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.

2016 BMW 225xe Active Tourer 33 750x500

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).

2016 BMW 225xe Active Tourer 27 750x500

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).

2016-BMW-225xe-Active-Tourer-111

In Germany, the 2016 BMW 225xe Active Tourer has a starting price of 38,700 euros.