BMW 2 Series Active Tourer review

It’s not just you – it was a strange decision to give both this car and a sporty coupe the same name. The 2 Series Active Tourer isn’t a sporty car – instead, it’s a practical and family-friendly people carrier.

Given that SUVs have become so popular, it’s a bit surprising that the 2 Series Active Tourer is still sold at all. But it’s a welcome alternative to SUVs, giving you the looks of a normal car with the versatility of a 4x4. Over 400,000 have been sold so far and, for many of those buyers, it’s been their first taste of BMW ownership. This is the second-generation model, with a slightly cleaner look than its successful predecessor.

If you can avoid the allure of an SUV, the Active Tourer has plenty of plus points. It’ll be a bit cheaper to buy and to run than an SUV, it’s spacious in the back, it has a luxurious interior and it offers a fully hybrid engine lineup. Oh, and for peace of mind with young’uns on board, it has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

Family cars don’t have to have wipe-down surfaces from door to door – the 2 Series Active Tourer is for parents who like the finer things. The materials feel high quality, the design is interesting and modern, and the build quality is several universes better than the Fisher Price toys that probably clutter up your home.

The Active Tourer runs one of the newest versions of BMW’s iDrive infotainment software across two large screens. Its menus are really easy to use once you’ve had a play about with them, and the screens have been simplified so they’re not as busy and overwhelming as the ones in other BMWs.

However, the removal of physical controls and, in particular, the rotary iDrive controller dial is a bit of an own goal. The iDrive controller was logical and easy to use, but now you have to use the touchscreen – and it can be a little fiddly to hit the right button while on the move.

Sport, Luxury and M Sport trim levels are available. Standard equipment includes LED headlights, a power-opening bootlid, two-zone climate control and active parking assistance. Luxury adds vegan leather-effect upholstery, chrome trim and heated seats. M Sport has a more athletic feel with adaptive suspension and sports seats.

Think of the 2 Series Active Tourer as a 1 Series at 110% scale. It’s a little longer, a little wider and a little taller than the 1 Series, and that gives a useful boost to passenger space – an area where the 1 Series isn’t exactly fantastic. You sit slightly higher than in the 1 Series, too, giving you a better view of the road ahead.

Those in the Active Tourer’s back seats sit even higher, giving them a good view out as well. The seatback reclines slightly, which should improve your passengers’ comfort on long journeys, and you can have the 2 Series with a sliding rear bench to provide a little more versatility.

Keep the seats in their normal positions and there’s plenty of space to stretch out in. There’s a night-and-day difference between the 2 Series Active Tourer and the 1 Series – the legroom and headroom are both much more generous. Seating three across shouldn’t be too difficult for the odd occasion, and the rear seats are blessed with map pockets, USBs, big door pockets and a handy tray beneath the air vents.

For such a practicality-focused car, the 415-litre boot is a little on the small side. It’s about 40 litres up on the 1 Series, and a more useful shape, but it’s less than the Mercedes B-Class offers – and every midsize SUV wipes the floor with it. There’s a flat floor without a lip, though, and the rear seats fold individually, allowing you to carry long items like skis between two passengers.

There are no diesel engines this time around. You’ll be putting petrol in whichever version you buy. There are two purely petrol engines and two plug-in hybrid offerings. As a private buyer, we’d stick with the entry-level 220i petrol. With 170hp on tap and the 2 Series’ new sleeker shape, it manages nearly 50mpg yet gets from 0-62mph in a brisk eight seconds. The 220i also keeps the price below £40,000 – spend more than this and your road tax will triple for the first five years.

If you go for the more powerful 223i petrol, you’ll get faster acceleration and a sportier gearbox, plus the promise of 47mpg. Pretty good considering it has 218hp.

Both the plug-in hybrid engines are four-wheel drive. Again, we’d stick with the cheaper of the two, but both the 225e and 230e will officially manage over 50 miles of electric driving and over 300mpg. The 230e’s 326hp and 5.3-second 0-62mph time are absolutely overkill in a car like this. The plug-in hybrids are aimed at company-car drivers, with an appealingly low Benefit-in-Kind tax rate.

While it’s no sports car, the 2 Series Active Tourer doesn’t embarrass its origins. Its platform is also used by the Mini hatchback and the 1 Series, which is a good start. The Active Tourer’s steering is direct, and there’s very little body roll through fast corners. Hopefully it won’t make your kids feel sick.

The ride is smooth on the smaller wheels but can be a bit fidgety on the biggest 19-inch ones. It’s refined at high speed – the sleek shape not only helps efficiency but quietness as well, while wind noise is kept to a minimum. Thanks to improved sound deadening, road noise and vibration aren’t really that noticeable either.

In terms of both driving and ride quality, the 2 Series beats its main rival, the Mercedes B-Class. But its steering is incredibly light, and a Volkswagen Touran feels a little more secure at higher speeds.