[zbjay551]

This has to be one of the best driving vehicles I have ever owned. I ordered my X2M at the end of February and it took only two months from production start to delivery in Colorado. My impressions are highly positive, I drive the car over a mountain pass on a regular basis which brings out the nature of this car…

One of the major achievements on this model is the torque distributing front differential and given how this is a primary front end driven car I had great trepidations that torque steer would raise it’s ugly head and ruin a great driving experience. The local pass is one vertical mile and 17 miles of sweepers, and hairpins often requiring first gear to negotiate the many twists and turns…

One particular hairpin is a very steep and very hard right, the X2 provides clean balanced cornering from the entire car which a noticeable lack of any torque steer. Acceleration is amazing as all 300 horses move a light car very quickly through the quickly shifting, automatic 8 gear Aisin trans...

It has a great feel and I have an appointment for track day at the High Plains Raceway (Colorado) to check out times and high speed performance...

I have seen some critique that the dash is old school and not digital. Personally I am not ready for a digital dash and I really like the simplicity of the BMW architecture. ie a Porsche Macan is loaded with switches all of which gather dirt, require cleaning and are subject to eventual mechanical failure...

The BMW architecture is based on computer displays with far fewer switches and levers leaving a fairly simple driving interface. I really appreciate the interior because it is tells you what you need to know and that information can be easily programmed either through the iDrive or BimmerCode (Bimmer code Xpert mode will allow quite a bit of additional customization)...

All in all I think it is an amazing vehicle that is frequently overlooked because it lacks blind spot, crosstraffic and in the case of my new M35, a dam compass on the rear view mirror! BMW needs to take this car seriously. The X2 M35 drives and performs like the old M3’s only stickier (AWD).

The current 3 bears little resemblance to the mighty machines of old and while it is hard to argue with outstanding performance I still find it more exciting to throw a smaller (3700 lbs) weight around the track when there are 301 horses pulling all four wheels around a turn...

The X2M shares many of the specs and shares the excitement of the M3 in the days of old (E46?)…

[pnwsnowbimmer]

Congrats on the new car - and nice pictures. I've recently picked one up too (Storm Bay as well).

I completely agree regarding the dash. Yes - fewer electronics, but feels sportier than the full electronic dash in an M340i for example. I think.

Anyway - congrats again and thanks for sharing this.

[Tarekith]

I was also very happy my M35 came with analog gauges too, just looks nicer IMO.

[//TMT]

The front LSD is what sold me on the car, too. It's a right-turn sniper!

[rounderman]

beautiful car. welcome to the club. it is a hoot to drive

[billnchristy]

Its limit of grip is bigger than my balls on twisty mountain roads.

[zbjay551]

Follow up... I have had my X2 M35 for a couple of months and I have had the chance to bond with the car and really enjoyed my trip from the Colorado mountains through Southern Utah to the West coast and up to Oregon and down through Glacier National Park and finally Yellowstone.

The car is amazing. As I am a backcountry rock climber I need a vehicle that will has a basic off road capability and I ski quite a bit so I need the 4 wheel traction for winter roads and finally I need a car I can track.

I can attest that this car does just fine on the easier 4 wheel drive roads and I don't expect much difference in winter performance from my X2 Xdrive which is excellent. Where the car excels is at the track. I can keep up with most of the other street vehicles on open lapping day but it is humbling to have a full race Porsche blast by.

In any event the x2 M35 performance at the track is exceptional, well balanced and surefooted and I haven't spun it yet...

Overall I am very impressed with my purchase, I don't miss the blind spot or cross traffic but the lack of a compass on the rear view mirror is ludicrous for a 55k vehicle. My opinion? My favorite car of all time already. It just fits and has insane acceleration and excellent handling at the track. As a road trip vehicle it is very comfortable and has an outstanding (Harman Kardon) sound system something I am fussy about. I'll probably keep this one for a while...

[Tarekith]

I'm like you and snowboard, mountain bike, and backpack a lot, needed a car that can handle a bit of off-road and still be fun to drive day to day. The M35 works so much better for that than I was expecting, it really goes a lot further off road than I thought I'd be comfortable taking a $50k BMW.

