We’re really not sure who in their right mind would want to buy a BMW 2 Series, but people do. And we’re really not sure who would want to buy a seven seat MPV version of the 2 Series, in front wheel drive, but people will because its a BMW. So this is it, the 2 Series Gran Tourer BMW, seven seats, front wheel drive, its perfect for young families says the marketing blurb. But its a front wheel drive BMW and that’s sacrilege. But there is method in BMW’s certified madness, they want to sell more cars and one sure way of doing so is too create more models or derivatives of current models and this is where the 2 Series Gran Tourer comes into play. Clever marketing and motoring hacks prepared to dumb down will make you want to buy one.   Samsung do the same with their range of phones, they create different models to suit a range of different budgets so long as people keep buying Samsung. But is the 2 Series Gran Tourer one model too many? For BMW the 2 Series Gran Tourer is the company’s first seven seater, whoppy-do, essentially a stretched version of the Active Tourer the Gran Tourer is 21cm longer, just a bit bigger than a Ford Grand C-Max. The engine range will be familiar, 5 petrol and or diesel turbo-charged engines in three or four cylinder formats and of course good old 4WD. No, no rear wheel drive and you can forget about sleek styling. Six speed manual and automatic transmission are in, go for the BMW 220d xDrive Gran Tourer and you get an eight speed auto as standard. The most frugal model comes in the form of the BMW 216d Gran Tourer which is powered by a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder diesel engine. The engine develops 116hp at 4,000 rpm and 270Nm, has a top speed of 119mph and from rest to 62mph in 11.4 seconds. The combined fuel consumption is a claimed 68.9mpg and CO₂ emissions are just 108g/km. Full model range and pricing are below, the 2 Series Gran Tourer goes on sale in the UK from June 2015.

Model	Power hp	Torque   Nm	0 – 62mph seconds	Top Speed mph	Combined mpg	CO2 Emissions g/km	Price from
BMW 218i Gran Tourer	136	220	9.8	127 (126)	53.3 (52.3)	123 (126)	£24,175
BMW 220i Gran Tourer	192	280	7.9 (7.8)	139 (138)	44.8 (47.9)	145 (138)	£27,490
BMW 216d Gran Tourer	116	270	11.4	119	68.9	108	£25,110
BMW 218d Gran Tourer	150	330	9.5	127 (128)	64.2	115	£26,255
BMW 220d xDrive Gran Tourer	190	400	7.8	135	57.6	129	£32,005