Photo: BMW
At the European launch of BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer, in Austria, company officials expressed optimist regarding the conquest rate of the new front-wheel-drive model. In plain terms, the conquest rate is the amount of new customers a car brings to the brand.
Being a rather controversial model, such a performance would make it an instant success. Frank Niederlaender, the Head of Product Management for BMW’s lower model range told Automotive News Europe that they “are expecting the Active Tourer will have a conquest rate of around 75 percent.”
That means 3 of 4 buyers will be new to the brand and looking for other features apart from the traditional rear-wheel drive setup and driving feel, things that made BMW what it is today.
They will probably be more interested in a premium finish, reliable engines and fuel efficiency, along with extreme practicality for their ‘active’ lifestyle, as the company itself describe the car.
Being the first front-wheel drive model the Germans ever made, wearing the blue and white roundel on the bonnet, the expectations could hardly be any different. The 2 Series Active Tourer will also get xDrive later on but even that version won’t be up to par with older models as the engineers have worked on taking away the rear-biased feel of the all-wheel-drive system.
Early reviews were also disappointing, talking about a messy manual gearbox and high center of gravity that certainly isn’t something the enthusiasts will like. However, this is not for the enthusiast out there. It won’t be doing burnouts, drifts or go fast through corners. What this car will do though is take care of you and your family, offering comfort, impressive range and good looks.
Pricing will start at €27,200 in Europe, when the car goes on sale in September, and there will be 6 variants available for at first, 3 petrol and 3 diesels. Other countries will get it next year, most likely, with the US probably being restricted to xDrive models only.
That means 3 of 4 buyers will be new to the brand and looking for other features apart from the traditional rear-wheel drive setup and driving feel, things that made BMW what it is today.
They will probably be more interested in a premium finish, reliable engines and fuel efficiency, along with extreme practicality for their ‘active’ lifestyle, as the company itself describe the car.
Being the first front-wheel drive model the Germans ever made, wearing the blue and white roundel on the bonnet, the expectations could hardly be any different. The 2 Series Active Tourer will also get xDrive later on but even that version won’t be up to par with older models as the engineers have worked on taking away the rear-biased feel of the all-wheel-drive system.
Early reviews were also disappointing, talking about a messy manual gearbox and high center of gravity that certainly isn’t something the enthusiasts will like. However, this is not for the enthusiast out there. It won’t be doing burnouts, drifts or go fast through corners. What this car will do though is take care of you and your family, offering comfort, impressive range and good looks.
Pricing will start at €27,200 in Europe, when the car goes on sale in September, and there will be 6 variants available for at first, 3 petrol and 3 diesels. Other countries will get it next year, most likely, with the US probably being restricted to xDrive models only.
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