► We drive the all new BMW 225xe
► All-wheel drive, petrol-electric hybrid
► Torquey powertrain, but lacking in charm
Although it could still theoretically achieve the status of ultimate driving machine, an all-wheel-drive hybrid-electric people carrier does seem quite a stretch from BMW’s sainted heyday.
Open the bonnet of the 225xe and under orange cables and black boxes made of aluminium you’ll find a petite 1.5-litre 136bhp three-pot petrol engine. The more zany half of this double act is an 88bhp electric motor, the two units together offering 221bhp and a muscular 310lb ft of torque.
The petrol engine drives the front wheels and the electric motor the rears, thus it can do front-wheel drive (petrol), all-wheel drive (hybrid) and rear-wheel drive (electric). It’s a complicated arrangement but it works, thanks to clever software juggling the torque feed.
Although the driver can pre-select his preferred source of progress, kickdown automatically fires up the combustion engine which becomes mandatory above 78mph. Pushing the max eDrive button idles the engine for up to 25 miles and up to 78mph, depending on the state of charge.
Thanks to the propshaft-less all-wheel-drive system, traction is never an issue. Nor is lack of grunt. Quite the contrary: whenever I floor the throttle, the electric booster kicks butt like an angry afterburner.
There’s plenty of low-end brio, but above 100mph progress is noisy and slow. With more weight, less cargo space and range anxiety, it’s neither the ultimate driving machine nor – yet – the ultimate answer.
The specs: BMW 225xe
Price: £35,155 (excluding government grant)
Engine: 1499cc 12v turbo petrol 3-cyl plus 65kW e-motor, total system output 221bhp and 310lb ft
Transmission: Six-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Performance: 6.7sec 0-62mph, 126mph, 141.2mpg, 46g/km CO2
Weight: 1735kg
On sale: Now
Rating: ****
Verdict: From the house of CSL, a mixed-drive people carrier. It’s good (ish) but it’s not right
Read more from the March 2016 issue of CAR magazine