Looking back at the original BMW X2

Automotive cynics had their sharpened quills ready when BMW launched its first X2 in 2018.

There were certain gimmicks about the package that might have prompted a scoff or three.

Essentially, the X2 took the same front-wheel drive ingredients of the X1, squeezing them into a far less practical body format. It was billed as a “sports-activity coupé” — to use company parlance.

BMW was pandering to a more youthful market — and given that brief, the boffins tasked with conceptualisation were allowed to colour outside the margins.

So they gave it roundels on the C-Pillars, nodding to the 2000CS, a sporting coupé which had nothing to do with the X2 lineage-wise.

It proved to be a novel design cue though — just like how the original BMW M1 had a tailgate flanked by two emblems.

At the front, the X2 wore a furrowing gaze, with angry headlamps and a grille arrangement that laid claim to a rather peculiar “first” where BMW was concerned.

The kidneys were upside-down, with the trapezoidal shape widening from top to bottom.

“This is the first time this design detail has seen the light of day on a modern BMW,” noted the press release.

Though the X2 might have been met with scepticism, it proved to be an endearing little thing, with a clear appeal to trendy individualists who might have found BMW prospects too straight-cut and serious.

We attended the global launch of the model, hustling it through some twisty asphalt during wet, rainy weather at the tail-end of winter in Lisbon.

When it landed in Mzansi, the model range consisted of the sDrive18i, sDrive20i and xDrive20d.

The sDrive18i could be had with a manual or Steptronic, while the other two were exclusively Steptronic.

By default, the M Sport package was fitted to all models, with a more expressive M Sport X package available optionally.

At launch in March 2018, you would have paid R570,700 for a manual sDrive18i. The sDrive20i cost R642,200 and the most expensive xDrive20d with the M Sport X package went for R722,600. Seems steep even by current standards — but when it comes to niche, premium products, you are always going to have to pay to play.

BMW might have pushed it a little too much with the pricing of the more potent X2 derivative, however. Nobody expected it to be cheap. But at R815,172 (base), most buyers found the M140i for similar money a lot more compelling. After all, that wielded six cylinders (versus the four-cylinder unit of the M35i), delivering a better soundtrack and sharper dynamics.

The original M35i did provide the canvas for a unique limited-run model that unintentionally paid homage to our national rugby team.

It was called the GoldPlay Edition, boasting matte paint finishes complemented by gold-hued accents. In the shade of San Remo Green, complemented by the “galvanic gold” elements, it truly looked like a Springbok special.

The M35i GoldPlay Edition came to market in 2022 and carried a price of R960,481. It could rank among the rarest of BMW models ever offered in the country. Whether that is worth bragging about in this instance, is debatable.

Last week the new X2 was launched in the country. Drawing on the strengths of the impressive U11 generation X1, the latest iteration of the X2 seems like a more polished offering. In the process of growing up though, it shunned two of the elements that defined its forebear: no more C-pillar roundels and upside-down kidneys.

In time, some cars become coveted for the unconventional traits that landed them criticism in the first place. Think of the oddball Z3 M coupé — or more modestly, the E46 325ti Compact.

Sold in low volumes, with a persona that was against the usual BMW grain, the original X2 might have potential for modern classic status.