Europe Is Lucky: America Is Only Getting Half of 2024 BMW X2 Powertrains and No iX2

Look, I get it that if you're a diehard BMW fan, these quirky designs will have little to no consequence. But my main issue with their current styling is that it's highly convoluted and doesn't follow a trend – it's as if every model's team were locked in a vault, and the bosses only gave them instructions to make them stand out in a crowd, any crowd, even the outrageous ones.

Then, all communication was cut short until the moment of release when they would see how their models fared compared to others in the family – that's why we have a Minecraft-like M2, the M3, and M4 with double-coffin vertical grilles, the iX as something that barely looks like a crossover SUV, the latest 5 Series and first i5 feeling a lot less thrilling. In comparison, the 7 Series, i7, X7, and XM are otherworldly.

Now, there's also the new BMW X2 joining the franchise as a second-generation model that exaggerates all of the previous model's characteristics with no regard for any sense of fashion or sensibility. It will be hard to overlook, but are we sure that we need everyone to make fun of us when passing along? Anyway, that's just my opinion; beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

So, I will not hold a grudge against anyone who jumps with joy thinking the all-new 2024 BMW X2 is their next compact coupe-SUV crossover. However, I must disappoint you – especially if you live in America or Canada and planned to look the part on the 'cheap.' That's because I decided to compare the European and North American versions for a minute – and that yielded exciting results.

First and foremost, the Old Continent's BMW X2 is available with both petrol and diesel engines – sDrive18d (148 hp) is the only option for the latter, followed by the three-cylinder sDrive20i with MHEV for 168 hp, as well as the X2 M35i xDrive rocking a 2.0-liter four-pot with 296 horsepower. Then there's also the first-ever iX2 xDrive30, which acts as the de facto flagship in Europe.

Its dual electric motors provide a combined output of 308 hp 494 Nm (364 lb-ft), allowing a sprint to 100 kph (62 mph) in 5.6 seconds, a top speed of 180 kph (112 mph), and a 64.8-kWh battery pack gives an estimate of 417 – 449 kilometers (259 – 279 miles) for the range, albeit in the milder WLTP cycle. However, in America and Canada, only two options are available, and also, there's no word about the iX2 for the market launch programmed next spring (March 2024), so we might just treat it as forbidden fruit.

On the other hand, at least the customers across the big pond (aka the Atlantic Ocean) are getting marginally stronger performance from the X2 xDrive28i and their version of the X2 M35i xDrive. Both share the 2.0-liter four-pot and AWD, but one is rocking 241 hp (zero to 60 mph/96 kph in 6.2 seconds), and the other flaunts 312 hp to make it the fastest of the bunch.