Like most BMW X models in recent memory, the new BMW X2 has been a prolific subject of forum thread and Cars-and-Coffee conversation. The fresh design has already conjured up fans and dissidents—and, with its front-biased all-wheel-drive platform, heated debates on the X2’s placement in the BMW lineup have ensued.
But it was the funky SAV that starred in BMW of North America’s Test Fest, a press-drive experience that included everything from the i3S to the Rolls-Royce Phantom to the 640i GT and all-new BMW 5—and that was where Roundel magazine editor-in-chief Satch Carlson got a chance to jump behind the wheel. You can see his reactions to the car in the video below.
I’ll leave the final driving impressions to Satch himself, but if you’ve been worried about the X2’s driving character, you can worry no longer. While it’s no rear-biased supercar like the M5, the X2 is a gentle but persuasive gospel of driving pleasure in a world of dreary, compact, CVT-equipped front-drivers. As a conquest vehicle, there are few better ways of introducing first-time customers to BMW driving dynamics than through a novel, brightly-colored compact SAV in an otherwise bland market.
And perhaps, just as the 2002 introduced the idea of a grocery-getter that could be fun to drive, the X2—with its liftgate, C-pillar roundels, usable interior, and punchy character—will do the same for the the crossover.
For even more driving impressions of the X2, watch for the upcoming X2 story in Roundel magazine.—David Rose
