The BMW->ke178 Concept Active Tourer is set to be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, which begins on September 29th and it will debut with some all-new BMW technology. BMW sees the Active Tourer as its way to fit in with the 5-percent annual mpg growth required by the recently passed CAFÉ extension through 2025. Believe it or not, this compact crossover actually shares a small amount of DNA with the upcoming i8->ke3915 plug-in hybrid sports car, which we will get into later.

The Concept Active Tourer is just as its name alludes to, a concept. However, it is a great glimpse into the upcoming technologies that BMW plans to add to its line up in the coming years. One brand-new item the Concept Tourer bears is the eDrive system, which we’ll describe in more detail later. The second new technology is the first-ever appearance by the much-anticipated BMW 3-cylinder engine.

As with any concept car that we see, we have to ask a few questions. First, is this concept a reality or is it a pipe dream that will likely never see the light of day in its conception form (See: Pontiac Sunfire)? Secondly, can this concept even compete in its market in both price and performance?

Click past the jump to read all about the BMW Concept Active Tourer and get the answers to these questions.

2013 BMW Concept Active Tourer

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2013 BMW Concept Active Tourer
  • Engine/Motor: inline-3
  • Horsepower: 190
  • Torque: 279
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

Being a compact Crossover vehicle, BMW took the Concept Active Tourer’s dimensions very seriously. It had to take great care to keep its footprint small, yet not negatively impact the highly desired BMW comfort and handling or make its cabin too small. With its 4,353 mm (171.4-inch) length and 1,834 mm (72.2-inch) width, BMW managed to keep its footprint small enough to slide it into the luxury compact segment. On top of that, BMW added in a 2,670 mm (105-inch) wheelbase to keep its ride comfort and handling equally balanced, a high roofline to make the interior feel roomier, and transversely mounted the engine – breaking its own mold in the process – to help squeeze in a little more interior space.

The Concept Active Tourer offers up a perfect balance of sport and luxury on the outside. The exterior is coated in a fine High Reflection Silver color that gives the body a dignified look to cover up its sporty lines. Up front, you will see a slightly raked front grille flanked by a pair of LED headlights that swoop rearward to the front fenders, making the Concept Active Tourer look like a sports model.

The lower front fascia boasts a sporty look not seen on many crossovers. Its wide mouth with black louvers is flanked by a pair of air intake openings that boast the same black louvers. Above the mouth and air intakes is a stylish line that almost makes the Concept Active Tourer look like its smiling at you as you approach it.

From the side, the concept Active Tourer gives you a wedge design not often seen on a crossover. This is all thanks to the shallow-raked front glass, sloped nose, and its tilted grille making up a perfect package. From the side, you also will notice a set of premium 20-inch wheels, which is unheard of in the compact crossover realm. The sides of the Concept Active Tourer boast a stylish high beltline that adds a little shape to the doors, eliminating that boring look that many cars fall into from the side.

On the rear end, you will find what BMW calls “athletic elegance,” and we couldn’t say it any better ourselves. The taillights wrap around to the rear quarter panels and boast the same angle as the beltline, allowing you to see this stylish line from the rear end. Giving it the athletic look is its stout stance created by the wide wheel arches viewable from the rear end. As you make your way down the backside of this impressive-looking crossover, you come to a rear apron that makes this crossover look mean. Two cutouts in the apron allow twin exhaust pipes to flow out of the rear.

All we can say about the Concept Active Tourer’s body is “Wow.” Somehow BMW managed to take the typically boring and turn it into solid gold. Of course, for the majority of the 2000s, BMW has been doing just that, so this is not unfamiliar territory.

Interior

One really neat thing that BMW did was to completely house the lithium ion batteries completely under the floor, making the interior much more spacious that you would think. This also adds to its cargo-hauling capabilities, making it serviceable as an SUV-type car.

BMW definitely did not skimp out on the Concept Active Tourer’s interior. It is loaded up with open-pore laminated wood that is milled from a single block, which outlines the division between the upper and lower sections of the dashboard.

The seats and door panel inserts feature full-grain leather covering with smooth leather to add a little bit of contrast. Orange contrasting seams on the seats remind you that this is not all about luxury; there is a little sport under there too. The center console almost hovers between the two seats after it makes its nearly seamless connection to the dashboard, which gives the driver and front passenger a little more room to move their legs.

As BMW has always been known for, the Concept Active Tourer gives the driver easy access to all of the vehicle’s controls. The circular instruments and central information display boast BMW’s Black Panel Technology, maximizing viewing in both the day and nighttime via a 10.25-inch integrated panel instead of analog gauges. For a little extra ease of use, BMW also adds in a full-color heads-up display that appears on a glass screen that pops up between the instrument panel and the windshield.

The central information display is an 8-inch screen that gives you access to all of the vehicle’s menus, as well as the navigation system. In addition to that, it shows the driver how the hybrid system is working and lets the driver know how efficiently he is driving. The system uses the Plus navigation system to anticipate route profile, speed limits, and traffic to help the driver best use the vehicle’s energy.

Above the seating area is a “Cool Shade” panorama roof. This glass roof contains Suspended Particle Device (SPD) technology, which means the passengers or driver can control the amount of light let through and the amount of temperature let through at the press of a button. It ranges anywhere from the darkness of a pair of sunglasses to a crystal-clear appearance. The SPD system works by electrically charging molecules, forcing them to change their color.

From the looks we get of the interior, the Concept Active Tourer can seat up to five people – two up front and three in the rear. The rear seating gets special attention in this crossover, as BMW gives them tons of legroom for a compact vehicle and a raised rear roof to provide them with the ability to navigate to their seats easier. The rear seats are split 40:20:40, so you can get tons more cargo in without having to fold all of the seats. However, if you have a bigger load, you can fold all three seat backs and get a flat loading floor.

