Photo: Catalin Garmacea
The seven finalists for the 2015 European Car of the Year Award were finally announced and we have to admit that they are not exactly what we expected. Let’s just say that we have our second guesses regarding the way these ‘awards’ are handed out. Nevertheless, out of the BMW corner and the plethora of cars launched this year, only the 2 Series Active Tourer made it to the short list.
That’s a little peculiar but we’ll go with it. The jury is made up of various journalists around Europe from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Spain and almost every other car around the EU. Their reasoning for choosing this particular model claims that it’s the first front-wheel drive car from BMW and that it will give other cars in the MPV segment a run for their money.
As far as the tech details go, they are right on the money. This car represents the company’s newest endeavor, the one focused on making the most out of everything. Built on the UKL front-wheel drive platform the 2 Series Active Tourer shares most of its components with the MINI range.
The engines are the same and even the technology inside is similar, from the gearshift lever to the head-up display. While most of these similarities might seem to be raining on BMW’s parade, they also bring a couple of positive things. For example, the handling reminded us of Minis during our review and that says a lot for a car of this size.
The other 6 cars that are still in the race include the Citroen C4 Cactus, the new Ford Mondeo, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Passat. The winner will be announced on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show next year. May the best car win!
As far as the tech details go, they are right on the money. This car represents the company’s newest endeavor, the one focused on making the most out of everything. Built on the UKL front-wheel drive platform the 2 Series Active Tourer shares most of its components with the MINI range.
The engines are the same and even the technology inside is similar, from the gearshift lever to the head-up display. While most of these similarities might seem to be raining on BMW’s parade, they also bring a couple of positive things. For example, the handling reminded us of Minis during our review and that says a lot for a car of this size.
The other 6 cars that are still in the race include the Citroen C4 Cactus, the new Ford Mondeo, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Passat. The winner will be announced on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show next year. May the best car win!
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