BMW X2

BMW X2 2018 review

Should I buy one?

A major positive for the X2 is its overall calmness. Engine noise is well isolated from the cabin, rolling refinement is excellent, with little road roar or vibration through the chassis, and there’s a distinct lack of wind buffeting at higher speeds compared with the high-riding competition. All this, and impressive straight-line stability at cruising speeds, makes it a decent long-distance proposition.

The continued diversification of the compact car segment is such that the idea of a crossover now holds as much appeal as a traditional hatchback, at least if the latest sales results are any indication. If the Q3, E-Pace and GLA don’t appeal to you, the new X2 might just be the answer.

It’s not perfect, but in top-of-the-line xDrive20d guise, the new BMW makes a very convincing case for itself, especially to those who cherish their driving. However, we suspect the sweet spot in the range in terms of overall value for money might come lower down the line-up.

BMW X2 xDrive20d Active

Where Portugal On sale March 2018 Price £33,980 Engine 4cyls, 1995cc, diesel Power 187bhp at 4000rpm Torque 295lb ft at 1750rpm Gearbox 8-spd automatic Kerb weight 1600kg Top speed 137mph 0-62mph 7.7sec Fuel economy 61.4mpg CO2 121g/km Rivals Audi Q3, Jaguar E-Pace, Mercedes-Benz GLA

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/bmw/x2/first-drives/bmw-x2-2018-review

X2 1.jpg
X2 2.jpg
X2 3.jpg
X2 4.jpg
X2 5.jpg
X2 6.jpg
 
I really like the look of this vehicle, but at R700K starting price I'd rather buy a 2016 Porsche.
 
BMW SA to add cheaper base model to new X2 range

BMW South Africa has just launched the new X2. And although we have already published pricing for the local range, we have now learnt that an additional, cheaper base model is destined for local shores.

As previously reported, at launch the X2 range comprises two engine derivatives – the sDrive20i and xDrive20d – each offered in either M Sport or M Sport X guise. But the local arm of the Munich-based automaker has now confirmed that the line-up will later this year also welcome the sDrive18i (we expect this base model to hit dealer floors by May 2018).

The front-wheel-drive sDrive18i will be priced from R572 666 in M Sport trim and R602 366 in M Sport X specification, which makes each R71 586 cheaper than the equivalent sDrive20i variants (bear in mind that this pricing is for the sDrive18i in manual, while the sDrive20i features a seven-speed automatic as standard).

The new base model draws its urge from the BMW Group’s familiar 1,5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, which sends 103 kW and 220 N.m (compared with the 141 kW/280 N.m 2,0-litre turbopetrol in the sDrive20i) to the front wheels via either a standard six-speed manual or an optional seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The sprint from standstill to 100 km/h takes a claimed 9,6 seconds (regardless of which gearbox is fitted).

Look out for a driving impression of the sDrive20i from the local launch soon, and check out our international drive of the xDrive20d here.

Pricing:

BMW X2 sDrive18i M Sport: R572 666
BMW X2 sDrive18i M Sport X: R602 366
BMW X2 sDrive20i M Sport: R644 252
BMW X2 sDrive20i M Sport X: R673 952
BMW X2 xDrive20d M Sport: R694 154
BMW X2 xDrive20d M Sport X: R723 854

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/bmw-sa-to-add-cheaper-base-model-to-new-x2-range/
 
BMW X2 is here to mark its spot: SA prices & specs

There’s a standing joke that BMW first invents a niche and then builds a car to fill it. Here we have yet another sporty crossover, or SAV as BMW likes to call it, and it's kind of like an X6, just a lot smaller.

It’s a little shorter overall than the X1, on the same wheelbase, and more than seven centimetres lower - a seriously sporty four-door coupé with a sexy fastback roofline, all-wheel drive on diesel variants and enough ground clearance to cope with the middelmannetjie on all but the worst of South Africa’s roads less travelled.

It’s being launched in South Africa this week in a four-strong line-up with a choice of one turbodiesel and one turbopetrol four, each two litres in capacity and available in two distinctly different trim packs - M Sport and M Sport X; it’s a telling reflection on South African BMW customers that we’re not getting the base models at all. They’ll be joined in May by 1.5-litre three-cylinder xDrive18i derivatives, also in M Sport and M Sport X trim.

The range-topping xDrive 20d is rated for 140kW at 4000 revs and 400Nm from 1750-2500rpm and drives all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. 0-100km/h is quoted at 7.8 seconds and top speed as 219km/h.

