Active Tourer is a five-door hatchback with lots of room and a relatively small footprint on the road - so what’s the fuss all about?
BMW is famous for its rear-wheel drive cars although more recently its all-wheel drive ‘X-drive’ powertrains have become very popular too. Something we did not expect to see from BMW was a front-wheel drive family car!
BMW own MINI - a brand that uses front-wheel drive, but none of MINI’s platforms have been shared with BMW… until now. Thanks to a brand new platform architecture that makes its debut with the new five-door MINI hatchback, 2 Series Active Tourer (BMW please give us a shorter name!) can be built with transversely-mounted engines (not the traditional BMW lengthways mounted) and front-wheel drive. The new architecture can, and has been, modified in a number of ways to deliver a distinct footprint on the road. BMW says apart from suspension similarities, the track and wheelbase are different from the 5-door MINI. Active Tourer will also be available with X-Drive - but this will only feature in some higher-end versions.
Active Tourer looks chunkier in the flesh and sits quite squat on the road. It’s a wide machine but similar in length to the 1 Series. The pinched front end will take a bit of getting used to but BMW has all its design dna present with the grille and bonnet creases and signature headlights etc. Side-on the car could be mistaken for any compact MPV. The rear of the car is solid and well styled with a nicely recessed wiper under the roof spoiler.
Inside the car is really spacious, thanks to the engine and transmission layout. I could effortlessly sit behind my driver’s seat with, as BMW described it, 7-series rear legroom. Up front you could be in a 5 Series as the cabin is pretty wide. The dash is all-new and nicely layered using quality materials. The cabin seating is flexible and well executed. You can get an optional flat-folding front seat but the rear 60/40 split seats alone make the boot very versatile. The rear doors open very wide for a BMW and access to the rear is near effortless. The rear seats are on rails allowing fore and aft movement. The tilt-angle of the seats can be adjusted too. The tailgate features automated opening/closing and you can pop down the rear seats with a press of an electronic button in the boot too! If you’re constantly carrying loads to the boot you can opt for the under-bumper leg-kick opening function.
The latest range of compact diesel and petrol engines will be available. We drove the initial engine options; a 218d four-cylinder diesel and a 218i petrol three-cylinder - that uses BMW’s new 500cc cylinder modular engine construction. The petrol engine was lively and eager to please and quite lively or at least gave that impression! It was paired to a manual six-speed gearbox that would not be our choice of gearbox. It was a little notchy and the lever was set a little too far back for us and the three pedals were a little cramped in the footwell. We didn’t have an automatic version (6-speed auto on three-cylinder versions) to test but expect it to be the way to go. The diesel was an eight-speed automatic and very civilised.
On the road the front-wheel drive set up delivered a very competent and accurate drive. Enthusiastic cornering could be undertaking with little fuss and this will be enjoyed by owners. Buyers, who will be mostly new to the brand, will get a very practical BMW that is very easy to live with. What it lacks in styling form is made up in function. Prices from launch start at €32,530 (218d SE) on the road.
Michael Sheridan
