Certainly the biggest world premiere from BMW at Geneva, the 2 Series Active Tourer drew a lot of attention to itself since yesterday, when the doors of the 84th edition of the International Motor Show opened its doors for press members.
Amongst them was Mat Watson from Auto Express and, of course, he also filmed a short live video of the new car, posted below, showing us in moving pictures exactly how the new 2 Series looks and feels like.
The first ever front-wheel drive car from BMW is obviously aimed at Mercedes-Benz’s B-Class that currently goes undisputed in the premium MPV segment and the specs say the same story.
The top of the line model will be the 225i, fitted with a 2-liter 231 HP engine making 350 Nm of torque that does 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 6.8 seconds thanks to its 8-speed automatic gearbox. The same exact time is posted by Mercedes’ flagship B-Class, the 250 BlueEfficiency model fitted with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
Moving away from technical details, specs and engine options, it’s the interior of the car where most of the ‘magic’ happens. That being said, the 2 Series Active Tourer was developed to cater to the needs of active people, as the name suggests.
Storage spaces are abundant and the seats can be moved front to back and folded in various ways (including the rear seats) to allow you to carry the most irregular-shaped objects around, from snowboards to flower pots or whatever rocks your boat.
The dash is still driver oriented, even though its design doesn’t show it as obviously as on other BMW models, this one being the first car the Germans made in the last 10 years that actually shows some interesting changes inside the cabin, design wise.
The instrument panel is simple, dominated by two big roundels encompassing the rev counter and the speedometer, above which you’ll spot a very useful and easy to use Head-Up Display, similar to the one found on the MINI Cooper.
Actually, the two share more than one part. They are both built on the same UKL platform, developed by BMW for this purpose alone. Based on the early reviews of the new MINIs, the Active Tourer should be pretty fun and engaging to drive, even with front-wheel drive. An all-wheel drive model and M Sport trim lines will be available for the new 2er later on this year.
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