The sDrive20i, good for a claimed 141kW from 5000-6000rpm and 280Nm from 1350-4600, drives the front wheels through a seven-speed double-clutch transmission that will allegedly launch it to 100km/h in 7.7 seconds and on to 227km/h.

Coming in May is the sDrive18i, dispensing a quoted 103kW from 4600-6500 revs and 220Nm from 1480-4200rpm, sprinting to 100 in 9.6 seconds and topping out at 205km/h. It’ll be offered with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed double-clutch transmission.

Trim Packages

The M Sport exterior trim channels BMW’s Touring Car racing heritage with dark grey metallic inlays in the front splitter, the body-colour side skirts and the rear diffuser. Standard wheel size is 19 inch, with 20 inch as an option.

All SA market X2s come with M Sport suspension; in addition, the suspension ride height on the M Sport models is 10mm lower than that of the X and it’s also available with optional dynamic damper control .The cabin is trimmed in a mix of dark grey micro hexagon fabric and alcantara synthetic suede with M piping and blue contrast stitching, and aluminium hexagon trim finishers.

The M Sport X looks to BMW’s off-road exploits - notably in South America - for inspiration, using pale grey for specific M Sport X aero trim elements to make the car look as if it has more than a 10mm ground clearance advantage over the M Sport models. Standard wheel size is 19 inch, with 20 inch as an option.

The interior boasts the same dark grey micro hexagon fabric and alcantara synthetic suede mix as the M Sport, but with yellow contrast stitching and aluminium hexagon trim finishers in pearl effect chrome. Both trim packs are also available with full leather upholstery in black or a range of two-tone treatments.

IOL Motoring's Dave Abrahams is driving the new X2 on the SA launch as you read this; read his driving impressions of BMW's latest on Thursday.

BMW X2: Prices at Launch

X2 sDrive20i M SportR644 252
X2 sDrive20i M Sport XR673 952
X2 xDrive20d M SportR694 154
X2 xDrive20d M Sport XR723 854

Coming in May

X2 sDrive18i M SportR573 122
X2 sDrive18i M Sport ATR602 822
X2 xDrive18i M Sport XR593 922
X2 xDrive18i M Sport X ATR623 622

https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/late...to-mark-its-spot-sa-prices-and-specs-13759741
 
Last edited:
Tman* said:
I can get the BMW is essentially creating new markets with the X4, X6, GT's ect, but who in their right mind will spend R700 000 on a 2.0L ? Like seriously, who is buying these cars?

Surely if you are in the SUV class, you have to drive a NEW BMW and you have R700k to burn you would rather buy something such as this
Click to expand...

How's about spending over a million on a 1.8? Alfa 4C anyone? Or R600k on a 1.4 Tiguan? With turbocharging becoming so prevalent it's becoming less about engine displacement and more about power and power delivery.
Yes 700 thousand is alot of money but is it any more costly than the Merc/ Audi equivalent? Only then could you call it expensive.
And you're always going to get more car going second hand, that's pretty obvious, but some people would just prefer the newer car. For example, I'd take a new Velar over a second hand RR Sport and a new Macan over a Cayenne.
So there are crazy people out there! :)
 
Tman* said:
I can get the BMW is essentially creating new markets with the X4, X6, GT's ect, but who in their right mind will spend R700 000 on a 2.0L ? Like seriously, who is buying these cars?

Surely if you are in the SUV class, you have to drive a NEW BMW and you have R700k to burn you would rather buy something such as this; https://www.autotrader.co.za/used-c...9mdWVsdHlwZS9EaWVzZWwvc2VhcmNo&result-index=7
Click to expand...

Tbh not the best example to use. That is the last batch of the now old X3. Relatively ugly & look at that bare bones "gauge cluster"! Old iDrive version obviously.
 
DRIVEN: BMW X2 sDrive20i M Sport X

If there was ever a gap in a certain niche-plugging Bavarian brand’s burgeoning crossover range just begging to be filled, it was the coupé-shaped cranny separating BMW’s X1 and X3.

Lending a pleasing completeness to BMW’s alphanumeric crossover line-up – ahead of the arrival of the flagship X7 and seemingly inevitable X8, anyway – the new X2 runs on the same UKL2 platform as the X1, the 2 Series Active Tourer and Mini siblings, the Countryman and Clubman.

In the same way as the X4 is positioned as a sportier version of the X3 – and, indeed, as the X6 relates to the X5 – the latest member of the X-badged family uses the X1 as a base and adds both bolder styling and ostensibly more exuberant on-road manners.

