Who here remembers the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, raise your hands? No, nobody? Well, I don’t really blame anyone for forgetting the Bavarian minivan because it’s a quite forgettable machine. Designed as a posh people mover, the 2 Series AT was never really popular among enthusiasts. Surprisingly, though, it was popular among customers, which is why BMW keeps it around and why it’s getting a new model, seen testing here. (We don’t own the spy video but check it here)
In this new spy video, we see the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer doing some winter testing in the snow. The car in question is certain a 2 Series AT, judging by its minivan-like profile. It will get some new updates, though, such as monstrous new grilles. That’s right, enthusiasts, BMW’s massive grille design seems to be migrating onto even more pedestrian models. The grilles on this 2 Series AT seem large enough to inhale medium-sized moose.
Another interesting design cue to note is the location of its side mirrors. I know, riveting stuff. However, its side mirror location is more important than you might think. For ages, BMW’s side mirrors have been mounted to its A-pillars, like most cars. On the 2 Series AT, they seem to be mounted to the door, sitting just below the belt-line. This new location is better for aerodynamics and wind noise, so it will be interesting to see if that’s the new location of BMW side mirrors moving forward.
For any enthusiast hoping BMW would update the 2 Series Active Tourer so that it wouldn’t look like a KIA minivan, you’re going to be disappointed. As a whole, the new 2AT doesn’t look bad but it does look like every other front-wheel drive people mover on the market. In fairness to BMW, there really aren’t a lot of other ways to make such cars but it’s still not very interesting or exciting.
People keep buying them, though, hence the new model. So if it makes BMW money, money that will hopefully be spent on more exciting R&D, then we like it.
[Source: Motor1]
