After putting 130k miles on a 2014 BMW X1, my sister and brother-in-law decided it was time for a new car. For its last 20k miles, the X1 hit them with frequent maintenance and breakdowns, so they decided to reset the clock with a low-mileage second-hand SUV.
Enter today’s 18k-mile BMW X2, which Emily and Karl recently purchased for $33k. Like the X1 it replaces, it seats five and hauls a good load of luggage, but it drives with pizzazz that is uncommon for an SUV.
This afternoon is my first meeting of the orange whip. From the driver’s seat, the X2 is familiar in all the good ways. As an X2 M35i, Emily and Karl’s X2 gets a souped-up motor and all the M Sport goodies. My hands caress the M Sport steering wheel with metal shift paddles as I settle into the supremely comfortable M Sport seat. This seat is familiar from my German BMW M2 rental, and it has excellent lumbar support and affectionate torso bolsters.
Looking around the cabin, I quickly conclude that the X2 is an SUV in name only: my seat is hardly lifted off the ground, and the vehicle has the tidy dimensions and low sight lines of a hatchback or wagon!
My brother-in-law Karl is my navigator. He buckles into the front right seat and starts Apple CarPlay. The small iDrive touchscreen illuminates with directions; we’ll be taking a lap around Upper Manhattan. The display looks tiny by 2026 standards, but it is clear to read and easy to reach. On the dashboard, below the screen, are rows of HVAC and radio controls. I won’t have to interact with iDrive to change the cabin temperature or defrost the window.
I adjust the mirrors and glance around. My forward visibility is good, but the X2’s pinched rear end restricts my over-the-shoulder sight.
Karl’s Big Apple lap starts with a jaunt down Harlem River Drive, a dash across Central Park on 96th Street, and then a sprint north on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The route is our best chance for some moderate-speed laughs, but it’s Friday afternoon, so we are rolling the dice with weekend traffic.
The few blocks of surface streets and Harlem River Drive itself prove that the X2’s suspension is sport-tuned. (M Sport tuned, to be exact.) The tight springs and dampers render a jolting ride over the weather-worn roads. I find myself dodging potholes and drainage grates on Harlem River Drive to save my spine and the car’s alloy wheels. The X2’s accurate steering and tidy width let me dance around the obstacles, but when I miss, I’m punished with a sharp kick in the ass.
The X2’s steering has a well-measured pace—it’s quick enough to be sporty but not overly twitchy at highway speeds. As a steering snob, I’m half happy with the fingertip feedback: the leather-wrapped rim clearly communicates bump impacts, but road surface textures are muted.
Traffic on Harlem River Drive checks our pace as we head toward 96th Street. The ten minutes of driving are what I need to acclimate to the X2 M35i’s touchy brakes. I learn to gently work the pedal, avoiding ham-footed inputs that generate unduly strong woah-downs and toss Karl into his seatbelt.
The cross-city transit on 96th Street lacks dynamic interest, but it does let me enjoy the music. Karl is streaming tunes from his phone, and the X2’s base stereo sounds great, clearly separating the vocals from the instrumental track.
Once we make it to Manhattan’s western edge, we turn onto the Henry Hudson Parkway. At first, the parkway is clogged with stop-and-go traffic, but once we clear the culpable car crash, I have a chance to stretch the X2 M35i’s legs.
The X2 M35i uses a tuned-up version of BMW’s 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder that flexes with 302 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque, which is a healthy chunk of horsepower for this plus-sized hot hatch. The first time I flatten the accelerator, the X2 bolts like a steam-scalded rat. Thanks to the X2’s AWD, the power is put down cleanly without a hint of torque steer.
Car and Driver clocked the 3739-lb X2 M35i at 4.5s from 0 to 60 mph, and my inaccurate, seat-of-the-pants evaluation backs that up. When running hard at the redline, the hard-thrusting four-banger makes fruity sounds that are reminiscent of my old 2016 Focus RS.
To my delight, the Henry Hudson Parkway offers a few twists for me to attack with gusto in the X2. The car has a grounded poise and level body control; it feels ready for a track day!
Actually, track time would be revealing. Today’s turns don’t let me probe the lateral limits, so I can’t explore the X2’s balance. So far as I can tell at a 6/10ths pace, the X2 has a neutral front-to-rear balance, and jumping on the throttle won’t help the SUV pivot out of a corner. The X2 lacks the trick AWD torque vectoring found in the Focus RS and VW Golf R. My best guess is that the Bimmer has front-biased AWD dynamics.
Karl encourages me to flex the little flappy paddles on the back of the steering wheel. When I do, I find the Aisin eight-speed automatic to be on point. There is no shift shock between gears, and the paddle response is prompt. While the Aisin transmission doesn’t get the same recognition as the ZF eight-speed, both boxes mate well to performance applications.
My test drive is over as quickly as it began. After street parking the X2 in Upper Manhattan, I try out the back seats to see how practical the little punter is. The back seats surprise me with comfortable legroom behind Karl, who unnecessarily slides his seat forward, turning my inch of clear knee room into two. The ceiling is just high enough to avoid tousling my hair, though I could crack my cranium if the X2 were driven over a big bump. The X2’s high rear beltline pinches the rear windows, so I find the back seat claustrophobic until we open the sunroof shade and let in the light.
My last point of inspection is the X2’s trunk. It is reasonably sized, and under the floor is a hidden cavity that can swallow a lightly-packed backpack or two.
My sister and brother-in-law use the orange X2 as their only car, an occasional city runabout and a frequent weekend whip. For these needs, it is an excellent choice, as it is easy to pack, drive and park. Its only drawback is its thumping tight ride!
I love that the X2 M35i is fruity and fun. For young professionals who frequently haul luggage and occasionally haul ass, the X2 M35i fits the bill.
Mike's Steering Column 