Hello and welcome to another review. Today, I’ll be showing you why the BMW X2 M35i is the one of the newest cars to receive the M badge and why it deserves this honour.
The BMW M badge, we’ve seen it on so many cars throughout the years. Some have been good and some not so good! Of late, BMW have been using the M35i badge on their slightly diluted M cars but it is still an M badge nonetheless so can this X2 live up to the title?
First Impressions
Onto the car, it is the all new BMW X2 M35i and unlike M35is of old, this one doesn’t have a straight six in the front and rear wheel drive! Instead, it gets a 2L turbo engine and BMW’s X-drive four wheel drive system. it doesn’t sound all that exciting but oh, it is! The X2 sits between the X1 and the X3 in the BMW range and it’s sightly more fluid looking than the two traditional SUVs. However, this M35i model is further lowered so it’s almost like a slightly large hot hatch.
No shortage of M touches on the exterior
Since this is the M version of the X2, it gets a plethora of M badges on the exterior. There are two on either side of the front plus an M35i badge on the back. There’s also M badges on the painted blue brake calipers. And with the X2, there are two BMW badges on either side of the rear pillars. The M35i is visibly lower than the standard X2 and has a more aggressive nose plus a slightly larger spoiler on the tailgate. It also gets two proper exhausts on the rear which emit actual noise and fumes, mmmm!
Typical BMW on the inside
The interior is stereotypical BMW. The gearknob, the centre console, the i drive system, the instruments. They’re all taken from other models in the BMW range but I’m not complaining because they are functional and feel premium. There’s not much in here to remind you that you’re driving an M car. There’s one M badge on the steering wheel and small blue coloured labels on the seats. Generally, most of the cabin is soft touch barring a few harder plastics on the bottom of the door and centre console. Sound deadening is also quite good which means you can enjoy the excellent Harman Kardon audio system even more!
THE VERDICT
The X2 M35i handles like a hot hatch, it’s very agile and the x drive (4wd) system ensures that most of the 300hp is transferred to the road. The car is great to drive but rather quiet for an M car, which means you lose the rev noise after a certain point. The 2L turbo is very punchy and there’s no shortage of room on the interior as well. Great daily driver.
The new BMW X2 M35i gives you the raised driving position of an SUV with hot hatch performance though it doesn’t feel ‘M’ enough for me.
The BMW X2 M35i gets a 8/10 from me
Thanks for reading! I hope you learnt something new about this X2 M35i.
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