Review: BMW X2

Loathe as I am to dredge up the dreaded Marmite metaphor, I’m afraid it’s the only one that will suffice with regard to my experience with the new BMW X2.

I never really felt completely at home in it while my fellow road tester jumped into the driving seat at every opportunity - vowing it to be one of the best cars he’d driven in a while. I guess it’s a man thing!

In particular I found the exterior styling to be overly aggressive - the front end in particular - but it was this, among many other things that really appealed to him.

If you’re familiar with the X1 you’ll easily find your way around the interior of the X2. It has the same stylish curved screen with a large infotainment screen and, on our test car, a head-up display - the interior was something we both found common ground on: the fit and finish are exceptional. My only gripe is that, in common with the majority of high end cars these days, physical controls are thin on the ground with almost everything routed through the touchscreen.

Storage options are not brilliant - a large cubby box would be a most welcome addition. What we did like however was the vertical wireless phone charger with a retaining bar to keep any size of phone securely in place.

The front seats are supportive and can be adjusted in plenty of ways for most to find a comfortable position.

There’s room for five adults, at a push, but rear seat passengers will feel a little cramped as the roof slopes. Leg room is better than average.

The boot holds a decent 560 litres and with the rear seats folded makes a large flat floor

This sloping roof, small back windscreen and large pillars render reversing tricky unless you rely heavily on the camera and parking sensors.

There are two X2 models - both with petrol engines: the two-litre four-cylinder front wheel drive 20i and and the one we tested, the

M35i which has the same size powerplant bumped up to 300bhp and with four-wheel drive.

Our test car has a basic vehicle price of £47,395 but once all the bells and whistles had been added on the grand total came out at £59,579.99.

The X2 is a blast on the open road with 0-62mph achieved in 5.42 seconds. It’s a bit thirsty with an official fuel consumption of just 29.7mpg. Spirited driving will soon see that plummet though.

Given the power it’s not as difficult as you might imagine to rein it in around town with no sense that it’s trying to get away from you. The suspension is a little firm and poorly surfaced roads can cause uncomfortable jolting if you drive them too fast.

Standard equipment is far too numerous to list individually but be assured that most of what you’ll need is there. And everything else is available as an add on.

The technology plus pack is a pricey £2,890 but, among other things, you get such goodies as parking assistance plus that will park the car for you, head up display and adaptive LED headlights.

BMW X2 xDrive M35i

Price: £47,395 (£59,579.00 as tested)

Engine: Two-litre petrol

Power: 300bhp

Torque: 295lb/ft

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Top speed: 124mph

0-62mph: 10.2 seconds

Economy: 29.8mpg

CO 2 emissions:179g/km