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When BMW first began building front-wheel-drive platform vehicles like the X1, X2, and 2 Series Gran Coupe, traditional enthusiasts lost their minds about the brand diluting itself. We had a more positive outlook on the situation, hoping BMW might build cars that feel like a more luxurious Volkswagen Golf GTI or R. Sadly, the previous X2 wasn’t that; it rode firmly, but the steering felt dead. Sure, the X2 was relatively quick in a straight line, but it wasn’t anything close to an M car.
This new X2 fixes a lot of what we disliked from the last one. The steering is far more precise without getting much heavier, meaning it now feels more like a hot hatchback than ever before. Fake noise aside, the M35i powertrain is punchy unless you happen to catch it in a high cruising gear. Pulling the left paddle shifter activates a boost mode that triggers the lowest available gear and unleashes max power for a few seconds – a useful feature for urgent passing situations. Though the DCT rips off shifts quickly, there seems to be a delay between pulling the paddle and the gear change. We prefer leaving the transmission in automatic mode where it could manage itself with more grace.
In moving closer to a hot hatch formula, BMW stiffened the ride to the point where it’s uncomfortable. We drove it over some Portuguese streets with rougher surfaces, and the M adaptive suspension bounced us all over the place. If you live somewhere with smooth roads, it should be ok, but the X2 is not a soft vehicle.
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