Road Test: BMW Active Tourer 220i

BMW Active Tourer 220i tested in South Africa 2015

It took a few more seconds to get comfortable behind the wheel of the BMW Active Tourer than usual. Mistakenly I hunkered down into it, then raised it back up, (and a bit more) until the BMW badge in the steering wheel was lined up with the middle of my ribcage. It says an extraordinary amount about the car and who it’s aimed at.

And once inside, the Active Tourer is a very posh MPV helped, in this instance, by a plethora of optional extras. Still the basic layout is excellent and more modern than what we’re used to with logical spacing between screen, radio and climate, freeing up more storage space. Only gripe is the armrest which gets in the way – a similar complaint we had with the Mini Cooper.

Graphics are of crystal resolution, buttons have reassuring tactile precision and at any given point the Active Tourer feels like a technology hub of many talents. The optional lighting kit diffuses across the light coloured leather and wood trim – the former more suited to a 6 Series than a car likely to be filled with grimy prints and dirty shoes – exuding a premium feeling at night.

Adding 25 per cent of options to the car’s advertised price blurs some of the inherent qualities but did showcase the technical prowess, not just on the product side but with BMW Concierge, on the service side too. Ours Active Tourer boasted kit way beyond its segment norm; Heads up display, panoramic sunroof, a sound system to rival the very best bespoke ones, M Package, electronic tailgate, navigation… Still, our Active Tourer at over R600 000 hadn’t reached its ceiling with park distance control, reverse camera, remote start and cornering headlights being noticeable omissions.

The Active Tourer 220i is sandwiched in the middle of the power standings with the 2.0-litre wafting out 141kW and an effortless 280Nm at an almost indiscernible rpm. Relatively sporty with an  economy bent to it the engine treats those eight gears with real respect. Without ever tyring to achieve best fuel consumption (read no ECO mode), we still came away with around 8.7l/100km. Noise and vibration levels, particularly on start up, are less audible than in previous models.

The optional M Pack with low profile tyres and they didn’t do ride quality any favours; the Active Tourer criticised for a jarring ride in standard trim, now with unwanted road roar. A steep price for slightly sweeter aesthetics. It may not flash Go Kart Mode on the screen like the Mini Cooper but with virtually no roll and the most communicative steering feedback in the business, one can hustle along the Active Tourer, and despite protests from children and mother in-laws, have no qualms about which axle is being driven.

This invariably brings me to the point where traditionalists will scoff at the idea of a front-wheel drive BWM. Based on the UKL platform that currently forms the foundation for the Mini and upcoming X1, the Active Tourer is the first front-wheel drive BMW but certainly not the last. Typically people seemed more upset by the idea than the execution, as if somehow betrayed by the brand, as if having a sense of ownership of it in the first place. Proportions are cleverly optimised but rear headroom not as good as legroom and the boot fractionally smaller than the Mercedes B-Class and a lot smaller than Volkswagen Golf SV.

Front-wheel drive BMWs have been in the pipeline around the  time the second generation 1 Series was launched in 2011. Production uniformity and better interior packaging by eliminating the driveshaft are compelling arguments. It too helps that the Mini is regarded as the finest handling front wheel drive car on sale and should BMW decide, the Active Tourer has the potential to leverage those qualities. In short, I defy 90 per cent of buyers to know the difference; it tranfers its power effectively and as long as you drive it with a degree of finesse, that ugly word ‘understeer’ rarely dampens the experience.

If you can avoid the hollow criticism that this is not a rear wheel drive BMW, therefore not a BMW, the Active Tourer is difficult to fault with its wieldly maneuvarbailty and affable character. Perhaps its only failing is the segment, where SUVs reign supreme and the buyers are drawn to ground clearance and pseudo off-road ability.

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