Redesigned BMW X2 aces Insurance Institute's safety tests

The newly redesigned 2024 BMW X2 sport utility vehicle, which is slightly beefier than the prior model and features some more advanced technology, has earned the Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The agency said that the SUV, which went on sale recently with a base MSRP of $42,995 including destination, received good ratings for crashworthiness and crash avoidance.

IIHS rates vehicle performance on a scale of poor, marginal, acceptable or good. To qualify as a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn good ratings in two frontal crash tests and a side impact test. The vehicle’s standard headlights across all trim levels must also rank as acceptable or good, and the vehicle has to offer a forward collision avoidance system that rates acceptable or good in a pedestrian detection test. The X2 won top marks in each test.

The X2 isn’t yet eligible for the agency’s Top Safety Pick+ award because it hasn’t undergone the updated moderate overlap test, a new procedure that includes a dummy in the seat behind the driver, The higher-tier award requires a good or acceptable rating in that test.

The X2, sometimes referred to as a “baby X4,” has grown larger and heavier — by about 300 pounds — than the previous generation. It comes in two flavors, as the xDrive28i or the M35i xDrive. The former’s powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, while the M Performance model increases horsepower to 309 hp. A seven-speed dual-clutch with a built-in limited-slip differential is on board.

By the way, the new X2, built in Germany, also provides the platform for Mini’s new Countryman four-door.