Plus I get to trailheads a lot quicker than I did with my Crosstrek, who would have guessed that?

[rice_rocket88]

Just seeing this post .. but out of curiosity, how many of us actually have a compass on the rear view mirror? I thought mine does.. I'll have to triple check later when I drive home. Mine is a 2019 model, so perhaps it just got eliminated later on. I honestly didn't even think it was an option (kind of like the garage door opener that's built into the mirror as well). Although I have heard on the older X1's or ones built in different countries both those two were options .

[rounderman]

I have a compass and garage door opener on my mirror, 2019. Looking at my window sticker it says the auto dimming interior mirror with universal garage door opener is standard. Not sure if the compass was part of the premium package (love the HUD)

[Tarekith]

I don't have the compass in my 2019 M35i, just the dimming mirror with the garage door opener.

[King_Leonard]

Originally Posted by zbjay551

Overall I am very impressed with my purchase, I don't miss the blind spot or cross traffic but the lack of a compass on the rear view mirror is ludicrous for a 55k vehicle.

If you really need a compass, you can split the navigation window and have a permanent compass on display.

[//TMT]

Not all X2's have Nav though. Is it possible the compass is enabled on the non-Nav cars?

I'm pretty sure it's a Gentex mirror, used on a zillion vehicles. The newer model Gentex mirrors have a compass indicator that shows through the silvering, instead of being in a little window. Might be possible to see this, with the right lighting angle, and perhaps enable it if so.

[rice_rocket88]

Nope, my car is fully loaded minus only the adaptive suspension, 20" wheels, roof rack, and wireless charger. There weren't a lot of tick marks for me on the build in general... I think they all mostly defaulted as on. I could only get the driving assist if I did not get the heated steering wheel..and I love my heated wheel!

And I do have the compass with the garage door opener on auto dimming rear view mirror.

[rounderman]

I have nav and adaptive suspension, park assist, roof rack, moon roof, and the center caps that self level. the roof rack and center caps were the compromise for not ordering and getting a dealer trade

[chowser51]

Mine has nav and the compass in the mirror. 1 is my garage door. 2 is my gf’s and 3 is my ex wife’s. My daughter’s Subaru has the mirror thing too and is programmed the same.

[adc]

I just got my new to me 2022 M35i this past weekend. It is extremely fun to drive as you all know, and you have to adapt the driving style to take advantage of the front LSD. I always like a challenge…


Is it fast though? I’ll put it into context. I’d say the X2 is quick. My M3 has 520 HP at the wheels, even more torque, and weighs under 3600 lbs. When unleashed, it is truly fast - and even more so on track.

I regularly pass what should be much faster machinery there, but I know that driver skill and commitment aren’t necessarily commensurate with the awesomeness of the car.

I’m convinced the X2 would work well on track with sticky tires and some race pads, and it would be a bit easier to drive, and cause some WTF moments for Porsche or Vette drivers. But ultimately the HP/weight/grip ratio isn’t there for it to be truly fast.

For instance, I’m running Hoosiers in 275/315 sizes on the M3, and I’ll switch to 295 square this summer. Camber is -3 F / -2 R with very stiff springs. You’d have to run more tire than this on the X2 given it’s heavier, and really wide tires would require different alignment and/or suspension geometry. You can see I’m giving this some thought…

Does that mean it isn’t an absolute hoot to drive? Of course not, I fell in love with it after driving just 50 yards.

I think it’s one of the best cars BMW has ever made, and I know this would be regarded as blasphemy in some circles. Couldn’t care less. I’ll just go for a drive tomorrow and have a blast.

[upheavel2602]

Congrats on the car, i also agree on the dash. Little bit dissapointing but the handling and accelerating compensate the dash

[Rich807]

Congrats. I dislike very much the current BMW digital dash in most of their stuff. Audi’s is WAY better IMO.

I’d much rather have what we have in the X2s vs the normal BWW digi dash.

Enjoy your car!!!