BMW continues their flirtation with compact crossovers with their latest Concept Active Tourer Outdoor. Adding to the theme of outdoor lifestyle is a plug-in hybrid drive-train that likely foretells of future offerings from BMW.

Compact, the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor features trademark BMW design applied to a smaller front-wheel drive architecture that we believe will soon be seen in showrooms.

It features a transversely mounted 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and electric motor hybrid system backed up by a light-weight lithium-ion battery. BMW says this new in-house engineered hybrid system can provide up to 113 MPGe.

That efficiency however does not come at a price of speed. With 190 system horsepower, BMW says the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor can accelerated from 0-60 in under 8 seconds.

With a length of 171” and width 72” the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor is slightly shorter, but a bit wider than a Toyota Prius. It features among other innovations, a variable rear cargo area which utilizes a built-in rail system for securing things like a bicycle.

The dash and cockpit showcase the latest design themes of BMW’s evolution, the infotainment systems featuring connectivity and applications that are tailored specifically to the hybrid plug-in efficiency and charging functions.

The silhouette and style detail are of course, classic BMW but its stance does hint at its front-wheel drive architecture. The Concept Active Tourer Outdoor still looks hip riding on 20-inch wheels and painted in a striking Gold Race Orange paint.

While BMW has said nothing of production plans, we rarely see a BMW concept that doesn’t eventually see a showroom. Thus we expect within the next 2-3 years to see a version of this front-wheel drive Bimmer on sale. For more news and test drives of hybrid or electric vehicles see our partner channel Motoring2.com.