There is good news and bad news for the many BMW enthusiasts who have made it clear they don't like the direction BMW is taking with front-wheel-drive models. First the bad news: BMW is going to make front-wheel drive vehicles. Lots of them.
The good news: Not as many of them are coming to the U.S. Specifically, BMW will not be bringing its first front-drive vehicle—the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer—to the American market.
Quoted in a BMWBlog article, BMW of North America spokesperson Tom Plucinsky said, “There are currently no plans to bring the Active Tourer to the U.S. market.”
The 2 Series Active Tourer is designed as an entry-level family people mover. It should be popular in other international markets, such as China and Europe, but with the Active Tourer’s price point and the availability of three BMW Sport Activity Vehicle series of various sizes, the 2 Series Active Tourer may not be the right fit for the American market right now.
That doesn’t mean BMW couldn’t change its mind.
The BMW X1, which will share the 2 Series Active Tourer’s UKL platform, will be built with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants, but there’s nothing that says BMW has to bring the front-drive version to market here, either.
Rear-wheel drive fans can breathe a sign of relief that they won’t have to look at BMW front-drivers as soon as they thought, but the reality is, people that might lean toward a BMW and who want a multi-purpose vehicle that isn’t an SAV will be looking at other manufacturers' offerings.
Smaller, turbocharged BMW engines are here and government fuel and emission regulations mean they won’t be going away. If adding smaller, front-wheel drive vehicles with low emission engines keeps BMW's fleet averages compliant and the company profitable so that they can keep building the higher-performance rear-wheel and all-wheel drive cars we like, then so be it.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
