Those who follow the car world’s news certainly knew what this fuss was about much before its official release. At the same time, Active Tourer is the first BMW to use front-wheel-drive and to feature an MPV body. Yes, any purist fan must’ve been writhing in pain ever since, but even these need to admit that this kind of vehicle has had great acceptance over the past few years. Luxury automakers have enjoyed a highly positive image for decades in many countries, but most of their enthusiasts saw them as unachievable dreams. When they started to study them a little more, specially Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, they found out that it would be possible to attract a lot of new customers without making too much effort. So why not throw them a bone?
The most recent addition to what is already a full skeleton attempts to justify using such a different concept with the intention of seeking different customers. BMW would like the public to see Active Tourer as an entirely new car which combines the automaker’s signature values to others of its own, rather than relying on another model’s image as a simple version of it. Not that carefully-sculpted texts are capable of convincing purists, but the truth is BMW isn’t trying to mess with them, either. The Bavarians are simply looking to other people this time. So if you analyze this car under this different light, Active Tourer won’t take long to show it’s actually a very nice car. Nice enough to create an interesting fight with Mercedes-Benz B-Class.
The biggest responsible for Active Tourer having a nice design is the decision of attaching it to 2-Series. Since its siblings would be a coupé and a convertible, the designers had much more freedom with which to work – if this car belonged to 1-Series, it would certainly look like a stretched-top hatchback, pretty much like Mercedes’ does when compared to A-Class. Avoiding that freed Active Tourer to follow the aforementioned path of its own. Using the engine transversely made the front a little taller and much shorter, which is a great addition to a nimble look. Having that as an important goal also justifies most of the elements at the sides: from the beltline height to the windows’ frame, everything was sculpted in the opposite direction of what cars like Renault Espace use.
While the rear fascia features a Greatest-Hits of BMW’s design elements, it also contains the fifth way to enter a great cabin. The 2.67-m wheelbase takes up to five occupants and a 468-liter trunk, which reaches 1,510 liters if you fold the 40/20/40 rear bench that comes as standard. At the other end, the dashboard uses BMW’s typical architecture once again with infotainment central controlled by touchpad, an array of electronic safety systems, various options of trim finishes and multiple driving modes. There’s even an M Sport equipment package, just like what almost every other BMW offers, but this is as far as it goes regarding sportiness – judging by 3-Series and 5-Series’ Gran Turismo versions, creating a whole new body seems to be bold enough for BMW.
When it comes to the technical part, Active Tourer once again requires you only to take the other BMWs off the mind before analyzing it. This car borrows the latest Mini Cooper’s platform, and this is what leads many people to say it has more in common with the English car than with any other BMW. The structure was slightly updated to underpin the minivan, and is expected to equip a whole lineup of front-wheel-drive German vehicles from now on. Equipments like McPherson front and multilink rear suspensions and electromechanical steering are present once again, allowing the automaker to affirm this car can avoid torque-steering just as well as that hatchback. Another nice feature is the intelligent mixture of materials, which makes the car weigh up to 1,430 kg.
Active Tourer arrives with three engine options, two using gasoline and one with diesel. 218i features Cooper’s three-cylinder 1.5L, good for 136 hp, 162 lb-ft, 57.6 mpg and 0 to 100 kph in 9s3. 218d uses a four-cylinder propeller, capable of 150 hp, 243 lb-ft, 78.4 mpg and 8s9. 225i, in turn, presents a four-cylinder 2.0L and takes those numbers to 231 hp, 258 lb-ft, 47 mpg, 6s8 and the top speed of 146 mph. Later, this car will receive 220i, 216d and 220d trims and the option of all-wheel-drive system, called xDrive by BMW – each country receives a different set of these options. Three-cylinder engines can receive a six-speed automatic transmission, while you can ask a four-cylinder with eight-speed automatic.
Lançamento no Brasil (05/02/2015)
Agora já é possível comprar no Brasil o primeiro modelo já fabricado pela BMW com tração dianteira. A minivan Série 2 Active Tourer chega somente na versão 225i por R$ 178.950 para concorrer com o Mercedes-Benz Classe B. Parte desse valor é justificada pelo motor 2.0 turbo de 231 cv e 35,7 kgfm (0 a 100 km/h em 6,6 segundos e 240 km/h de máxima) e pelo câmbio automático de oito marchas. Outra é pela lista de equipamentos de série que inclui ar-condicionado de duas zonas, seis airbags, central multimídia ConnectedDrive, comando elétrico de bancos dianteiros e tampa traseira, controle de tração e estabilidade e rodas de 18” sistema start-stop. E outra por um porta-malas de 468 litros, volume que alcança 1.510 litros ao rebater os bancos.