Outside the city, things get even more interesting from the technology point of view. The new engines are rather quiet and efficient, as we already told you but BMW has paid attention to the sound insulation as well.
You’ll be enjoying silence inside, with the wind noise levels being more than acceptable even at higher speeds. The only fault comes from the wheel wells, where some higher frequencies might be coming from, but it’s nothing to bother you, really.
As far as the fuel consumption goes, we were rather satisfied with the 7 l/100 km (33.6 mpg) we recorded, on a combined style of driving (that includes spirited sessions and Eco Pro cruising, to simulate real-life conditions).
Going for longer trips and carrying your family’s luggage might pose some issues. The boot is big but not class leading, at 16.5 cubic feet (468 liters), but the car makes up for it with its folding seats that can take the cargo capacity up to 53.3 cubic feet (1,510 liters) with a simple flick of a button located in the boot. However, in that case, you won’t be able to take anyone else with you other than a passenger.
What impressed us even more was the way the new technology worked.
The 2 Series Active Tourer can be fitted with adaptive cruise control that regulates your car’s speed and brakes if you approach a car on the highway and also with the Traffic Jam Assistant with stop and go function.
As the name says, this assistant will basically take over in heavy traffic, keeping up with the car in front of you and working at speeds up to 60 km/h (37 mph) while also keeping you within your lane. Basically, once you set it to a certain speed you don’t have to do anything behind the wheel other than keeping your hands on the steering wheel, as a precautionary measure. We found that it worked absolutely flawlessly. The only suggestion we’d consider pointing out to BMW would be to find a way to make it work inside cities as well (at the moment it’s only supported on motorways).
A special mention goes to the way this car handles. Don’t expect it to be prepared for the Nürburgring, it’s an
MPV after all, but for a front wheel drive car, it can do more than just hold its own. Understeer is limited to an absolute minimum and it only shows up when you’re really pushing the car with the
DSC on. Furthermore, for a minivan this car is planted even at higher speeds.
Of course, the higher center of gravity and the weight will make themselves known at times but it’s not disturbing at all. You can actually have fun with this car if you know what you’re doing. We’re sure it will be more than enough for most people looking to buy it.
When it comes to gadgets, you can’t go wrong with any BMW. The company is known for investing heavily in this department and iDrive is currently regarded as one of the best infotainment systems in the business, despite its numerous submenus.
The standard trims will get you a smaller display but we wholeheartedly recommend upgrading to the Navigation Plus option that will get you a touch-sensitive iDrive controller, an 8.8” display, adapted route guidance, ConnectedDrive and BMW’s head-up display.
You should also get the extended Bluetooth connectivity that allows you to also play music from smartphones or tablets. If you own an Apple device, you’ll be pleased to learn that you can get an app for almost anything and it will be implemented in the iDrive system, another area where BMW has invested quite a lot.
In case of a crash, you shouldn’t be too worried either.
The European watchdog in this regard, NCAP, tested the 2 Series Active Tourer and gave it five stars out of five, showing that the car scored 84% in adult occupant protection, 85% for children, 60% for pedestrians and 70% in safety assist.
Furthermore, around town, the 2 Series Active Tourer has a system that automatically pushes the brakes if it detects an imminent collision. We didn’t test that (for obvious reasons) but we’re glad it’s there.
The representatives of the blue and white roundel company claim that 75% of the 2 Series Active Tourer buyers will be newcomers to the brand, which is a very ambitious target. It’s also understandable as old-school BMW fans won’t even take a second glance at what they call an ‘abomination’ but in order to achieve that number, the 2er will have to draw a crowd from the B-Class and that might be tricky.
Pricing helps out a bit as the BMW offers a little more kit for the same prices as the Mercedes rival. The Europeans can have their pick of a couple of diesels and a couple of petrol choices, with the cheapest at the moment being the 218i model that starts at €27,200 in Germany, including VAT.
That gets you a 3-cylinder 1.5-liter engine that makes 136
HP and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque. It will also be available with all-wheel drive later on, which would improve the driving characteristics. New models will be available starting next month, including a new 216i entry-level version.
The US will only get the top of the range 225i model with xDrive that’s animated by a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine making 231 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque. It’s the plant that will find a home under the bonnet of the next gen John Cooper Works MINI and it’s more than enough for this car as well. You’ll be capable of outgunning hot hatches with it, accelerating to 62 mph from a standstill in 6.6 seconds! Since the car isn’t up for sale across the Atlantic, we can’t say how much it will be but expect a price tag in the low $30,000 range.
The top of the range 225i starts at €37,950 in Europe and the one we had showed a sticker that gave us goose bumps: €53,519. However, it was justified by the fact that it had almost all the optional features you can get on it, including even a larger fuel tank that increases the capacity by 10 liters.
It’s pretty obvious that this is not what you would easily call a BMW. Basically, if it wasn’t for the usual iDrive system, the kidney grilles outside and the engine, you’d have a hard time singling it out as a Bavarian creation.
What we have here then, is an experiment
.
The Munich-based company is now showing us how it plans to charge into even more niches as if what they’ve been doing so far wasn’t enough. This is their first front-wheel drive car and it’s important to emphasize the word used: ‘first’ as in ‘more will follow’.
However, the 2 Series Active Tourer is more than that because it’s also the first time BMW is building an MPV. Sure, they call it an Active Tourer, but let’s not hide behind names here. Since this is their first go at it, it’s obvious that there are a couple more things that need fixing. At the moment, rivals such as the Citroen C4 Picasso, the Volkswagen Golf SV, the Mazda5 and even Ford C-Max offer better modularity and seem to know a thing or two more about this niche than BMW. But then again, their makers have been doing this for a lot longer.
On the other hand, they don’t offer the badge and the premium feeling you get inside this car and as superficial as it may seem, that matters to a lot of people. Currently, there’s only one competitor for the 2 Series Active Tourer out there and its name is Mercedes-Benz B-Class. The three-pointed star car has been selling by the dozen since it was introduced, showing signs of slowing down only this year. That means this might be the perfect moment for BMW to launch a rival and... this is it!