It’s all change in BMW world on various levels. The 2-series Active Tourer is the first front-wheel drive BMW. The brand’s first MPV, too. And in 2015, it’ll join the ranks of BMW’s burgeoning plug-in hybrid set.

The technology will be shared with the next X1 – and what’s unusual about Munich’s solution is that it powers the rear wheels.

Yes, that’s right: the 2015 BMW 2-series Active Tourer eDrive will be four-wheel drive.

The plug-in hybrid story

While almost all rival hybrids drive the front wheels, BMW’s eDrive concept connects to the rear wheels via a 102bhp/184lb ft electric motor.

According to sources from within Munich’s corridors of R&D, this application offers distinct traction and weight distribution benefits, along with four-wheel torque vectoring.

Decoded: the new BMW people carrier will be quicker and sharper driving, as well as cleaner. And four-wheel drive may well tempt away buyers of regular SUVs to try this taller-riding BMW.

BMW initially showed the Active Tourer as a concept car powered by a plug-in hybrid unit. BMW quoted 113mpg and 60g/km CO2 emissions, although these numbers will be diluted for production, we expect.

A lithium ion battery packs offers a zero-emissions EV range of up to 20 miles, while the 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine takes over when the battery is depleted.

Source: Car Magazine