BMW Concept Active Tourer breaks new ground

Based on the 1-Series – and essentially a 1-Series GT – the concept car to be unveiled at Paris motor show is the first front-wheel drive vehicle with a BMW badge. The rounded, family-oriented hatchback concept is the precursor to a range of BMW compact hatchbacks, SUVs and coupes that sit on a new platform to be shared with the Mini.

BMW claims the Tourer - which takes on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class as well as a raft of SUVs - is its first premium compact vehicle to combine comfort and space functionality with dynamic performance and style.

It's not just its front-wheel drive design - overturning decades of rear-wheel drive models and the company's staunch mandate for the layout - that will make the Tourer stand out. The concept is to be shown as a plug-in hybrid and using the same drivetrain as the upcoming i8 coupe hybrid.

"The eDrive concept familiar from the BMW i8 is used here for the first time in a model of the core BMW brand and will in future be the designation for all electric and plug-in hybrid drives,'' BMW's head office says in a statement. "It covers all components of the electric drive, the electric motor developed by BMW, the lithium-ion battery and the intelligent engine control unit.''

Like the i8, the Tourer gets a three-cylinder 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine - half a 3-litre six-cylinder unit - that acts as a power unit and generator for the onboard lithium-ion batteries. But it also has plug-in capability which means these batteries can be charged up when the car is parked.

It has an electric-only range of about 30km when fully charged. BMW claims the Tourer accelerates to 100km/h in less than eight seconds and has a theoretical (in Australia) top speed of 200km/h.

The average fuel consumption is less than 2.5 litres/100km and CO2 emissions are less than 60g/km. BMW estimates that annual growth rates of up to 5 per cent are expected in the small car and compact segment of the premium class in the near future.

"For this reason, the BMW Concept Active Tourer is a key component in the ongoing development of the BMW brand and its model portfolio,'' it says. ``As a plug-in hybrid, the BMW Concept Active Tourer also provides a glimpse ahead to future drive variants in automobiles of the compact class.''