It uses exactly the same powertrain as the 225xe, I had one of those for 3 years to July 2020 so I can give you info on the driving modes, performance, charging, economy etc if that helps.

1) Your wife would probably make the 18-mile round trip on battery alone in April - October. The real-world battery only driving range of these cars is now about 22 to 25 miles depending on ambient temperature, speed, use of climate control etc. (they got a bigger battery in 2018, the range on my 2017 car was 15 - 18 miles).

In battery-only mode the car is quite happy at 65 - 70mph but obviously it does use the juice more than it would at 50mph, just as a petrol / diesel engine would. Note that in battery-only mode, if you exceed 79mph the petrol engine will kick in automatically anyway, as the electric motor is intended for driving below this speed threshold. The transition when the petrol engine kicks in is seamless and smooth, most of the time you only notice because the rev-counter starts moving.

2) Yes, there is a 'save battery' mode for precisely the purpose you describe.

3) I used to do quite a lot of longer 300+ miles trips, and the 225 would average 42 - 45mpg on these (starting from home with a full charge, no further charging, cruising at 75-ish mph on motorways. The 225 and X2 are similar aerodynamics and weight so I'd think you'd get about the same. In my ownership, I totted up the total cost of petrol and electricity used for home charging, and the car averaged a genuine 50mpg.

4) I loved the 225, it was the best company car I've ever had. Driving in pure electric is fun, and it's even more fun to engage 'Sport' mode which gives the car a surprisingly rapid turn of speed and fantastic overtaking punch on cross-country A and B roads.

I would have another one, with one caveat: it would have to be a brand-new, or an approved used one that has a watertight warranty covering every single part of the drivetrain for 3 years. Absolutely nothing went wrong with mine in 3 years, but like all hybrids, they are complex machines with many expensive parts that cannot be serviced by your local independent.

A final thought is, on the EV forums, some owners of 225s / 330e models expressed disappointment that the car wasn't giving 70+ mpg. They are not designed to be 'economy' hybrids. They're a dual-purpose car: you can get great economy (within limits), and you can have excellent performance without excessive fuel consumption.

Thanks, really helpful answers..

Can you connect to the car via an app, turn on pre heating functions for defrost, seat and cabin temperature without draining the battery while it is still plugged in to a charging point. Mrs G heads out v.early when on a shift

Yes, BMW has its own app for the car. You can set two 'departure' times per day, so that about 20 minutes before the set time, the car wakes up and starts pre-heating the interior and warming up the main battery so you get into a warm, fully defrosted car. It's one of those features that once you've experienced it, you don't want to be without.

Note that if you charge from a domestic 13A socket (like I did), the pre-heating still takes juice from the main battery, so set the departure time about 15 minutes before you actually intend to drive if you want pre-heating AND 100% battery. If you intend to have a high-output charging point installed, that will keep on top of the battery drain while pre-heating.

I have an X5 45e PHEV and wonder if anyone knows if there’s a forum or BMW club forum that concentrates in their EV and PHEV cars ??? Thanks. JW.

SpeakEV has the most active BMW EV forums: www.speakev.com/categories/bmw-ev-forum.112/

You could also try www.bimmerpost.com/ but there aren't many PHEV owners there.