BMW 2 Series Active Tourer targets SUVs

BMW's new 2 Series Active Tourer belongs to a genre of car popular in Europe, but one that has never seemed to make much headway in SUV-luvvin' Australia. 

But BMW Australia sees an opportunity to increase its sales volume with the Active Tourer, which essentially competes with the X1 at some points. 

During the new car's local launch this week, Shawn Ticehurst, BMW Australia's head of product and market planning, outlined a strategy for the Active Tourer in the local market. That strategy revolves around finding new customers – people who have not previously considered themselves BMW brand loyalists, but may own an SUV. 

Ticehurst believes that the majority of Active Tourer sales here could be 'conquests', but not necessarily trading in the BMW's closest rival, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class. It's more likely that conquest buyers will be trading in small to medium SUVs costing up to around $50,000. 

"We're aiming – as a rough number – for 75 per cent..." Ticehurst said, quantifying the proportion of Active Tourer sales that would be conquests. 

"A lot of them are going to come from what we would call mainstream brands. You look at a lot of the small four-wheel drives out there [that] people are buying – especially in the city areas – you can easily be spending forties to fifties on a lot of their top-end cars by the time you get some of the gear that's standard in our car.

"Our challenge, of course, is breaking a little bit of that Australian mindset around SUVs. There's a cultural thing here around SUVs... and outdoing your neighbour's SUV, in a way...

"But I think there's a group of people out there that are in some ways almost the SUV rejecters. Obviously we still want to sell a lot of SUVs – we've got five of them in the range. But there are people out there that are making other choices."

Ticehurst was obliquely referring to a growing environmental movement in this country, for whom the SUV is the epitome of everything 'wrong' about the automotive industry and its customers. Those clients are more likely to be drawn to the Active Tourer by virtue of its smaller carbon footprint, but also by being a more pragmatic choice in the city and suburbs. 

"[The 2 Series Active Tourer] gives them all the space and room they want, [it's] easy to get around the city in, good fuel economy... all of those things," Ticehurst explained.

"I think it's a more European style of driving. The target market we're aiming at probably travels to Europe regularly. They've seen the way Europeans drive and live. This car will appeal to them. 

"But we know we've got a job to do, to convince them of that."

That job is converting drivers from SUVs, but what about conquesting buyers and sales from the clear and present danger that is the Mercedes-Benz B-Class?

"B-Class is the most logical competitor, without a doubt," Ticehurst admits, but he didn't care to offer speculation about just how many sales BMW can take off the three-pointed star – if any.

"We'll conquest some, having the newer car – certainly, we believe, the better car, with a lot of extra features in it, a lot of newer technology. 

"But to be blunt, our real goal would be conquesting people who maybe haven't yet looked at a brand like BMW – and show them we've got something now they can consider."

Ticehurst believes that depreciation will be an important factor in any purchasing decision in favour of the 2 Series Active Tourer. Just by wearing the BMW badge the new model should hold its value better than the small SUVs that are increasingly popular in the local market. 

"A car like this, with the BMW badge on it, we're very confident we'll have good resale value. 

Furthermore, the company's 'full circle' package, with guaranteed buy-back prices after a three- or four-year term is a key component of keeping resale values high for BMW owners, Ticehurst says, and it's available for the 2 Series Active Tourer as well. After deducting the buy-back price from the purchase price, the BMW might work out cheaper in the long run than SUVs similar in size and packaging. 

The BMW exec wouldn't reveal the brand's sales forecast for the 2 Series Active Tourer in Australia, but did say: "Relative for us, it's a reasonable volume seller."

In year to date sales, Mercedes-Benz has sold 2044 units of the B-Class – down from 2755 the year before. BMW would probably like to sell 200 a month of the Active Tourer, which might be possible if Ticehurst's plan to lever buyers out of SUVs comes to fruition. But if those same SUV buyers won't be moved, BMW will need to go in hard, taking B-Class buyers away from Benz. 

