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BMW Highlights from the Paris Motor Show 2014

We already covered all the world premieres from the BMW stand in Paris. We told you all about the new 2 Series Convertible, the fresh X6 model and the MINI 5-door Hardtop, bringing you the first photos from the set, in real time.
bmw 2 series convertible 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
Now it’s time to look at the other cars put up for display in the capital city of France, some of them celebrating their local debuts while others just looking good.

The 2 Series Active Tourer, BMW’s first attempt at a front-wheel drive car with the blue and white roundel on its bonnet celebrated its French debut. Going on sale this autumn, the model is meant to be a rival for Mercedes-Benz’s B-Class that received a facelift at this year’s auto show.

The top of the line model is the pick of the autoevolution office, featuring a 2-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine making 231 HP and 350 Nm of torque and being connected to an 8-speed automatic gearbox and, possibly, xDrive. This is a perfect ‘soccer mom’ car that will do 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.8 seconds even without all-wheel drive. However, the US will only get xDrive models.

Then there was the i range as well, represented by the i3 and the i8, both of them available for viewing on the stand. While the i3 is the city-car with zero emissions every eco-friendly BMW driver wanted, the i8 represents the future of the sports car that don’t have million dollar price tags.

In a similar way to the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, the i8 uses a hybrid drivetrain. Since it’s nearly 10 times less expensive, don’t expect it to be just as hardcore but it keeps its head up nonetheless.

Unlike the hypercars mentioned earlier, the i8 has a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine powering the rear axle and an electric motor for the front axle. It weighs just 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) and will drive in all electric mode for up to 20 miles (32 km).

Because of its peculiar drivetrain, the plug-in Bimmer is also all-wheel drive and will do 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 4.4 seconds while returning an average fuel consumption of 2.1 l/100 km (121 mpg) according to BMW.

There’s a lot to say about all the cars on the set but pictures are worth a thousand words and videos are probably even more relevant. That’s why we’ll let you check out the video below.

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