Photo: theophiluschin.com
Remember those ugly, small 3 Series variants called ‘Compact’ back in the 1990s and early 2000s? The ones that had their rear ends simply cut to make them smaller and more practical around town? Sure you do! That’s the kind of vibe we got when we saw the first BMW X2 renderings.
Done by automotive manipulator, Theophilus Chin, this is the closest guess yet regarding how the upcoming BMW X2 will look like. We’re not impressed.
Sure, we do get what BMW is trying to do here but, like some other useless niche cars we’ve seen lately, it’s not really doing it for us. We said the same thing about the X4 though, right before we reviewed it and we were impressed. Could its smaller brother be a similar, success story?
What do we know so far? The X2 will be the X1’s ‘Coupe’ brother. That means all of its underpinnings will be shared, including the front-wheel drive architecture and the engines. That means it will be a some kind of Paceman on stilts.
The MINI Paceman is dubbed by some as a Sport Activity Coupe even though it doesn’t have that impressive allure of an SUV it should. The X2 would solve that problem and will have a similar size, probably a little bigger.
So, the X2 will be a bigger Paceman with a higher ground clearance, the BMW looks (including all the trademark features like the kidney grilles and Hofmeister kink) and the same engines, ranging from 1.5-liter to 2-liter plants that will be making probably close to 300 HP on the most powerful version. Will it sell?
Well, the Paceman is already struggling but that is a different issue. In this case, most of its problems come from wearing the MINI badge on the bonnet and, let’s face it, there’s nothing ‘mini’ on the Paceman. Not even the headlights.
In BMW’s case, things would be different but then again, the X2 would appeal to an incredibly small niche. If in the case of the X1, going FWD will not make a huge difference because of all its other practical advantages, in the ‘Coupe’s’ case, there are few things left to attract customers. It would have to be drop-dead gorgeous and appeal to a new kind of owner that is new to the BMW brand as a whole. Hopefully, it will be a success.
Sure, we do get what BMW is trying to do here but, like some other useless niche cars we’ve seen lately, it’s not really doing it for us. We said the same thing about the X4 though, right before we reviewed it and we were impressed. Could its smaller brother be a similar, success story?
What do we know so far? The X2 will be the X1’s ‘Coupe’ brother. That means all of its underpinnings will be shared, including the front-wheel drive architecture and the engines. That means it will be a some kind of Paceman on stilts.
The MINI Paceman is dubbed by some as a Sport Activity Coupe even though it doesn’t have that impressive allure of an SUV it should. The X2 would solve that problem and will have a similar size, probably a little bigger.
So, the X2 will be a bigger Paceman with a higher ground clearance, the BMW looks (including all the trademark features like the kidney grilles and Hofmeister kink) and the same engines, ranging from 1.5-liter to 2-liter plants that will be making probably close to 300 HP on the most powerful version. Will it sell?
Well, the Paceman is already struggling but that is a different issue. In this case, most of its problems come from wearing the MINI badge on the bonnet and, let’s face it, there’s nothing ‘mini’ on the Paceman. Not even the headlights.
In BMW’s case, things would be different but then again, the X2 would appeal to an incredibly small niche. If in the case of the X1, going FWD will not make a huge difference because of all its other practical advantages, in the ‘Coupe’s’ case, there are few things left to attract customers. It would have to be drop-dead gorgeous and appeal to a new kind of owner that is new to the BMW brand as a whole. Hopefully, it will be a success.
Google News