Bruce Newton•23 Jul 2013
NEWS
BMW's bold new models
Front-wheel drive CAT and electric i3 are headline acts of overhauled rangeBMW’s first electric vehicle will cost between $50,000 and $70,000 when it launches in Australia late next year and its first front-wheel drive model more than $40,000.
And while the i3 EV and production version of the Compact Activity Tourer will command many of the headlines, there are other models which will also stir plenty of interest as the German premium brand’s range undergoes overhaul and expansion in the next 18 months.
Among them are the 4 Series coupe, a little brother for the X6 SUV coupe dubbed the X4, the new generation turbo six-cylinder M3 sedan and M4 coupe and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, which will arrive in limited numbers in Q3 2014.
The CAT will be the last new arrival scheduled for 2014, but will also be one of the most heavily anticipated, as it is the first BMW to ride on the UKL1 front-wheel drive platform that also underpins the next generation MINI due in 2014.
Eventually, it is predicted, more than half all BMWs, including the next generation 1 Series hatch, will be front-wheel drive. That's a radical change for a company that has been intrinsically linked with rear-wheel drive performance cars.
And not only is the Compact Activity Tourer front-wheel drive it's also a five-door 5+2 wagon. Some might even call it a people-mover – but definitely not BMW, which sees it as a direct rival for the Mercedes-Benz B-class.
"I wouldn't call it a people mover," said BMW Australia sales and marketing general manager Tom Noble. "I don’t think a B-class is a people mover."
Intriguingly Noble described the CAT as the "2 Series Activity Tourer". Although there is no official confirmation as yet what number the car will wear in production, speculation has also pointed towards 1 Series GT.
Expected to be powered by BMW’s new modular families of turbocharged engines mounted transverse, including a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol triple, the CAT first appeared as a hybrid concept at the Paris motor show in September 2012. More recently, an ‘Outdoor’ version with internal mountain bike racks has been shown (pictured).
“I think we will probably find a new audience for it,” Noble predicted. “It will be people who have always wanted a BMW or a premium car that are on a fairly limited budget – although you are not going to be making $60,000 a year and buy one of these things because they are still $40,000 plus cars – that can’t fit their life into a hatch or a small coupe.”
He rejected any concern that buyers would be turned off by front-wheel drive.
“The people that have driven it say it will still be the best in class in how it drives,” Noble said. “When we did some research in Europe most people who bought a 1 Series didn’t know whether they had a front-wheel drive or a rear-wheel drive car, they just knew that it was a BMW and drives really well.
“It will have all the performance and sportiness that you will expect a BMW to have. It won’t be a Kia people-mover.”
The i3 will arrive in the third quarter and will be offered as both a range-extender hybrid and a plug-in electric vehicle. Noble predicted pricing for the carbon-fibre bodied four-door will range between $50,000 and $70,000.
“It’s a brand statement car about technology and innovation,” Noble explained. “The thing with 'i' is it’s not just about selling you a car, it’s a concept about where mobility is going in the future.
“So with the i-car there will be Connected Drive features like i-park ... so you can book a parking spot from your home in the morning on your mobilephone that then ties into your car.
“Instead of buying a lease for an i-car you can buy a lease for i-mobility, because you then have access to an X3 or X5 or whatever else for a certain amount of time during the course of a month, because you know you want to put your bikes in the back of the car and go out five hours away in the mountains.
“We can package a mobility package for you within the lease that you pay that gives you options to do that.
BMW new model roll-out
5 Series midlife – August 2013
3 Series Gran Turismo – September 2013
4 Series coupe – October 2013
New generation X5 – November 2013
2 Series coupe – Quarter 1 2014
X4 – Quarter 3 2014
New generation M3 and M4 – Quarter 3 2014
i3 – Quarter 3 2014
i8 – Quarter 3 2014
2 Series Compact Activity Tourer – Quarter 4 2014
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Written byBruce Newton
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