Photo: SB-Medien
Mercedes is running away with the compact premium segment, but BMW has a harder time. The funky X2 crossover has barely found any fans, but is already being forced to adopt a new design language.
Our spies in Germany captured this test prototype at a gas station. It's wearing relatively light camo except for the grille, making the design changes easy to spot.
The biggest one has to be the double-kidney grille that appears to be growing larger. At the same time, the X2's headlights are going for a new hexagonal LED halo, both features being inspired by other BMW compact cars, such as the 2 Series Gran Coupe and 1 Series hatchback
Don't believe us? Well, these features have already been installed on the X2 xDrive25e plug-in hybrid that for some reason was allowed to jump the gun. Maybe BMW got tired of making infinite variations of designs and engines.
This particular prototype isn't the plug-in model, though. It's got the dual exhaust tips, usually found on the M Sport models. In addition, we don't see any charging ports.
Instead of more/new engines, we actually expect the updated X2 to offer less of them. In a recent statement, BMW announced it was reducing costs by cutting model variation, which in turn would allow them to focus on EVs. It estimates that about half of all its cars sold in Europe will be electrified by 2030.
For the mainstream X2 models, that probably means a 48V electrical system absorbing some of the lost energy during deceleration. The more popular versions, such as the 18d or 20d are likely to stick around, even though diesel engines come with a certain stigma.
The X2 occupies this strange space between a normal hatchback and a crossover. We predict that by the end of its life, the model will either have to change completely or be dropped. Last year, they shifted only 45,000 of these in Europe.
The biggest one has to be the double-kidney grille that appears to be growing larger. At the same time, the X2's headlights are going for a new hexagonal LED halo, both features being inspired by other BMW compact cars, such as the 2 Series Gran Coupe and 1 Series hatchback
Don't believe us? Well, these features have already been installed on the X2 xDrive25e plug-in hybrid that for some reason was allowed to jump the gun. Maybe BMW got tired of making infinite variations of designs and engines.
This particular prototype isn't the plug-in model, though. It's got the dual exhaust tips, usually found on the M Sport models. In addition, we don't see any charging ports.
Instead of more/new engines, we actually expect the updated X2 to offer less of them. In a recent statement, BMW announced it was reducing costs by cutting model variation, which in turn would allow them to focus on EVs. It estimates that about half of all its cars sold in Europe will be electrified by 2030.
For the mainstream X2 models, that probably means a 48V electrical system absorbing some of the lost energy during deceleration. The more popular versions, such as the 18d or 20d are likely to stick around, even though diesel engines come with a certain stigma.
The X2 occupies this strange space between a normal hatchback and a crossover. We predict that by the end of its life, the model will either have to change completely or be dropped. Last year, they shifted only 45,000 of these in Europe.
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