Ballito Car Review
The Active Tourer designer, Michael De Bono, left, gives Richard Webb, a design overview of the first front-wheel drive BMW.
The BMW Isetta at the BMW Museum. Its egg shape and bubble-like windows, gave rise to the term ‘bubble car’
The active tourist
Words & Pictures Richard Webb
The brilliant BMW 2002 was made between 1966-1975
The Ultimate Driving Machine has been BMW’s siren call for 40 years, made real by a stream of drivers’ cars like the 2002tii, CSL, and the M cars, yet their new 2 Series Active Tourer is a front wheel drive MPV. Richard Webb still reckons BMW is one of the ballsiest automotive brands around. Is BMW’s switch to front-wheel drive such a big deal? I travelled to the Austrian ski town of Sölden, for the global launch to find out. Will BMW’s battle with Citroen’s C4 Picasso, Mercedes-Benz B-Class and Peugeot 3008 erode their hard won Ultimate Driving Machine status? After all, the criteria by which an MPV is judged limits how visually engaging its design can be – think slabsided bodies and squared off sheet metal – and are therefore difficult to dial in visual fizz. BMW has cunningly used styling cues from its racier siblings to inject visual drama, connecting DNA from the 4 and 6 series, with clever creases and kinks to disguise the car’s cavernous bodywork. To step inside is to know that there’s little in its class to beat it. Aluminium inserts, red dash stitching and premium leather affirms
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the well-engineered design, with generous room and storage space, with large door bins and useful cubbyholes. It’s a quiet car on the motorway and stability is generally impressive, but it’s on twisting roads where its precision and handling makes it quite fun to drive spiritedly. This gives credence to BMW’s insistence that it’s pursuing their long-term strategy by remaining true to the Ultimate Driving Machine tag, despite the move to front wheel drive. Local deliveries of the 218i, 220i, 220d and 225i start in the first quarter of 2015 and guide prices are from R378,000 to R440,500. Some BMW fans need to look away now, because there are a lot more front wheel driven BMW derivatives to come. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
New from old BMW Welt is the epicentre of automotive heritage in Munich. Many millions of visitors confirm its status as the most popular museum in Munich after the Deutsche Museum. In addition to the new museum, BMW World houses the delivery centre, where people from around the world can take possession of their new BMW direct from the factory. The museum sits alongside the iconic BMW towers in a setting worthy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum. Inside, there are engines, aircraft and, and a breathtaking display plenty of classic and modern BMW vehicles and concept cars. It’s a must see and a fitting reminder that BMW have heritage worthy of a world-class museum, yet are still on the cutting edge of technology like the 2 Series Active Tourer.