2017 BMW X2 teased ahead of Paris motor show debut

A concept for the 2017 BMW X2 will be revealed at the Paris motor show tomorrow, and BMW has released a single teaser image of the SUV onto Twitter.

Bold new BMW X2 small SUV revealed

The concept will influence a production model that will go on sale during the latter half of 2017, officials from the German car maker have revealed. So far, only development versions of the X2 have been seen.

Sister model to the recently introduced second-generation BMW X1, the X2 will become the sixth SUV model to join the BMW line-up and the second to be based on its highly versatile UKL platform – the same structure that underpins the upcoming second-generation Mini Countryman, which is also planned to get its first public airing at the Paris motor show. 

The X2 will rival the Range Rover Evoque, and will be priced from around £30,000. It has been conceived as a sporting alternative to the X1 in much the same way the X4 provides a more dynamic take on the BMW X3 and the BMW X6 acts as a more performance orientated option to the BMW X5.

BMW marketing insiders say the X2 is intended to appeal to buyers who may have traditionally opted for a sporting hatchback yet seek the added security of the high seating position offered by an SUV.

The new X2 is described as being “more adventurous” in appearance than that of the smartly styled X1, despite the two sharing the same basic structural hard points.

Prototypes seen testing revealed that the production version of the X2 has a bluff front end dominated by a large kidney shaped grille and heavily profiled bonnet – a look largely shared with the X1.

Further back, the new BMW boasts a more heavily raked windscreen and significantly lower roofline than its mechanically identical sibling, giving it a more sporting profile.

The flanks are characterized by shapely front fenders and a prominent swage line running from the edge of the headlamps all the way through to the forward point of the tail lamps, while the rear features a hatchback-style tailgate that features a separate opening rear window for ease of loading in tight space.   

Inside, the X2 shares its dashboard and cabin appointments with the second-generation X1. Despite similar dimensions, the new X2 will not offer quite the same accommodation or luggage capacity, because in part to its lower roofline and more heavily angled tailgate.  

As with the X1, the new X2 will offer a range of transversely mounted four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.

Included in the launch line-up will one petrol variant in the form of the  X2 xDrive20i, which runs a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine delivering 189bhp. It will be joined by three diesels all powered by BMW’s widely used turbocharged 2.0-litre diesel: the X2 xdrive18d with 148bhp, the X2 xDrive20d with 187bhp and the X2 xDrive25d with 227bhp.