Summarize

Call them what you like – stylish entry SUVs, chic crossovers or whatever, but a year ago there was not really a niche where these cars play today. The BMW X2 is unashamedly spun off the X1, which they call an SUV, but this one being a bit more stylish, is called a crossover, a term Jaguar and Volvo likewise use to describe their respective new E-Pace and XC40. To me the boundaries are a bit blurred, but let it be – meet the chic crossovers.

Some may say that Evoque was the first of this set, but that car fights in a niche above – this lot are basically Merc GLA rivals dressed up in party suits, while that Range Rover was more focussed on GLC & co. That niche – GLA, X1 and Q3 - is only a car generation (five years or so) old, but these cars are different again – they’re more style oriented and lean more toward what we used to call the yuppie. 

But the yuppies are all old and grey now, so let’s just say that this trio will satisfy the yuppies’ kids –  the born frees, millennials and that lesser-defined lot just before, all of whom are entering the market wanting a bit more from their kit. They want things that will stand them apart, better define them as a little more special and that’s what these cars do best. 

So much so, that BMW saw a need to tweak its X1 into this bronze X2 in an effort to stem the impending tide from the likes of Q2 to start with and now these two white upstarts. Neither Jaguar nor Volvo has played in this niche before – even as a plain Jane X1 or GLA rival, but bugger the feather – they’ve gone straight for the entire chicken and voila, here we have these new-fangled chic crossovers meet BMW X2, Jaguar E-Pace and Volvo XC40 – the stylish new chic crossovers, for want of a better description…

Whatever their inspiration, this lot is pretty well matched on paper. In fact, the BMW and the Volvo deliver all but carbon copies of each other’s specifications – the biggest difference being a 26cc discrepancy between them in cubic capacity, but from there both have 140 kilowatts at 4000rpm from their 2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engines and 400 Newton-metres starting at 1750rpm, although the BMW runs out a couple of hundred revs sooner.

The tangibles are just as close-matched – both have 8-speed autoboxes driving all four wheels and were this a lightweight bout they’d be in on the money at 1675kg for X2 and 1698kg for XC 40 at the scales. The Jaguar however makes considerably more power and torque from its similar-sized 2-litre turbodiesel with a beefy 177kW and 500Nm on tap. But somehow Coventry forgot to put E-pace on diet and it weighs in just as significant 250kg more than its comparably feathery rivals from Bavaria and Sweden. Either way, this is going to make for a pretty interesting time down the test strip…

There are however some pretty significant differences between this trio in the flesh and they stretch beyond pleasingly divergent design concepts for once. The BMW is for instance quite a bit shorter (in height) than the other two and also rides closer to the ground – pretty interesting in that it gets back to the argument of these things’ genre.

X2 is far more honest to its ‘crossover’ promise – less bulky, lower to the ground and closer to a mixture between an SUV and a car, whereas the others are far more SUV-like in their manner. Not that any of these will really ever be compelled to do much more than mount the pavement outside the away game school – they will damage those lovely shiny rims and those high-performance tyres do not at all appear to be ready for the mud plug either.

They could not appear more different if they tried – either the lower, flatter BMW is quite bland in appearance as it perhaps awkwardly tries to squeeze bits of CSL into something that will never really be a CSL. Still it’s pretty good looking for a Beemer and quite different too. 

The Jaguar is more of a tortoise on stilts – it makes no bones about trying to be a coupé and dare I say, it also struggles in a sense to push nuances likely born in the ‘60s E Type into something of a wannabe Land Rover. All that said, it’s exciting, edgy and certainly makes a statement.

XC40 is on the other hand quite understated – the reigning European Car of the Year is far more a work of Swedish simplicity than another ostentatious take on some old sportscar – it does not pretend to be anything else and simply goes about telling you it’s a Volvo first and foremost and it’s a crossover (or is that an SUV?) at that.

