BMW 2 Series Active Tourer - is it the best front-driver ever?

BMW IS playing a very risky game introducing a front-wheel drive model under the famously rear-drive propeller roundel.

A decade ago the original E87 1 Series hatchback was launched with an advertising campaign that featured line after line of lame rabbits (representing all the other FWD rivals) against a bucking bronco (the BMW).

Now there’s a rabbit of a Bimmer right in the mix, and a people-mover-style box to boot.

Are the Bavarians crazy?

At least the 2 Series Active Tourer features a BMW-looking nose to go with that pseudo Mercedes-Benz B-Class rear end.

Well, it’s not as if a car company has gone back on its word for the first time – although the sheer superiority that BMW exuded when dismissing competition because of their FWD was really quite something to behold.

Anyway, the model in question is the 2 Series Active Tourer, which landed earlier this year priced from under $45,000 before on-road costs.

Based on the same UKL modular architecture that also underpins the all-new F56 Mini (and its many upcoming derivatives), the 2AT has just one nemesis as far as the Bavarians are concerned – the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

Despite the front wheels doing the driving, BMW reckons this one will be different and better in the way its cars always are.

BMW promises the 2AT will drive as well as any sports-orientated model the company has produced.

“We’re going to make Performance Control standard on the 2 Series Active Tourer because we want it to be the sportiest car in that segment and because we need to retain typical BMW driving dynamics,” one spokesman said.

“And while we have a history of developing fun-to-drive front wheel drive cars – Mini for example - the 2 Series Active Tourer will without a doubt be the most dynamic in that segment.”

At a tad over 4.3 metres long, 1.8m wide and 1.55m high, the 2AT ably addresses either generation of the 1 Series’ biggest problems – no, not the styling, but the lack of rear-seat passenger space. Cargo items travel pretty cosily too.

Unlike any small BMW in history, the 2 Series Active Tourer will be able to accommodate more than token amounts of luggage – it’s really roomy back there.

Being so closely related to the latest Mini underneath, the east-west facing engine range consists of three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel units – all turbo – with performance as well as economy being key priorities.

Note however that the standard automatic is an eight-speed unit, and not a six-speeder as found in the majority of cars of this size.

The current line up cosists of 218i, 218d, and 225i, though whether we will ever see an M2AT tyre tearing sports machine is up to the marketing masterminds up there in Munich.

Did we say three-cylinder engine? There are a lot of sacred cows being slaughtered here. But look at the specifications. As fitted to the 218i, the 1.5L engine delivers 100kW of power at 4500rpm and 220Nm of torque at 1250rpm, propelling the 1320kg wagonoid hatch to 100km/h in 9.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 200km/h.

The 2 Series Active Tourer shares many of its oily bits with the latest BMW Mini – including its range of three- and four-cylinder turbo engines.

If economy’s your bag, the 218i achieves 4.9 litres per 100km, while emitting just 115 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Fuel-saving technologies include idle stop, brake energy regeneration, a gearshift indicator, on-demand operation of ancillary units and an ‘air curtain’ that has two vertical air inlets in the front bumper to direct the airstream along the front wheels.

If all that sounds a bit too Daihatsu for you, the four-cylinder petrol engine manages 170kW/350Nm in the 225i while a 110kW/330Nm 2.0-litre diesel drives the 218d.

No matter what the front wheels are doing, it is safe to assume that nobody will be able to tell this salubrious interior from more expensive rear-driven BMWs.

Back to that base pricing. It’s low for a BMW, but not Old Mother Hubbard bear, our man said.  It includes goodies like the Sport Line package, 17-inch alloy wheels, this year’s must-have rear-view camera, parking sensors, an automatic tailgate, lane departure warning, forward collision alert, emergency autonomous braking, GPS navigation and Park Assist automatic parking.

Along with the rather boxy B-Class Benz, the Bavarians are expecting the 2AT to bother up-spec mainstream branded SUVs and hatches from the Volkswagen Golf and Passat wagon to the oddballs like the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and Peugeot 5008.

The rear is much harder to distinguish from the B-Class, though the benefits to passenger space and cargo room it brings will be appreciated.

Consequently, BMW is counting on a conquest rate of 75 per cent, though the 1 Series, X1 and even the 3 Series Touring wagon might feel the 2AT heat.

Does it sound like a proper BMW to you?

Byron Mathioudakis goauto.com.au

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