW charger is an option.
How does the iX2 drive?
The tuning of the chassis is on the firmer side of the middle, without becoming overly dynamic or compromising comfort. The iX2 leaves a relatively light-hearted impression. This is of course not very surprising in the bends, because the battery pack is located under the floor. The tires also provide a generous portion of grip. Even when braking, you don’t get the impression that the car weighs over two tons; we had also believed something around 1,800 kg. BMW knows how to uphold its name in this area. Credit where credit is due. The steering fits in neatly with this: the car neatly follows the specified course.
The handling of the iX2 does not disappoint at all. BMW has a reputation to uphold here.
Do you get value for your money?
The iX2 is certainly a nice-driving EV, but know that with the same technology in the form of the slightly cheaper BMW iX1, you have a car with which you can travel with more than two adults. Neither iX2 variant is eligible for the Subsidy for Electric Passenger Cars for Private Individuals (SEPP), because the starting price of €49,976 for the basic version is already too high. In any case, the base price is high; Besides the fact that the options list is quite long, there are plenty of EVs that demonstrate more mature electric performance for less money with a longer range and higher charging capacities.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl