2022 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 220i review: A luxury MPV that isn't boring

BMW's 2 Series Active Tourer breaks the mould of its staid past by learning big lessons from bigger, more expensive BMWs — and on a wider stage it breaks exciting new ground for small BMWs to come.

We have full details on the car in our in-depth news story, everything from how it looks, to tech improvements, engine variants, Singapore pricing and more. Be sure to read that to make sense of this review in full.

The 2 Series Active Tourer debuted in 2014 and immediately raised the hackles of BMW purists because it was the brand’s first ever multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and also its first front-wheel drive vehicle. That mattered nothing to normal buyers, who over the car’s lifetime bought 430,000 of them worldwide, making the car an unqualified success. In Singapore, the Cat A friendly 216i /216d and seven-geat GT model ensured it mirrored that success too.

CarBuyer found the first-gen 2AT to be practical and useful, but not the prettiest looking car inside and out. Its saving grace was that it drove better than the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, which wasn’t a particularly high bar to cross. Which is why the new-gen car is a refreshing break from history.

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Design and appearance: Crossing the i

We said the first 2AT/GT was never a looker and Ju-Len put it this way: “As for its being a BMW, I’d say owning a 216d is a bit like dating the ugliest Kardashian sister. It’s still fairly glam, and your pals will (probably) still envy you.”

While the new 2AT has a similar silhouette to before, in person it looks far more palatable than the photos suggest — ironically because it has a wider derriere.

BMW’s cribbed design cues from the iX flagship electric SUV — the thin lights, the tall hexagon grille, the cleaner aesthetic. A raked windscreen means the car looks less boxy/awkward and more purposeful, as well as the figure lines running down the side giving the car a ‘forward-aiming’ stance.

As mentioned in our news story, the car’s larger than before and it’s significantly wider, which gives it a less tall, oblong appearance, and married with the big griller and wider track, a crossover look rather than a van-like one. That’s important because in the ensuing years, SUVs have displaced the MPV as the choice for practical motorists .

Interior and Features: Lu-iX-ury lessons learnt

The 2AT boasts quite a few firsts for a small/compact BMW (currently comprising of the 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupe and 2 AT, X1, and X2) two of which are very noticeable inside: It's the first small Beemer to receive OS 8, the latest infotainment software/system, and also the first to have a new cockpit layout with the BMW Widescreen and shift-by-wire 'floating' armrest console.

The BMW Widescreen was first seen on the iX, and is a pair of displays — in the 2AT's case it's a 10.25-inch driver's instrument display and a 10.7-inch infotainment screen — combined under one pane of glass. While it's not one big widescreen as the name suggests, it's still a pretty execution of the very visible, digital expectations consumers have of the cockpit of a modern car.

The measurement of the latter also means it's one of the larger in-car displays for the small car segment — small Mercs have dual 10.25-inch screens now. It is sharp, responsive, and easy to reach without ergonomic acrobatics.

That's particularly important because the 2AT is also the first BMW in recent history to lack a now iconic thing: Unlike the iX, the 2AT is missing the iDrive controller, marking the first time BMW has gone the other way since the system debuted on the 7 Series way back in 2001. A real pity, since we've grown to love the tactile alternative to fiddly touchscreens. 

We're still getting dug in with BMW OS 8 and finding out where everything is, so while it looks very pretty with intricate animations and vivid colours, it's not as familiar as OS7 and therefore harder to use, for now. Setting up the driver's display to show different consumption figures was not straightforward, for instance.

But in all other areas, the 2AT is exemplary. It feels like a luxury car, and you certainly couldn't say that about low-spec versions of the previous car, which had acres of black plastic. 

The floating console section looks elegant and gives more storage room, and is made possible by shift-by-wire — the gear selector is now a switch. BMW also adds very visible and tactile flourishes, such as the wood trim, the knurling on the air con vent and volume control.

We expect all these to be on small BMWs to come, and that also means the German brand has something to counter the semi-literal flashiness of segment rivals from Mercedes.

Note that our test car packed the Luxury trim level, so it's a higher-spec car — base models for Singapore might be less-well equipped. But as mentioned in our news story, BMW has raised the standard equipment level for the car, globally, with one example being the sport steering wheel. 