So, is this more than merely an X1 in a swish suit? Well, before we answer that question, let’s take a closer look at the X2’s freshly tailored attire. Interestingly, the new model’s coupé-like silhouette isn’t quite as pronounced as those of the X4 and X6, even if its roofline is some 70 mm closer to the tarmac than that of the more conventionally proportioned X1. It’s also shorter overall, despite sharing the same 2 670 mm wheelbase, but boasts a dramatically rising shoulder line.

All dressed up

The exterior design is certainly distinct – and not too far removed from the daring concept we first clapped eyes on at the Paris Motor Show in 2016 – adding striking elements such as an inverted kidney grille and the retro-inspired positioning of the brand’s roundel on the C-pillar to familiar BMW styling traits like the signature (albeit slightly tweaked, in this case) Hofmeister kink. In short, the X2 undisputedly has its own visual charisma, whether you pick the standard M Sport package or the more rugged-looking M Sport X option pictured here.

And, we’re happy to report, that character filters through to the driving experience, too. While we came away suitably impressed after sampling the grippy xDrive20d variant in Portugal, the petrol-powered, front-wheel-drive derivative that forms the subject of this local driving impression (take note that a cheaper sDrive18i variant will arrive in May) offers similarly enjoyable if less punchy experience from behind its leather-clad tiller.

The familiar turbocharged 2,0-litre petrol mill serves up 141 kW, while peak twisting force of 280 N.m is available from 1 350 r/min all the way through to 4 600 r/min. The resulting tractability, along with the deftness of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, lends the sDrive20i both an ease of use in comfort mode and a certain sprightliness in its most dynamic setting (the four-paw turbodiesel model, however, is still the better to drive of the two).

Under the skin

But it’s the chassis tuning that really sets the X2 apart from the model on which it is based. With M Sport suspension as standard (including a 10 mm drop in ride height), the newest member of the X family feels markedly more agile than its already nimble X1 counterpart, and noticeably more resistant to body roll, too. Add a lower-sited seating position and the X2 begins to feel more like a neat little warm hatch than a common-or-garden crossover.

This tidy handling (if not entirely BMW-like in sDrive20i form, what with grunt sent exclusively to the front axle) comes courtesy of tauter springs, which in turn, along with the relatively low-profile rubber coating the standard 19-inch alloys, results in a fairly stiffly sprung ride that is sometimes upset by poorly maintained road surfaces. Refinement levels, though, are high, even if some tyre roar does make its way into the cabin.

Inside, the X2 borrows much of its hardware – and software, in the form of the intuitive iDrive system – from the X1, although new figure-hugging front seats have been added to the mix (how much you appreciate these firmer pews will depend largely on, well, your figure).

The new model’s more dramatic shape, however, cuts into rear headroom a little, and takes a small bite out of the luggage compartment, too. Furthermore, the rear bench loses its ability to slide fore and aft. Still, the X2’s cabin is less functionally compromised than anticipated and certainly seems capable of serving the needs of a small, young family.

Plenty of competition

Ultimately, this lithe crossover-cum-hatchback is entering an already bustling segment – where the lines are becoming increasingly blurred as each automaker finds and fills another micro-niche – that will soon be further bolstered by the local arrival of the new Volvo XC40 and later the next-generation Mercedes-Benz GLA, to name but two. Indeed, the sheer number of rivals means the X2 most certainly won’t have things all its own way.

So, is it more than just a dressed-up, slightly more expensive X1? Well, despite sharing a large portion of greasy bits under the skin, there’s no doubt that the strikingly styled, markedly sharper X2 possesses a character entirely separate to that of the X1, thus appealing to an audience new to the BMW brand. Gap plugged.

Model:BMW X2 sDrive20i M Sport X
Price:R673 952
Engine:2,0-litre, 4-cyl, turbopetrol
Power:141 kW from 5 000 to 6 000 r/min
Torque:280 N.m from 1 350 to 4 600 r/min
0-100 km/h:7,7 seconds
Top Speed:227 km/h
Fuel Consumption:6,0 L/100 km
CO2:138 g/km
Transmission:7-speed, dual-clutch automatic
Maintenance Plan:5 year/100 000 km

http://www.carmag.co.za/driving-impressions/driven-bmw-x2-sdrive20i-m-sport-x/

X2 1.jpg
X2 2.jpg
X2 3.jpg
X2 4.jpg
 
Are bmw sending the old parts bin to SA? Why does the X2 in SA get that fugly gear shifter from a bakkie instead of the joystick in press images and images on their website.

Maybe package related. I see the test video above has the joystick.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X