Last week, BMW handed over to journalists a fleet of 225xe Active Tourers hybrids to be driven around Munich. The European-only model is one of the two eDrive-powered models released so far this year – the 330e being the other one – with a series hybrid – 740Le – following in the next few months.
The plug-in hybrid Active Tourer is produced on the same production lines as the 1 Series Hatchback and the 2 Series family. Only at a few changes in the process were made, along with additional employees who are assisting with specific elements, such as the electric motor or high-voltage battery for the plug-in hybrid drive.
The BMW eDrive technology is coupled with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. Driving the rear wheels with the electric motor and the front wheels with the combustion engine’s power furthermore produces an electrified all-wheel-drive system that is quite unique in the BMW 225xe’s segment. The plug-in hybrid drive has an overall system output of 165 kW/224 hp. The maximum electric range is 41 kilometers (25 miles).
Like the BMW i8, the BMW X5 xDrive40e, BMW 330e and BMW 740e can all – at the touch of a button in MAX eDRIVE mode – run on purely electric power up to 120 km/h (75 mph), the BMW 225xe goes up to 125 km/h (78 mph).
In Germany, the 2016 BMW 225xe Active Tourer has a starting price of 38,700 euros.
