Item: Used BMW 2-Series Active Tourer 2014-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/b-class/hatchback/used-review/n759">Mercedes B-Class</a> does have some classy touches to its interior &ndash; such as the metal air vents &ndash; and there is plenty of usable interior space. But it doesn&rsquo;t drive as well as the BMW and big wheels ruin the ride and create quite a lot of road roar. Plus the engines are rather vocal when you need strong acceleration.
The stylish <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/c4-spacetourer/mpv/review/n66">Citroen C4 Picasso</a> is actually quite good value; it doesn&rsquo;t pretend to be a sporty drive, instead erring more towards comfort and practicality. The infotainment is nowhere near as good as it is in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/bmw">BMW</a>, however.
The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf-sv/hatchback/review/n190">Volkswagen Golf SV</a> is a quiet and good-handling MPV; it is based on the standard Golf, after all. It's quite expensive compared with rivals and its interior isn&rsquo;t quite as practical, or as nicely finished, as the BMW's.
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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

There aren&rsquo;t that many issues with the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer. The usual problems would be a blocked diesel particulate filter (DPF) on diesel models that don&rsquo;t often venture onto the motorway, where the DPF is able to clean and regenerate itself at higher speeds. If you are unsure, ask how the previous owner has used the car. 
There have been some issues with the spring-loaded plastic flaps in the boot. The floor panel is prone to coming detached, requiring you to lift the flaps up to put it back in place, and sometimes these flaps can shear, causing bits of plastic to break off if it is not clipped back correctly.

BMW as a brand hasn&rsquo;t had the greatest showing in reliability surveys, but there have been no reports of significant issues giving grief to BMW 2-Series Active Tourer owners. Of the surveys collated, one mentioned problems with the engine, one with the drivetrain and one was a fault with the infotainment system. That's a good result considering the numbers of Active Tourers on the roads. As with all used purchases, you should check all of these areas before committing to buy. 
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Estate

Munich-based BMW is most famous for its sports saloons, in particular the 3 Series and 5 Series. However, it actually builds almost every type of car imaginable: everything from two-seat convertibles to seven-seat MPVs.

The cheapest model in the BMW range is the 1 Series hatchback, which is a rival to the Audi A3, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Volkswagen Golf. Meanwhile, at the other extreme is the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, which costs more than £100,000.

BMW was also quick to capitalise on the rise of the SUV and now has six in its range: the X1, X2, X3, X4, X5 and X6.

All of this makes it one of the big three German prestige brands, along with Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

2 SERIES

With a high-quality, practical interior plus a good balance of comfort and handling, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer is a fine five-seater MPV. 

Used BMW 2-Series Active Tourer 2014-present

All models registered after April 2017 will cost &pound;140 per year to tax, but for cars registered before this date, running costs vary.
The cheapest-to-run models are the 216d and the 225xe, as the road tax for both of these is free, although in the case of the 225xe this is outweighed somewhat by the high purchase price. These two are also supposed to achieve the best MPG, with the 216d claiming 74.3mpg and the 225xe rated at 99.9mpg. Unless you charge this plug-in hybrid after every journey, however, you&rsquo;re unlikely to achieve that fuel economy figure.
The next models are the 218d, with road tax of &pound;20 and a claimed 68.9mpg, and the 218i, at &pound;30 and 55.4mpg. The most expensive Active Tourers to run are the 220d xDrive (&pound;115 and 64.2mpg), and the 225i xDrive (&pound;190 and 44.1mpg). Both of these offer four-wheel drive, which makes them considerably more expensive to run than their front-wheel drive siblings. BMW recognised this and does offer the 220d in front-wheel-drive form. This cuts road tax to &pound;30 and it should do seven more miles to the gallon, at 64.2mpg. 
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Thanks to a huge choice of engines, power outputs and even a hybrid option, there will be a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/bmw">BMW</a> 2-Series Active Tourer to suit most pockets.
High-mileage BMW 218d SE models begin around &pound;10,000. However, if you up the budget to &pound;13,500-&pound;14,000, you can find the same model with 20-30,000 miles . 
Petrol versions aren&rsquo;t quite so numerous and will probably have covered fewer miles than their diesel counterparts, meaning prices are a little higher. The 218i versions can cost around &pound;13,000.
The 2-Series is also available as a plug-in hybrid, badged 225xe. These were the most expensive model in the range when new and are very rare as a used car. A lot of them are still young enough to be part of BMW&rsquo;s Approved Used Scheme if you&rsquo;re interested in one, but prices are still high for them, at around &pound;30,000.

