It’s subtle, but that action helps the car rotate through the corner. It’s distinctive, it’s a BMW, and it’s a crossover. The X2 gives the impression that it’s a great $40,000 compact crossover from a premium brand. It’s a glorious red orange hue that pops against any contrasting exterior color. Though it’s the same basic 2.0-liter turbocharged unit the other models use, every major component was massaged and tweaked. Instead, the engine is a turbocharged 2-liter rated at 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It has a 301-horsepower turbocharged engine, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive by selecting the xDrive28i raises the table stakes to $38,400. The 2020 BMW X2 xDrive28i looks a bit like a car and its lower driving position is similar to that of a car, so it shouldn't be surprising that it also drives more like a car than an SUV.
All in all, the X2 is just an OK SUV. Yes, the 2020 BMW X2 is a fine luxury subcompact SUV. The controversy comes from that style, which certainly won't be for everyone, and that, importantly, reduces the space and versatility many folks expect from an SUV. The X1 not only has more seating space and cargo room than the sleeker X2, but it offers similar equipment at a lower starting price. But choice isn’t really the reason to buy an X2, anyway. The X2 is new and exciting, but there's little reason to buy it instead of the top-ranking rivals in this segment. The BMW is a little longer, and therefore offers a couple more cubic feet of cargo room, both with the second row up or folded down. For example, the Volvo XC40 and the Audi Q3 both offer similar refinement and practicality but at a more affordable price point than the BMW.
That’s the one you’d have to pick to find parity with the way BMW equips the X2 xDrive28i. Rear visibility is not very good, and that’s going to be baked in to every X2 until the styling changes. The 2020 X2 comes standard with a rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors, and the Active Driving Assistant package. Lane-departure warnings became standard equipment in 2018; in 2019, BMW's added standard automatic emergency braking. This suite includes forward collision warning, low-speed automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, automatic high-beam headlights, and road sign recognition. You can then add forward and reverse parking sensors, adaptive cruise, frontal-collision warning, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beam control, speed-limit recognition, and automatic emergency braking. You can add adaptive cruise control on top of this bundle for another $1,000. It includes a head-up display, real-time traffic information, navigation, touchpad control for the iDrive system, heated steering wheel, and remote services.
The base configuration starts off with 18-inch wheels, LED headlights with cornering lights, LED fog lights, 10-way power front seats, leatherette upholstery, a 7-speaker, 205-watt sound system, a power tailgate, keyless start, and automatic climate control. It receives power from a tweaked version of the base trim's 2.0-L engine. The end result is an engine that delivers a stout 306 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, which is more power than the BMW’s larger inline-6 engines were making a few years ago. In BMW tradition, the X2 is a sleeker, stylized version of the more formal X1 crossover. Acceleration from a stop is a little underwhelming, but the X2 feels more confident as you get up to highway speeds or when you want to make passing or merging maneuvers. It feels strong because the full amount of torque peaks early and remains available across a wide range of engine speeds. BMW claims it to have the brand’s most powerful inline 4-cylinder engine yet.
