New BMW 2-Series Active Tourer arrives as BMW’s first front-wheel-drive car (+video)

The new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer has been revealed ahead of a Geneva Motor Show debut as BMW’s new, front-wheel-drive MPV. Price from under £23,000.

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Many will see it as sacrilege that the new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer MPV is front-wheel-drive, but pragmatists will see it as a sensible move to extend BMW’s depth of offerings.

Whichever side you come down on, the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer – previewed by the BMW Concept Active Tourer at Paris in 2012 – is a production reality and does look like it will fill very well the space in BMW’s range for a compact MPV.

Despite looks that are almost the opposite of what you’d expect from a BMW – stubby nose and a high roof line; a proper BMW take on the Mercedes B-Class – the 2-Series Active Tourer still manages to exude BMW style, albeit in a more practical way to the rest of the range.

Underpinned by the same modular platform you find on the new MINI, the Active Tourer comes as standard with front wheel drive, a transverse mounted engine and a much more flexible interior.

Initial offerings will be the 218i Active Tourer powered by a 1.5 litre three cylinder petrol engine offering 134bhp and the 218d Active Tourer which gets a more traditional four cylinder 2.0 litre diesel with 148bhp and official economy of 68.9mpg.

But if you wait for November 2014 the range of Active Tourers gets more interesting.

A more powerful 225i Active Tourer will be on sale from November and it gets xDrive 4WD – perhaps a more appealing setup. Other models to come include the BMW 220i, 216d, 220d and another 4WD Active Tourer, the 220d xDrive Active Tourer.

All the Active Tourers come with a new six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but you can opt for a six-speed auto on the 3-pot engines or an eight-speed auto on the four-pots. All come with stop-start as standard and the auto versions get a coasting function too for extra frugality.

Apart from the entry-level trim, UK buyers will aslo have the option of Sport and Luxury models (which should do what they say on the tin) and, from November 2014, the option of an Active Tourer M Sport spec with a bodykit, M Sport suspension, 18″ alloys, M Steering wheel and sports seats.

The new BMW Active Tourer may be a predominanty FWD MPV, but it looks like it’s probably a proper BMW to own and drive, especially with the xDrive setup on the 220d and 225i.

The new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer debuts next month at the Geneva Motor Show and will be on sale in BMW’s UK dealers from 27th September from under £23,000 (which we assume will be £22,995).