2015 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer Review: 218i Petrol Auto
Vehicle style: Tall-stance medium hatch
Price: $44,400
Engine/trans: 100kW/220Nm; 1.5 3cyl turbo petrol | 6spd auto
Fuel consumption claimed: 5.2 l/100km.
OVERVIEW
Despite the fact that BMW builds the front-wheel-drive Mini, most BMW aficionados thought they’d never see the day when the premium Bavarian brand produced a FWD Beemer.
It has, however, happened. The culprit is the 2 Series Active Tourer: a tall, SUV-looking medium hatch that arrives with a choice of two turbo-charged petrol engines (the 218i and 225i) and a 2.0 litre 218d turbo-diesel version.
A fourth model, the 220i, arrives in January.
For this review, the entry-level 218i model, expected to be the biggest seller, was the chosen variant.
The new BMW Active Tourer really has only one direct rival: the similarly upright Mercedes-Benz B-class.
That said, BMW has high hopes that as well as B-class buyers, it will win buyers over from small and medium SUVs and MPVs.
THE INTERIOR | RATING: 4.5/5
Quality: There’s no denying that the new BMW offering has a classy, high-quality interior.
Fit and finish are faultless and the blend of synthetic black leather upholstery, red stitching, black high-gloss trim and pearl chrome highlights all add to the interior ambience and sense of style.
Comfort: The front sports bucket seats have plenty of hip-and-thigh bolstering and adjustability and there is enough outer bolstering for the rear bench seat (with a handy 60/40 split base) to add to the comfort there.
However, despite being a front-wheel-driver, the new Active Tourer has a large centre tunnel that severely limits legroom for the centre rear-seat passenger.