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The BMW X2 xDrive25e is a plug-in hybrid with a 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol engine together with an electric motor and battery providing up to 32 miles of electric range and the ability to deliver all-wheel drive.
BMW has a background in sports saloons with smooth six-cylinder engines, but like the rest of the car industry, it has brought SUVs to market to meet demand. The SUV sector has developed into its own niches, with the BMW X2 being a crossover version of the BMW X1 SUV. Now you can get a plug-in hybrid version of the X2, offering a potential saving on petrol costs if you can maximise electric driving.
The BMW X2’s crossover body style means that it looks more sporty than the X1 SUV, but that also means that it has less interior space. For example the X2 xDrive25e’s boot size is 410 litres (or 1,290 litres with the rear seats folded down) – this compares to 450 litres for the X1 PHEV. The dashboard retains the traditional BMW looks.
The BMW X2 xDrive25e has a 125hp 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol engine along with a 95hp electric motor powered by a battery, giving a total system power output of 220hp.
Colours other than the grey of our test car are available.
First impressions of the X2 xDrive25e will be reassuring to drivers of other BMWs. The familiar BMW interior features a thick-rimmed M Sport steering wheel, and you can get a good driving position.
The iDrive system allows the driver to control the infotainment system with the rotary dial between the seats and a collection of shortcut buttons. There’s a wide central screen which displays clear information.
There are separate physical controls for heating and ventilation and there’s even a rotary dial to adjust the cabin temperature, which works better than any on-screen temperature controls.
If you start the car and drive off without pressing any buttons you’ll be in Auto eDrive. This means that if you want responsive acceleration, the petrol engine can easily fire up. If you want to lock the powertrain on electric to avoid using the petrol engine you have to press the eDrive button for Max eDrive. Many people aren’t likely to be aware of this, especially when the car enters the second-hand market, meaning that they’re likely to miss out on maximising their electric driving, along with the resulting fuel, cost and emission savings. If you press the eDrive button a further time, the powertrain switches to Save, in other words the petrol engine fires up again.
‘Save’ mode in the X2 just saves the battery charge, whereas in some other BMWs you have the (more complicated) option to set the percentage of battery charge you want the battery to retain.
There’s also a drive mode switch giving the options of Comfort or Sport, and there’s an option for Eco Pro.
The gear selector offers ‘M’ or ‘S’; there’s no ‘B’ setting on the gearbox for increased brake regeneration, and no steering wheel-mounted paddles.
If you’re driving locally on electric power then the X2 xDrive25e feels like an electric car – with quick responses to accelerator inputs, with progress in near-silence and with good levels of refinement. However there’s not much character in the driving experience.
If you drive the X2 xDrive25e on petrol, then the 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre engine is reasonably quiet at low revs, but noisy at high revs, and it certainly doesn’t make the pleasant noise of a BMW 6-cylinder engine.
You also miss out on the rewarding handling of a rear-wheel drive 3 Series. The ‘x’ in the X2 xDrive25e model name signifies all-wheel drive, but the X2 feels more like a front-wheel drive car at most times. This is because the 125 hp 3-cylinder petrol engine delivers torque to the front wheels and the 95 hp electric motor powers the rear wheels, with the ability to provide all-wheel drive when needed.
The ride is also quite firm, but the main issue that we experienced with the X2 was that a lot of road noise was evident in the cabin, particularly on certain surfaces at motorway speeds.
The BMW X2 xDrive25e has an official 32 mile electric range and official WLTP combined fuel economy of 156.9-166.2 mpg. The maximum electric range that we experienced in real-world driving was 28 miles, and after a week of mixed driving (with 80% of mileage on long journeys) the average fuel economy was 47.1mpg.
The charging time for the X2 xDrive25e from 0-100% using a 3.7 kW/16 A BMW i Wallbox is 3.2 hours.
The BMW X2 xDrive25e M Sport 1.5i PHEV costs £43,665, however our test car had a number of options including ‘Storm Bay’ paint (£595), leather interior (£1,150), Comfort Pack (£850), Technology Pack 1 (£900), Technology Pack 2 (£1,250), Aluminium roof rails (£245) and Panoramic Glass Sunroof (£1,000), taking the total price to £49,655.
The BMW X2 is available with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains. Trim levels consist of Sport, M Sport and M35i.
The BMW X2 xDrive25e looks good (although in our opinion it looks better in colours other than the grey of our test car) and the interior is reassuringly very BMW-like. The whole point of the plug-in hybrid powertrain is to offer the potential of good economy and low emissions. If you can drive the X2 xDrive25e primarily on electric power, using petrol for just occasional longer journeys, then it could make sense. However the X2 doesn’t deliver the rewarding handling that BMWs are known for, the ride is firm, the petrol engine is noisy when pushed, and there can be a lot of road noise at motorway speeds. The BMW X2 xDrive25e gains a Green Car Guide rating of 7/10.
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