This BMW Concept Active Tourer has evolved for the nature and cycling set and premiered at OutDoor Friedrichshafen, a trade fair in held this month in Germany. The sturdy wagon is tweaked with new materials, accessories and ConnectedDrive features for those who do a lot of their living under the sky as opposed to inside their cars.
Under the hood is the same plug-in hybrid drive system we've were introduced to in 2012, featuring a transversely-mounted, 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor and a battery pack under the rear compartment floor. Total output is 190 horsepower and 147 pound-feet of torque headed to the front wheels, a claimed time from zero to 62 of under eight seconds, a pure electric range of up to 19 miles, a top speed of 124 miles per hour and claimed fuel economy of around 95 US miles per gallon.
The space behind the rear seats is the showcase, with a transformable compartment that can stow two bikes on built-in, retractable carriers. Remove the front wheel and seat from the bikes, then the frames can be locked into place using two rails and brackets. The wheels can be stowed in a holder attached to the right rear seat, the saddles can go into a compartment in the load floor. If you need to make a quick adjustment or a fix, you can do so since the bikes are aligned across the load bay.
Dirty, oily machinery isn't kind to interiors, so BMW has given the Concept Tourer Outdoor tough surface treatments in MoonRock Gray and MoonWhite to keep the abuse at bay. The load floor is a studded plastic in MoonRock Gray, the forward parts of the cabin are in MoonRock Grey and MoonWhite leather, plastic, Alu Mesh and Steron trim. Gold Race Orange trim inside matches the color of the body outside, and it all sits on 20-inch wheels.
One of the ConnectedDrive features on the eight-inch black panel display is a "Heart of the Alps" route guide, a product of BMW and the Austrian Tyrol tourist board, that provides "exclusive premium routes in the Seefeld, Ötztal and Zillertal regions."