Step inside and there’s yet more differentiation between the trio. The BMW is very much a BMW – they tell us that this one steps out the box, which it may do very subtly, but rest assured it carries only the best of its brand forward. We were surprised that it lacked the likes of power seats and a few other tricks its rivals have, but overall its stylish and suave in there – superbly rendered and beautifully finished.

The Jaguar’s cabin is a bit of a disappointment – sure there’s plenty superbly stitched cow skin pulled tight over many square yards of cabin surface, the seats, the steering and the rest, but much of that butts up against plasticky finishes that reminded me a bit of my ’98 Impeza in part and Citi Golf in others. Jaguar is a premium car but there are too many aspects of its cabin that seem a little last season and even more obvious in this company.

The Volvo wins the cabin race hands down. I’m not a huge fan of touch screen interface for practical reasons, but XC40 is simply superb inside. It feels bigger and more spacious and they’ve made a huge effort to make this car feel and look like something so contemporary without going over the top or missing the point – a great effort all round.

We won’t go too far into the spec and the rest – the Volvo and the Jaguar offer several versions of this turbodiesel. So you’re spoiled for choice, the BMW less so, but it has a pretty lengthy options list you can tick away at, even if the Beemer does lack a little in standard spec.

All three are pretty special on the road. The X2 runs, feels and rides much like an X1, which is good. It has a solid feeling on the road, similar to the Volvo with both cars delivering a hushed if solid ride. The Jaguar reports what it is doing more readily – you can tell you are in a turbodiesel, where the others mask their tone to hide their true credentials.

The Jaguar is however by far the sportiest to drive – it possesses deft steering and is far more in tune with both road and driver than either of its rivals, which makes a big difference to those who like to drive rather than just commute. There are some damn good handling SUVs out there, but not many quite as good as E-Pace.

We mentioned above how evenly matched the BMW and Volvo were on paper and wondered how they’d shape up against the more powerful but also more ponderous Jaguar. Well it could not be closer if we’d scripted it

The Jaguar overcomes its heft to win the sprints, but it’s awfully close between the three – in fact there’s hardly anything in it over the quarter mile. Where one loses out in one discipline, the other makes up and vice versa and while the Jaguar enjoys the slightest of advantages in most respects, it also loses out when it gets to the diesel pump, where you guessed it, the Volvo and the BMW once again boast precisely the same fuel consumption and emissions.

The Volvo will however travel further on its bigger tank (although the BMW has a big tank among its options) and while E-Pace has the biggest fuel tank of all, its thirst lets its driving range down. Other aspects like dealer bodies see the BMW benefit through more outlets likely closer to your home and back-up seems pretty keen across the board, although Volvo has the best warranty.

At the end of the day however, it is likely that you will choose one of these out of the three for reasons other than what wins a shootout test. All three of these crossovers trade on emotion – they seek passion above the ordinary, so it’s likely that someone after one of them has already made his or her mind up no matter what we say. But say we have to say and we also find ourselves dealing with a bit more desire and craving…

These cars all suffer little issues, but each also has its own redeeming features. The BMW is trying too hard to be something it’s not, but it offers a pretty compelling overall package. The Jaguar is typically quick and nimble, but its cabin finishes seem a little last season and it likes the diesel and the Volvo may seem a little plain, but it does more things right than wrong.

There is however one area where one cannot throw that literal blanket over this trio and that’s in price. The Volvo is the bargain of the bunch, well undercutting the BMW and significantly cheaper than even the least expensive of the Jaguars with this engine. The HSE in the pictures in fact commands almost a two-hundred grand premium over the top spec Volvo here, which as you know matches or beats it pretty much everywhere, so E-Pace prices itself out of context.

The Volvo is as good as the BMW in every single way – performance or otherwise and it carries more important stock spec for less money. Even were it not for that, we prefer it because XC40 is different, more daring, yet neutral enough to be the most compelling car here.

Come to think of it, the Volvo is Euro Car of the Year for damn good reason – it has it all and more, never mind that it comes as a pretty hefty bargain too – enough for XC40 to walk away as our winner too…