What's the news?

BMW has expanded the 2 Series Active Tourer range with two new diesel engines, a 2.0-litre petrol motor and the option of xDrive four-wheel drive. The new power units will be available from November of this year.

Mechanicals

For the entry-level 216d Active tourer there is a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre diesel engine. As with all the new engines in the Active Tourer it features variable geometry turbocharging. Maximum power is 116hp with peak torque of 270Nm produced between 1,750- and 2,250rpm. Also new is the 2.0-litre, 190hp unit in the 220d, which has up to 400Nm of torque between 1,750- and 2,500rpm. Official performance figures for the 216d and 220d include 0-62mph times of 10.6- and 7.6 seconds respectively. The 216d returns 74mpg on the combined cycle with 99g/km CO₂ emissions while the 220d managing 64mpg and 115g/km.

Filling the gap in the petrol engine range between the 218i and 225i is the new 2.0-litre, 192hp 220i Active Tourer. With manual transmission BMW claims the 220i will do 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds. Fuel economy is 48mpg with CO₂ emissions of 137g/km.

BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system can be specified on the 220d and 225i and comes in conjunction with the eight-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. The extra traction cuts the 220d's 0-62mph time by 0.2- to 7.3 seconds while the 225i manages the same increment in 6.3 seconds.

Anything else?

That Steptronic transmission is also available as an option with the new 2.0-litre diesel and petrol engines. Choosing the automatic gearbox cuts the 0-62mph time by 0.1 seconds and improves fuel economy and CO₂ emissions, with the 220d Steptronic giving 66mpg on the combined cycle and the official CO₂ figure down by 3g/km.

John Lambert - 22 Sep 2014