The extra torque of the diesel engines available in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/bmw">BMW</a> 2-Series Active Tourer make them our recommended choice for powering this car. If you regularly carry passengers, you will appreciate the fact you don&rsquo;t have to rev the engine out in order to get anywhere. Of the diesel range, we&rsquo;d suggest you look for a 218d; with 148bhp, it offers the best blend of performance, economy and low-cost road tax. When paired with the fantastic eight-speed automatic gearbox, it makes for a very relaxing premium MPV.
If you don&rsquo;t need to cover lots of miles, then you should consider the 218i, which features a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 134bhp. It's quiet when on a cruise and has an interesting burble to it while accelerating. 
Our favourite BMW 2-series Active Tourer: 218d SE
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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of space for all the family and their paraphernalia</li> <li>Comfortable ride for everyone inside</li> <li>Seats with plenty of adjustment and versatility of layout</li> <li>Engine that can cope with a full load of people and luggage</li> <li>Excellent efficiency to avoid big fuel bills</li></ul>

Practicality is king in the MPV market, which has taken a hit as buyers have turned towards trendier SUVs. There are still plenty of decent offerings to suit most budgets, though, with Citroën fielding a particularly strong line-up. The French manufacturer’s Berlingo offers bags of space for not much money and you can easily haggle off thousands of extra pounds in discounts, too.

Citroën also scores with the larger Grand C4 Spacetourer, which offers seven seats, lots of oddment space and appealing running costs for something so large. A similarly priced and even better option is the Volkswagen Touran. Meanwhile, if you prefer a premium badge, there's always the BMW 2 Series Active and Gran Tourers or Mercedes B-Class and V-Class.

But for something sizeable that's still decent to drive, we’d recommend you check out the Ford Galaxy, which can offer three rows of seats and decent luggage space at the same time. It’s not that much pricier than the smaller S-Max.

Being a family car, the interior of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/bmw">BMW</a> 2-Series Active Tourer could have been given a hard time, so check that there are no stains or wear of the upholstery caused by child seats. Check that lids to storage bins work as they should and that the seats still slide forwards and backwards. Inspect top of the rear bumper, too, which may have been scratched by items being dragged in and out of the boot.
Also, check the alloy wheels for scrapes and grazes caused by drivers who park too close to kerbs, possibly as they off-load their offspring.

In some ways, it&rsquo;s quite annoying, not least because there are so many different body styles of BMW 2 Series that you have to keep tagging on the Active Tourer part every time you discuss it, and that becomes rather a mouthful. Other than that, it&rsquo;s a very well thought out five-seat MPV that should ease the burden of transporting a family and their luggage.
The Active Tourer also marks a break from tradition for <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/bmw">BMW</a> in that it's front-wheel drive rather than the company&rsquo;s more usual bread and butter of rear-wheel drive. This has two benefits, the first being that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t need a large central transmission tunnel, which would impact rear legroom. It also means that the model can be built on the same platform as the Mini, which is known for providing fun handling. 
Because of this, the Active Tourer does manage to drive much better than its contemporaries, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf-sv/hatchback/review/n190">Volkswagen Golf SV</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/c4-spacetourer/mpv/review/n66">Citroen C4 Picasso</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/b-class/hatchback/used-review/n759">Mercedes B-Class</a>. It certainly isn&rsquo;t sporty in the traditional BMW sense, but it manages to follow the fine line between handling balance and a comfortable ride &ndash; at least in SE trim with smaller wheels. If you go for M-Sport, by contrast, the ride is very firm on its sports suspension. BMW allowed customers to deselect it, or there was the option of adaptive dampers to improve the ride quality in normal day-to-day use &ndash; although models so equipped are hard to find on the used market.
But the primary function of the Active Tourer is as family transport. To that end, BMW has put a lot of effort into the usability of the available space. You may not like the look of the raised roofline, but it does help when putting children into their safety seats in the back, and the rear seats split 40:20:40, which helps if you need to carry both longer loads and passengers. In some versions, the front passenger seat can be folded down flat to increase the load area further. There are also lots of interior cubbies and bins, in which stuff can be hidden away from prying eyes. And all of these nooks and crannies are very nicely finished, much more so than in the Mercedes B-Class. The Active Tourer feels a cut above its rivals in this regard. 
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Used BMW 2-Series Active Tourer 2014-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used BMW 2 Series estate?