The Travel & Comfort system that BMW offers with the Concept Active Tourer has a huge impact on the rear passengers, as it has a vertical track placed on the rear of the front seats. On this track, the rear passengers can attach tray tables, storage bags an even most common tablet computers. These all attach via a quick-attach and release connector that slides up and down the track as needed.

BMW also fitted the Concept Active Tourer with an iPad app called “Seismic Surf,” which uses the driver’s style of driving to formulate a driving game. The goal of the game is to collect as many points as possible while remaining as economical as possible. The less economical the driver drives this compact crossover, the twistier the course on the game becomes. The more economical the driver, the easier the course in the game is. Cool idea, but pretty much just a feature to slap on the vehicle to make it seem cooler. In real life, it is likely a mess.

With the exception being the iPad app, BMW did a great job fitting the Concept Active Tourer with useful pieces of technology that not only help the driver enjoy the driving experience, but also drive as efficiently as possible. The iPad app, eh, we’re not huge fans of a car having a built-in driving game controlled by the driver’s driving style.

Drivetrain

The Concept Active Tourer uses BMW’s all-new eDrive system, which is shared with the i8 concept. This system acts as a plug-in hybrid system that will allow the driver to travel well over 30 km (18.6 miles) on just electric power alone. The electric motor can also have its profile changed at the drop of a hat to instantly boost the vehicle’s acceleration, which will use up a little more battery power than normal driving, of course. This electric motor pushes out 200 Nm (147 pound-feet) of torque, which is available immediately, to the rear wheels. The Active Tourer can be charged via a standard household 220-volt plug, but it also receives charge from both the rear axle movement and a generator attached to the 1.5-liter Twin-Power Turbo engine which uses a dual-scroll turbocharger to up the output in a way similar to a twin-turbo system.

This TwinPower 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine features High Precision Injection, and BMW’s Valvetronic variable-valve-timing system. Though this engine has only three cylinders, don’t start thinking it’s all about economy, as this turbocharged 3-pot has some bang for its buck. BMW claims it to have spontaneous response, and a dynamic, sporty sound. The roll torque of this 3-cylinder is less than BMW’s current 4-cylinder offerings, as expected, but BMW farther heightens this by adding in a counterbalance shaft that offsets the movements of the engine internals, keeping everything running extremely smooth – just like a Bimmer should.

In total, this system pumps out 190 horsepower, but no torque value is listed. We estimate the combined torque to be somewhere in the 279 to 325 pound-feet range, given the recent details released about the 3-cylinder lineup. BMW claims that the Compact Active Tourer will hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in just shy of eight seconds and will have a top speed around 200 km/h (124 mph). The performance is acceptable for a sporty crossover, though not overwhelming, but its 2.5 l/100 km (94.09 mpg) and 60 g/km of CO2 emission is downright stellar.

To help extend the Concept Active Tourer’s range, BMW fitted it with an ECO PRO system, which reduces the power of the A/C system and other electronic systems, gives the driver valuable driving advice by using the anticipated driving route and fuel conservation techniques, and activate the “coasting mode,” at two levels between 50 and 160 km/h (31 mph and 99 mph), which disengages the gasoline engine from the drivetrain and allows full use of the stored kinetic energy. This feature alone will save its driver hundreds of dollars per year in fuel, if he does a lot of light-traffic, long-distance driving.

Pricing and Release Date

The Concept Active Tourer is still in concept phase, so BMW has not released a base price or a release date. We do, however, expect to see the Concept Active Tourer in production in the coming years. There are some features that you can expect to be missing from the production model, including track system for mounting trays, bags and tablet computers, driving-style-regulated iPad video game, and the 20-inch wheels. It may even arrive prior to the i8. As for pricing, you can expect this crossover to start out in the mid- to high-$60,000s and maybe into the $70,000s.

Competition

Since it’s still in the conception phase and there is no crossover like it, it is hard to pin down a competitor for the Concept Active Tourer. We can, however, compare it to a traditional luxury hybrid crossover on the market, the Lexus 400h->ke1916 SUV. This SUV is significantly larger than the BMW, measuring in at 187.8 inches long and 66.7 inches wide, and having a 107.9-inch wheelbase. This means the cabin will likely be larger and more comfortable, but we cannot verify that, as BMW did not release the precise cabin specs. This Lexus’ 3.5-liter V-6 engine pumps out a stout 295 horsepower through a CVT drivetrain, giving it a huge advantage over the less-powerful BMW. It is also faster to 60 mph with its 7.5-second sprint.

Where this and all traditional hybrids fall short of plug-in hybrids is the fact that plug-in hybrids crush them in mpg. In the case of these two SUVs, the difference is staggering – the Bimmer gets 94 mpg, whereas the Lexus gets 32 mpg in the city.

In terms of styling, the two SUVs are equally stunning, so we’ll call that one a draw.

Conclusion

The Active Tourer is a fantastic concept and we are about 95 percent certain it will hit production in some form. It will be expensive and, as we said, it will lack some of the more high-tech and safety-lowering features. Its 94 mpg simply blows us away and pulling that off with a sub-8-second 0 to 60 sprint just makes us grin. Nothing like having you fat-free cake with a little bit of taste to go along with it. But with it possibly cresting the $100K mark fully loaded, is this plug-in hybrid really worth the cash?

We say if you are in the market for a $100K SUV, this is definitely an option. Even if you are looking at a $50K to $60K SUV, this may be worth the extra money just in the fuel you’ll save. Plus it looks good, has BMW’s legendary pedigree and will likely come with a stellar warranty package to keep you covered. To boot, this is an established company. And as much as we love what Tesla->ke1842 is up to with its Model X, we still have our fears that it might all come crumbling down at some point for Tesla.