FIRST DRIVE
BMW X2
X1 family SUV’s sleeker stablemate has grown to promise more practicality than before On sale Late March Price from £41,110
Lawrence Cheung lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com
WHETHER YOU’RE AT the Brit Awards or the Oscars, picking out a bold costume is a great way to get yourself noticed in a busy crowd. But while the coupé SUV version of the BMW X1 family SUV isn’t as outlandishlooking as Sam Smith’s inflatable latex suit, its curvaceous lines – not to mention that giant front grille – are striking enough to have people doing a double take.
With a separate iX2 due soon to appease electric vehicle fans, the X2 offers a choice of two petrol engines, each teamed with a seven-speed automatic gearbox. The entrylevel 1.5-litre sDrive20i is front-wheel drive, with 168bhp and an 8.3sec 0-62mph time. If you fancy more punch and four-wheel drive, there’s the 296bhp M35i we tested, which sprints from 0-62mph in 5.4sec. Power is delivered smoothly and the automatic gearbox changes gear in a slick manner, but the engine doesn’t rev particularly quickly, and it feels like it’s working hard to haul a heavy car.