She said she didn’t want an SUV, but who doesn’t want an SUV?
Sport utility vehicles, crossovers, sport activity vehicles, and other variants of the high-riding 5-door vehicle class have all but closed the coffin lid on sedans.
Why buy a 4-door low-riding sedan with a traditional trunk if you can get a roomier cabin with a view that can also haul your Costco treasures with less fuss?
I thought everyone, and I mean everyone, was eschewing sedans for sport utes and crossovers. Everyone, apparently, except for a friend who said she was interested in purchasing our 2013 Subaru Legacy after I mentioned it was for sale. Well, either that or she wants to wait for a new car she just heard is coming down the pipe: a brand new just-announced BMW X2.
The X2 will be one of those cars that’s hard to justify. Why does this thing exist? It’ll be much smaller than the X5, and believe it or not, it will be even slightly smaller than the diminutive X1. Performance won’t be anything to write home about, but should be acceptable for such a small vehicle. MotorTrend says,
Under the hood, the X2 gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Matched with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive, BMW says the X2 hits 60 mph in 6.3 seconds. BMW might offer a more powerful engine in the future, but for now, it appears the X2 xDrive28i will be the only one you can buy. And although 18-inch wheels are standard, 19-inch rims are available, as well.
Pricing for the new X2 hasn’t been announced yet, so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares with the slightly larger $33,750 X1.
BMW says the X2 is a “sport activity vehicle,” or SAV, but it sure looks a heckuva lot like a traditional small crossover. Regardless, it’ll probably sell even though it’s in direct competition with the X1 and straddles the line somewhere between crossover and sedan.
Which brings us back to the Subaru. My friend is genuinely interested in replacing her old Volkswagen with an X2 or my pre-owned Legacy. Aside from the fact that the Subaru will cost her at least half of what she’d plunk down on a new BMW, the all-wheel-drive sedan might be the better bet. At least it knows what it’s trying to be and does so with uncompromising style.
Will your next new vehicle be a sedan or an SUV?
-tgriffith
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