BMW X2 review: New SUV delivers on every level from sumptuous interiors to great styling

WHAT would Henry Ford make of the modern car industry if we could attach jump leads to his nipples and re- animate him for a day?

He gave the world its first mass-produced car in 1908 — the Ford Model T — and famously said drivers could have it in any colour they wanted, “so long as it’s black”.

More than a century on, the choice on offer is mind-boggling.

A while back, Audi vowed to have 60 different models on offer by the year 2020.

SIXTY. Nuts.

BMW isn’t far behind and there is a reason for that.

The brand-new BMW X2 is a perfect illustration.

More than 80 per cent of cars here are bought on personal- contract-purchase finance deals, or PCP.

At the end of the three or five-year payment plan, we have the option of buying the car outright or rolling into a new PCP deal with the same manufacturer.

Most of us opt for the latter. Naturally, we want to try another model or upgrade.

Enter the X2, plugging the gap between the X1 and X3.

Everyone is at it. The Audi A7 offers an alternative to the A5 and A6, while the VW Arteon is a reskinned VW Passat. You get the idea.

BMW reckons the X2 will shift 6,000 units a year in Britain — not too shabby for a car starting at around the £30,000 mark.

Built on the same platform as the X1, the X2 offers similar dimensions with a sexier, sleeker image, as the X6 is to the X5.

From the side you could almost split the car in two with a line through the middle.

From the bottom to the window line, it is full-on SUV, with gaping wheel arches and protective plastic trim. But then it gives way to a sports coupe design, all sweeping lines and sculpted bodywork.

It is a handsome thing . . . until you look at it from behind, where BMW’s designers can’t stop it looking like a boxy crossover.

In fairness, that is probably an impossible task on a car like this.

The X2 drives nicely for a crossover, though.

It doesn’t quite boast the hot-hatch handling BMW claims.

It is floaty over high-speed bumps and wallows ever so slightly on harder lock.

But it grips like a baby’s finger when you wind it on and never questions your confidence in fast bends.

That is thanks in part to BMW’s XDrive system, which powers the back wheels only when traction starts to slip, keeping down fuel consumption with default front-wheel drive mode on calm Tarmac.

The coupe styling compromises your visibility somewhat.

The windows in the back are narrow and the A-pillar at the front seems excessively chunky and intrusive on the driver’s view.

But the sumptuous interior is bristling with tech, using BMW’s superb ConnectedDrive system, and the boot is a respectable 470 litres.

Option it in M Sport or M Sport X and you get BMW’s extra-trick suspension system thrown in.

BMW’s mission is to sell the X2 to younger, tech-savvy drivers and I am sure it will succeed. This is a fantastic all-round product in a growing segment of the market.

And the best thing about it? You can choose from ten colours, including two versions of black.

That alone would blow Henry Ford’s mind.