BMW is getting a bit out of hand with niche vehicles for paper-thin customer segments. Just the current BMW lineup as it stands is obnoxiously crowded. Does the BMW X2 really need to exist? Really, though? And that’s coming from someone who actually likes driving the X2. However, it seems as BMW could be going niche-slicing once again and is creating yet another crossover but one that’s even smaller than the X2, called the BMW Urban X.
What’s happening in Munich? Is there something in the water?
According to this report from Auto Express, BMW is looking to create yet another tiny SUV to sit underneath the X2, in an attempt to capitalize on the crossover explosion. At first glance, that makes a bit of sense; crossovers are supremely popular, so why not make more, right? However, looking closer, it starts to seems ridiculous.
This new Urban X baby SUV is supposed to be around 4.2-meters long, which would put it in line with cars like the Audi Q2. But what’s interesting is that BMW already makes a car like that — the X2. The BMW X2 is 4,360 mm long, which is only 160 mm longer than the Q2. So it’s not as if the X2 is some enormous SUV that can’t compete with the baby-Audi.
Also, if the BMW Urban X is going to be smaller than the X2, why not just make it a hatchback, as that’s what the X2 basically is at this point anyway? Oh wait, BMW already has a hatchback in Europe, the 1 Series. It’s also front-wheel drive-based, just like the X2 and this upcoming Urban X. Is there really a niche of customers in between the 1 Series and the X2? I want to meet the person who feels a 1 Series is too small but an X2 is too big. And then I want to take their driver’s license away and lock them in a facility for the criminally deranged.
Then there’s the name — “Urban X”. While that’s not the official name of the car, because it’s not even an official project at the moment, it’s said to be the frontrunner among BMW execs if the car is made. Sure, there would be some PR-spun answer as to why the name changed from BMW’s traditional system but, let’s face it, it’d be because BMW ran out of numbers for ‘X’ models. What else would it be called, the BMW X1.5? X2-Lite? Diet-X? I can do this all day.
Now, we’ve reached out to our sources and they have not confirmed such a car is in the works. So we’re not sure if this is true or not. To be honest, our sources actually say this isn’t actually a thing. So maybe BMW isn’t so crazy after all.
[Source: Auto Express]
