Remember the BMW X2? No, nor us. Suppose we got a bit distracted by the furore over the iX and 4 Series' ugly conks that we just plum forgot about BMW's attractive, pricey, compact SUV (we're probably supposed to call it a 'Coupe-SAV' at the point but, erm... no).
Grille lifted from the M-Performance X2
Well, to give our collective memories a good old jog, BMW has created the X2 Mesh Edition, which essentially takes some of the styling tricks of the powerful X2 M35i model and applies them to models with more plebeian engines.
The main item on show is the mesh grille (hence the name) lifted more or less directly from the M-Performance model, and which BMW says "has a pronounced three-dimensional mesh inspired by racing cars" (hint: it will not make you go any faster).
To go with the grille (and what a delight it is to talk about a BMW grille without vomiting) the X2 Mesh Edition comes with exclusive inserts in the bumper trim, prominent cladding on the side skirts and door and the wheel arch trim in a new signature colour (Frozen Black-Brown, apparently). The Mesh Edition also comes as standard with a unique 19-inch bi-colour aerodynamic alloy wheel with black accents which can be upgraded to a 20-inch rim.
No chrome on the outside
The BMW Individual High-gloss Shadow Line comes as standard, so all of the exterior chrome is excised in favour of glossy black trim. The door mirrors come with puddle-light projectors, which shine an X2 logo onto the ground when the door is unlocked or opened at night.
Up front, the old foglights have been binned and replaced by new LED headlights, which include cornering function to light up the inside verge at night or in lousy weather. As an optional extra you can upgrade these lights to Matrix LED spec, with automatic sectional dimming of the high-beams.
Inside, you get M-Sport bucket seats, with integral headrests, in black Dakota Leather. There's grey contrast stitching everywhere, and aluminium plates on the doorsills. There's also an optional panoramic roof. The M leather steering wheel comes as standard, as does a car key featuring an exclusive M badge. Cars with a manual gearbox also have a gearshift lever with M badging. The interior trim strips are in Aluminium Hexagon Anthracite, the BMW Individual headliner in Anthracite.
Plug-in hybrid available
Engine-wise, you can pick from three diesel engines, three petrols and a plug-in hybrid. There's a choice of front or four-wheel drive, and manual or automatic gearboxes. The plug-in hybrid model offers as much as 56km of electric-only range but still has a healthy 220hp on offer.
There's a standard 8.8-inch iDrive infotainment screen, or you can upgrade that to a ten-inch system. It's controlled either by the traditional iDrive click wheel, voice control or using the touchscreen. If you go for the bigger screen, you also get a heads-up display and there's standard Apple CarPlay.
You can order you X2 Mesh Edition now, and Irish prices start from €47,577, or €48,452 on-the-road.