BMW Active Tourer Concept: First Look
- Looks like: BMW's take on the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Defining characteristics: Three-cylinder plug-in hybrid drivetrain, panoramic roof with tint-changing glass
- Ridiculous features: Backseat passengers can play a BMW-developed eco-racing game called Seismic Surf
- Chances of being mass-produced: Depends how the market accepts the latest wave of premium small cars
BMW says it expects premium small cars to grow 5% per year in popularity, and the automaker's i sub-brand will have at least one car — the i3 hatchback — to tap the demand. The front-wheel-drive Active Tourer concept follows in that mold, with a turbocharged, 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine assisted by a plug-in hybrid motor and lithium-ion battery. It will debut at this month's Paris Motor Show.
At 171 inches long and 72 inches wide, the Active Tourer has a similar footprint to Ford's C-Max Hybrid. BMW maintains that the car "unmistakably retains" BMW's corporate face, but the bumpers depart from said face. The twin-kidney grille and eyebrow-laced lights remain, but the arcing portals ahead of each fender show hints of the same indentations on a Mazda CX-5 or Hyundai Tucson. Taken as a whole, Mercedes' new A-Class is the obvious doppelganger, especially with its horizontal cut-lines.