Depending on your point of view, the new BMW X2 is either a handsome, sporty crossover, or another letdown from the once-mighty Bavarian carmaker, which has in the past decade taken to slapping the “coupe” moniker on slightly sleeker, but still 4-door versions of its mainstream models in an effort to attract style-conscious buyers. Personally, I think BMW’s strategy is a sound one, since once you get past the misleading “coupe” moniker the cars can be quite appealing stylistically (yes, I in fact like the X6, albeit only the Mk I).
Which is all the more disappointing that the X2 looks so much like the new Hyundai i30/Elantra GT from the rear. On one hand one has to applaud BMW for giving its stylist more freedom in recent years to move away from its stock design elements, but on the other you have to wonder whether the end-product really had to come out looking so much like a Hyundai? Now, don’t get me wrong – the rear of the i30 Mk III is its most (only?) alluring part, but the similarities between it and the premium BMW surely don’t do the latter any good. Just look at the shape of those lights, the narrow and negatively cambered piece of bodywork between the lights, proudly displaying the brands’ logos, the back-and-forth folds of the surfaces below the lights (complete with small, distinct lights below the second fold), and the low-mounted license plate. The X2 luckily looks nothing like the i30 from the front or the sides (where it is, instead, reminiscent of the Jeep Cherokee), but in the end you have to wonder – with BMW strong visual identity to build on, is this the best that BMW’s stylists could have come up with?