Even though the Active Tourer is unlikely to sell in huge numbers, it spreads the risk for BMW, Ticehurst says. If sales of the company's SUV range were to fall in a hole, for example, increments from models like the Active Tourer would help the prestige importer remain viable. 

"This car just helps us strengthen that [at the] smaller end of the segment."

The longer wheelbase Grand Tourer version – with seven-seat capability – is effectively ruled out for Australia, according to Ticehurst. 

"At this stage [there are] no plans to bring it in."

And the all-wheel drive version of the Active Tourer will not be coming here either, with the X1 filling that role in Australia. 

The Active Tourer will be available in four variants. Starting price for the entry-level 218i is $44,400, rising to $47,800 for the similarly-equipped 218d (diesel). The 225i flagship runs out at $54,900, but there's a cheaper option available in the 220i, which isn't released with the rest of the range, but will follow in January. It's priced from $50,900. 

Powered by a turbo-petrol three-cylinder that can also be found in the latest MINI, the 218i develops 100kW and 200Nm, for a combined-cycle fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km. The 0-100km/h time for the base model is a leisurely 9.2 seconds, hampered not only by the lower output, but also the standard six-speed automatic transmission. Other variants – all with four-cylinder powerplants – come with eight-speed units. 

The 218d features a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel that produces 110kW and 330Nm for a fuel consumption figure of 4.2L/100km and a 0-100km/h time of 8.9 seconds. Yet to arrive, the 220i shares its 2.0-litre petrol engine with the range-topping 225i, but is rated at just 141kW and 280Nm – versus 170kW and 350Nm for the 225i. Fuel consumption and acceleration times are respectively 5.9L/100km and 7.4 seconds for the 220i, or 6.1L/100km and 6.6 seconds for the 225i. 

Drive is sent to the front wheels, which are suspended by MacPherson struts, complemented by a multi-link system at the rear. Steering is an electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion system (electronically controlled for the 225i), and brakes comprise four-wheel discs, with the rear discs ventilated in the case of the 225i. 

Standard features for the 218 include 17-inch alloy wheels, auto-start/stop, ConnectedDrive, brake-enabled cruise control, driver assistance systems, parking sensors/Parking Assistant, reversing camera, halogen headlights, front/rear fog lights, heated external mirrors, High-Beam Assist, electrochromatic mirror, rain-sensing wipers/dusk-sensing headlights, climate control, powered tailgate, triple-split folding rear seat, multi-function steering wheel, extended smartphone connectivity, six-speaker audio with Bluetooth music streaming, USB/iPod port, navigation, trip computer, electric mirrors and windows. 

Both the 218i and 218d are offered as standard in BMW's Sport Line package, with imitation leather trim. The diesel is specified with the same equipment as the three-cylinder model. 

Additionally, the 220i gains 18-inch alloys, LED headlights with cornering lights, an interior lights package and electrochromatic fold-in exterior mirrors. As for the lower-grade variants the 220i is specified in the Sport Line by default. 

The 225i is trimmed largely as for the 220i, but with the addition of Dynamic Damper Control and Dakota leather trim. It's sold in the Luxury Line, with the Sport Line package a no-cost option. Similarly, other Active Tourer variants can be specified in Luxury Line trim but at a further cost of $1300. 

All Active Tourer models come with dynamic braking lights, side-curtain airbags, side-impact airbags (front seats only) and dual front airbags.

BMW is taking orders now, with the first deliveries due to take place next month for all models barring the 220i, which won't arrive in the country until January. 

Remember those? Their 'success' resulted in other companies opting not to market similar packages here – vehicles like the Ford C-Max, the Citroen C4 Picasso (five-seat) or the Opel Meriva. 

These vehicles are all the rage in Europe, but have no great following to speak of in Australia. Larger car companies have adopted a strategy for maximising the return on investment while producing an SUV for one market and a similarly-sized MPV for another. Ford probably exemplifies that strategy best, with both its Kuga SUV and the C-MAX built on the same, Focus-based platform. Only the 'top hat' sets the two vehicles apart in a real sense.