Meet the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer’s (AT) longer, more practical and roomier sibling, the new 2-Series Gran Tourer (GT) with seating for up to seven passengers.

BMW‘s second front-wheel drive model measures 4,556mm (179.4 inches) long, 1,800mm (70.9 inches) wide and 1,608mm (63.3 inches) tall, making it 214mm (8.4 inches) longer and 53mm (2.1 inches) higher than the existing 2-Series Active Tourer upon which it is based.

More crucially for rear passengers, it rides on a 110mm (4.3 inches) longer wheelbase at 2,780mm (109.4 inches).

In standard trim, the 2-Series GT offers seating for five, but BMW will offer an optional third row of seats for two more passengers (from the dimensions and the pictures provided, they appear to be aimed at children or small adults you’d like to punish), which can be completely lowered / hidden into the loading floor.

BMW highlights the GT’s practical side that includes a standard sliding second row bench that can be extended fore or aft by 130mm (5.1 inches) to increase either knee room or load capacity together with a 40:20:40-split backrest that folds down at the press of a button and which allows three child seats to be fitted.

There’s also a range of storage options for all three rows of seats, as well as rails on the front-seat backrests with fold-out tables attached, while all door panels can accommodate bottles of up to 1.5 liters.

The luggage compartment can be extended in capacity from 645 to 805 liters, while with the rear-seat backrests folded down, it rises to 1,905 liters of load space, which is significantly more than the 2-Series Active Tourer’s 468 to 1,510 liters boot space.

Beyond the standard version, BMW will offer the 2-Series GT in four additional model variants named Advantage, Sport Line, Luxury Line and M Sport.

In Europe, the GT will be available with six turbocharged diesel and gasoline engines with three and four cylinders.

The petrol range includes the 216i (no details were released), 218i with a 1.5-liter turbo’d three-cylinder producing 136PS (134hp) and the 220i with a 2.0-liter turbo’d four delivering 192PS (189hp).

If you prefer a more frugal diesel, there’s the 216d with a 1.5L three-pot and 116PS (114hp), 218d with a 2.0L inline-four and 150PS (148hp) and the 220d xDrive featuring a 190PS (187hp) 2.0L inline-four paired to an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.

With the exception of the 220d xDrive, the rest of the range comes with a standard six-speed manual and optional 6-speed automatic Steptronic or in the case of the 220i, an 8-speed automatic.

The new 2-Series Gran Tourer will have its first public outing at the Geneva Motor Show in March. And if you’re wondering, BMW hasn’t said if it has any plans to bring the minivan to North America.

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