Practicality and space: Space face

The car's wheelbase is the same as before, but it's wider and taller, so it does feel more spacious inside, and headroom is good enough for people 1.8-metres tall, possibly more.

Legroom for the second row is plentiful, and the car has the same modular seating — 40/20/40 split bench, which can fold, move fore and aft, and be adjustable for backrest angle. The boot space is similar to before as well, at 415-litres to 1,405 litres, and with its height should easily swallow that COVID-induced bicycle purchase.

One highlight of the rear is that it should be able to fit three adults in relative comfort. An aircon vent is present with two USB-C ports, and it also has a clever cutout so the centre passenger's feet do not get fouled while exiting the car. There's also the other benefit that only a significantly larger SUV can equal an MPV in space terms. 

In a Singaporean context, the 2AT loses out a key feature: The third-row. There will be no seven-seat Gran Tourer model, and our news story explains why. But there could be a 216i in future, and that would be extra-relevant in an era of high COE prices, and beyond.

Driving experience: Mature perambulation

The 2AT was already one of the more involving MPVs around, though as we said that's not a high bar to cross. It's still not magically morphed into an M2, but we can say that the car's on-road poise is much improved, so much so that it's quite nice to throw around on a piece of twisty tarmac.

The 220i is powered by an updated version of BMW's familiar 1.5-litre triple-cylinder turbo engine — it says 90 per cent of the parts are new, it's more efficient, and a tad torquier. It does have more go than the old car, but that's also because it's the first small/compact BMW with a 48V mild hybrid system.

Another first for the 2: It's the first small BMW with a mild hybrid system, and in the 230e PHEV, it's also the first to adapt the very efficient Gen5 electric-drive tech as seen in the iX3 and iX. 

But back to the 220i: 156hp/240Nm from the engine alone, with total boost going up to 170hp/280Nm, makes for a sprightly car that gains speed in a pleasing manner, even ascending steep hills outside Malaga.

The often narrow B-roads of the Montes Malaga demand precise steering, good brakes, and suspension sorted enough to shrug off bumps while preserving speed. The 220i scored well on most of those areas, with enough pointiness and confidence-inspiring suspension that allowed us to carry speed into tricky corners filled with bumps and tar snakes.

The brakes were underwhelming, but for an MPV it handles good enough to live up to its badge and then some. Pace note: Our test car came with the adaptive, lowered M Suspension, so the base setup will behave differently.

BMW said it paid attention to improving refinement too, with new engine mounts, more sealing around the C-pillar, lots of aerodynamic work (flat door handles, active aero grille, flat underbody — much of it again cribbed from the iX) and that pays dividends on the highway.

It's noticeably quieter than before, with less engine noise and vibrations, and at speed less wind noise as well. The suspension of our 220i Luxury dealt with urban roughness well, though on degraded surfaces tyre roar was inevitable.

Like before, the car has a tall seating position by default, which many urban drivers will find useful, though the A-pillars are very thick and block vision somewhat — the generous window cutouts help mitigate this some.

Competition and conclusion

BMW hasn't confirmed the 220i for a Singapore launch, and the 218i is the only one dead-cert for the Lion City at this moment. 

That said, the 220i that shares the same engine as the Singapore-bound 218i, we therefore expect the 218i to behave similar to the 220i when it comes to handling and refinement, though of course it will have less grunt (136hp compared to 156hp) and no mild hybrid system. The latter could even make the 220i a surprise bargain, if it falls on the right side of the VES divide.

That 136hp means the 2AT is no longer Cat A, until a 216i appears, and a seven-seater's absence means it doesn't have two key things its predecessor does. But for those who want a not-so-boring MPV in the luxury segment, the 2AT could be a front runner. 

True small MPV competition is getting thin on the ground in Singapore, with the Volkswagen Touran and Mercedes-Benz B-Class. The Merc is the direct competitor, it's also quite luxurious inside, but not nearly as nice to drive as the 2AT. But the real competition comes from Merc's GLB — the small seven-seat SUV. BMW and Audi have both yet to come up with direct competition for it, but they'd be foolish not to.

Despite the dawn of the SUV, and the maturing of the 2AT sets it up well in different era — it has a poise and presence, perhaps even a contrarian cool, it didn't have before.

READ ALSO: Artist Jeff Koons creates BMW's most elaborately designed car, with only 99 units being made

This article was first published in CarBuyer.