BMW

Super test: BMW 2-series Active Tourer test - Can the German midi MPV deliver what its big mouth promises?

Well, we can call the BMW 2-series Active Tourer an MPV, BMW itself avoids that term as if it is a new, dangerous variant of the corona virus. With its inflated hoods, it fits in with the current BMW trend, at the same time the body line seems to rise less strongly than before due to the raised nose. This makes the 2-series Active Tourer look more like a hatchback that has grown out of its strength than a classic MPV. The new, narrower LED headlamps have a different light signature and the light units on the buttocks have also been slimmed down a bit.

This is not the case with the body: the new model is both higher and longer than its predecessor. That's good news for the occupants, who have plenty of room in all directions - just like in a real MPV. There are no child-friendly folding tables, fully folding seats, sliding doors or rotating front seats. However, the rear seat can be moved over a length of 13 centimeters and you can adjust the angle of inclination of the backrest. Unfortunately, it doesn't get more multifunctional than that. And what about the 2-series Gran Tourer? Not; the extended 2-series, like many of its kind, has been removed to the MPV rest court.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer is not a car for button fetishists...Anyone who likes a lot of space has come to the right place with the new 2-series Active Tourer, but the button fetishists do not get their money's worth at all. The instrumentation can be adjusted to your own preference and forms an optical whole with the infotainment screen. In keeping with BMW tradition, the light is curved towards the driver. This is called 'Curved Display' in BMW jargon, but under the name Pure Panel Opel applied the same trick and so we see more examples at other brands.

With the arrival of the Curved Display, BMW has abandoned the much-vaunted iDrive system. The electric iX was the first BMW with the new operating concept, among the models with combustion engine, the Active Tourer has this regrettable scoop. As far as we are concerned, this is really a case of 'form over function'. Indeed, the interior of the new 2 Series looks very clean and tidy, but the operation does not become faster, clearer or more effective. Rather the opposite.

You are no longer allowed to shift gears yourself in the BMW 2-series Active Tourer...Another bad thing for the Bavarian interior design department is that they have resorted to one of those cheap plastic screens that flip out of the dashboard for the optional head-up display. As a result, taller drivers certainly still have to look down. When projecting directly onto the windscreen, you would not be bothered by this.

Also passé in the BMW 2-series Active Tourer, is the manual gearbox. Regardless of the engine, all versions have a seven-speed dual clutch transmission as standard. In contrast to the operation of infotainment and climate control, you do not have to worry about that.

You will not hear anyone complaining about the lack of torque in the BMW...When the 2-series Active Tourer was introduced in 2014, the BMW world was too small. Among the diehard brand fans, not only did Totalverblüffung rule over the fact that BMW came up with a small-sized family bus, but the thing also had front-wheel drive! In the meantime, that shock and awe - to use just one more German term - has ebbed away. The current 1-series also transfers its horsepower to the road via the front wheels, moreover, the brand-typical driving pleasure was hardly affected by the drive change.

The current Active Tourer also drives as you would expect from a BMW. That is, if we take the generously motorized 223i as a starting point. The two-liter four-cylinder engine is assisted by a mild-hybrid system, and together they produce 218 hp and 320 Nm. This accelerates the 223i from standstill to 100 km/h in 7.0 seconds and you will not hear anyone complain about the lack of torque. You almost never notice that the starter motor generator is partly responsible for this; the pair work together almost seamlessly. Only if you lift the accelerator pedal with a view to a red traffic light or a slow vehicle in front and the car starts to recuperate, you get the dark brown suspicion that the four-cylinder is in cahoots with an electric assistant.

The last time we scrubbed like this was with an Opel Zafira OPC... Despite the high seating position, the Active Tourer 223i regularly puts a grin on the face of the sporty family head behind the wheel. The steering provides so much feedback that the pedal under the right sneaker automatically seeks out the carpet when a challenging cloverleaf looms. Nice yet again, that BMW even knows how to give an MPV-like so much light-footedness. Whether the car maintains that positive impression with the three-cylinder basic engine (218i, 136 hp), is open to question.

The 223i is not even the most powerful version of the 2-series Active Tourer. Far from it, even. That will be the 230e xDrive, a plug-in hybrid in which a 1.5-liter three-cylinder under the hood is assisted by an electric motor above the rear axle. Together they generate a system power of 326 hp. Thanks to the battery pack (14.9 kWh, range 80 km) in the bottom of the car, the center of gravity is nicely low, while the four-wheel drive ensures that the car can lose its power excellently.

The last time we waxed like this with an MPV must have been around 2005, with an Opel Zafira OPC. Funny, such a fast people mover. Be sure to silence all diehard BMW fans with RWD tattoos on the hairy chest. So you see, space cake with coffee is not so bad after all. Although plug-in hybrids are of course mainly about the favorable consumption figures ... It will also take a while before the 230e xDrive and the slightly more modest 225e xDrive (245 hp) come on the market.

Conclusion...Unlike most other brands, BMW has not yet declared the MPV dead. In our opinion, rightly so, because with the right drivetrain, the new 2-series Active Tourer combines a lot of space with even more driving pleasure. However, there is no real multifunctionality in the form of all kinds of storage compartments, folding tables and swivel chairs. The fact that BMW now also bears the iDrive system in this car is, in our opinion, an ergonomic misstep. The prices start at 41,558 euros for the three-cylinder entry-level and compared to that, the 223i is not even much more expensive. But we wouldn't call it a bargain either.

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