2015 BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer Revealed: Meet The Seven-Seat FWD MPV

Having already unveiled a five-seater version mid last year, called the 2 Series Active Tourer (coming to Malaysia soon), here is BMW’s latest iteration of its entry into the MPV market, now with seven seats and a tweaked name: the all-new 2 Series Gran Tourer.

Sharing the same platform that underpins the shorter Active Tourer, the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer gets its architecture stretched out and heightened to a length of 4,556mm and a ride height of 1,608mm – Active Tourer is 4,342mm long, and 1,555mm tall. Widths for both vehicles are 1,800mm. The wheel base of the GT has been extended too, going from the AT’s 2,670 to 2,780mm.

The 2 Series Gran Tourer is also the BMW brand’s second go at a front-wheel drive vehicle and a more family-friendly MPV. But that doesn’t mean you’d be short of any BMW-esque driving dynamics and DNA. And, if you insist on at least some rear-wheel action, there will be an xDrive model available in a diesel guise at its market launch: 220d xDrive.

Inside, the cabin allows for the seating of seven, with the third row seats fully able to fold down and be tucked away into the loading floor. The sliding second row of seats are of a 40:20:40 split arrangement, which slid forward for maximum cargo capability takes the rear space from an original 645 litres to 805 litres of space. A push of a button around the back folds the middle seats flat, exposing 1,905 litres of boot space.

A new model line has been added to the 2 Series Gran Tourer on top of the existing M Sport, Sport and Luxury Lines: Advantage. The Advantage Line adds items like a Park Distance Control, Cruise Control with Braking function and more.

Five turbocharged engines have been primed for entry, being an assortment of BMW’s three and four cylinder diesels and petrols. The two petrols called to are the 220i four-pot, and the 218i three-cylinder. The trio of diesels include a 218d, 216d (three-cylinder), and the 220d xDrive model.

Back home, BMW Malaysia will launch the all-new 2 Series Active Tourer in due time (we expect sometime end Q1/ early Q2). It’s newer, bigger cousin, the Gran Tourer, will first be making a motor show debut at the coming Geneva Motor Show.