[TEST DRIVE] BMW ensures agile, fun ride with strategic X2 coupe SUV

BMW’s X2 compact SUV / Courtesy of BMW Korea

The BMW X2 compact SUV combines its iconic fun-to-drive parts with a sporty picture due to its modern coupe-style exterior design.

The posh carmaker’s iconic kidney grille has been upgraded with a mesh-type pearl gloss chrome end, giving the car a younger id.

On the perimeters of the car, the coupe-style design is now extra pronounced on the X2, with the roofline easily sloping down towards the rear. This creates a streamlined look, reinforcing its id as a sports activities exercise coupe.

The X2 returned final 12 months with the newest model, that includes a bigger physique dimension when it comes to size, width and peak in comparison with its predecessor. This helped drivers get pleasure from a extra spacious indoor expertise. The car’s cargo capability is 560 liters, which will be expanded to 1,470 liters when the second-row seats are folded.

The outside of the BMW X2 SUV / Korea Occasions picture by Lee Min-hyung

The X2 xDrive20i model was outfitted with the carmaker’s turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine. Since this mannequin shouldn’t be designed for high-performance driving, its preliminary acceleration was much less spectacular than anticipated.

Nevertheless, the car rapidly picked up velocity easily, permitting BMW followers to expertise its enjoyable driving id. With 204 horsepower, it will probably speed up from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 7.4 seconds, which is adequate for many metropolis driving and freeway circumstances in Korea.

When this reporter drove the car from Seoul to Gimhae, a metropolis in South Gyeongsang Province, its gasoline effectivity proved passable, reaching greater than 12 kilometers per liter for the spherical journey. The one-way distance between the 2 cities is roughly 380 kilometers.

The inside of the BMW X2 SUV / Korea Occasions picture by Lee Min-hyung

BMW Korea put in the nation’s hottest navigation app, Tmap, within the car for the primary time on this mannequin. This ensured a extra snug driving expertise, because the absence of home navigation software program has lengthy been cited as a key draw back of main imported luxurious automobiles in Korea.

It stays to be seen if demand for the car will be capable to counter the truth that the X4, a mid-sized coupe SUV, is being discontinued.

Prospects preferring a compact physique with stable driving efficiency will probably be glad with the X2, despite the fact that it nonetheless does not match the X4 when it comes to its extra rugged, masculine id.

The BMW X2 xDrive20i is priced at 68.3 million received ($47,200) right here.