BAVARIA: BMW has revealed its new version 2 Series Active Tourer, arriving as the second ‘Bimmer’ to be built on the MINI Cooper’s UKL front-wheel-drive platform.

The new seven-seat 2 Series Gran Tourer is BMW’s first compact people-mover.

In fact, BMW describes the 2 Series Gran Tourer as the world’s first premium compact seven-seater, beating Mercedes-Benz’s B-Class into the space.

As a premium model, the 2 Series ‘GT’ enters well above more affordable models like the new Kia Rondo, which also offers seven seats and similar dimensions.

Overall, the 4556mm 2 Series Gran Tourer is 214mm longer than the 2 Series Active Tourer, while its 2780mm wheelbase is 110mm longer.

For European buyers, the 2 Series Gran Tourer will be offered in standard form as a more spacious five-seater, but, unlike the Active Tourer, a third row of seating will be offered as an optional extra.

That third row will be able to fold into the floor of the loading space, allowing storage capacity to grow from 645 to 805 litres. Folding the second row flat expands that space to 1905 litres.

By comparison, the regular five-seat Active Tourer lists rear storage at 468 and 1510 litres respectively.

In Europe, the 2 Series Gran Tourer will be offered in three- and four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engines, along with a single 220d xDrive diesel model.

Six-speed auto and manual transmissions will be available with the petrol models, while the all-wheel-drive diesel will get an eight-speed auto.