One look at the new BMW X2 and it's immediately evident it does not have the same styling language as the rest of the automaker's lineup. Turns out that's very much on purpose because BMW felt it was time to "clean things up." Automotive News recently caught up with BMW senior vice president of design Adrian van Hooydonk who admitted the X2 is the beginning of a design reboot. "We're going to clean things up; we're going to use fewer lines; the lines that we'll have will be sharper and more precise," van Hooydonk said.

"On the interior, we're going to have fewer buttons - the cars will begin to show their intelligence, so you have to give it less input." In fact, we've already seen BMW's new design direction with the 8 Series and Z4 concepts, both revealed last summer. Obviously the production version for both will adapt this new styling language, as well as the upcoming X7 SUV, redesigned 3 Series, X4 and X5 and, eventually, the entire lineup. BMW is aware of some of the criticism regarding the current design theme, which some believe to be somewhat bland. In the past, BMW's thinking when it came to redesigns was to alternate bigger changes with smaller changes, resulting in every second model generation standing out more.

"In the world that we live in now, that's not enough," van Hooydonk said. "There is more competition now. The world has changed. It's faster pace. So our design needs to change faster as well." Going forward, the design teams wants to have something new and modern with every new vehicle. Take the X2 as an example. Look at its front kidney grille. It's been flipped upside down. Even the X2's side view differs from the X4 and X6 coupe-crossovers. Another interesting thing BMW did with the X2's styling is pasting the brand's logo on the C-pillar. That hasn't been done on a BMW since the 1970s, but van Hooydonk confirms this is an X2 thing only.

More interesting and unique styling traits will be seen in future models, especially the 8 Series flagship that we expect to bow in March at Geneva. "Everything that comes out from now going forward will play a big role," van Hooydonk said. "The 8 series is going to combine all of these elements in a very new shape."