First look: Baby BMW off-roader breaks cover

BMW has announced it will unveil a four-wheel drive concept vehicle named xActivity at the 2003 Detroit motor show starting January 5.

This will provide the first indication yet of what the German giant's first medium-sized off-roader, to be called the X3, will look like.

Due Down Under in final production form by 2004, the xActivity is larger than a 3 Series wagon but with proportions and design elements that clearly stamp it as a smaller sibling to the spinning propeller brand's popular X5 large off-roader.

Featuring a trademark kidney-shaped grille, relatively long wheelbase, short overhangs and flared wheel arches, xActivity's most striking aspect is what BMW describes as its convertible frame structure roof, which combines open-top motoring with SUV robustness.

Reinforced, longitudinal rails connect the A-pillars to the rear of the car on both sides, negating the need for B or C-pillars, while the interior materials are both hard wearing and high quality with natural cowhide contrasting with neoprene surfaces.

Technologically, xActivity impresses with "smart materials" in the seats that eliminate the need for electric or manual seat adjustment. The seat structures are made from newly developed pressure-sensitive materials that allow adjustment solely through applying pressure to the seat components themselves.

Elsewhere, a new loading system automatically extracts the contents of the cargo area when the rear tailgate is opened to make loading/unloading the vehicle more convenient.

Like X5, xActivity features BMW's proven 170kW 3.0-litre straight six, with power delivered to all four wheels via a manual transmission and a new electronic driver control system that monitors each wheel's performance individually. Wild 18-inch alloys wear 245/45-section front and 275/40-section tyres * BMW has also announced it will use Detroit to unveil facelifted versions of the 3 Series coupe and convertible models, which feature the new 3 Series sedan styling front and rear, plus adaptive headlights and two-stage brake lights.

While the former will be optional, the variable intensity LED brake lights must first be homologated for sale in Australia.

The two-door models - due here by mid-2003 and set to include the 170kW 330Ci coupe and convertible plus 141kW 325Ci and 125kW 320Ci coupe models - will also include a new six-speed manual transmission, although the new option of M3's sequential manual gearbox will not be offered in lesser coupes or convertibles in Australia.

Also debuting at Detroit will be a hydrogen-powered 7 Series, the eight-cylinder 745h, while BMW also recently launched a 6.0-litre V12 version of the long wheelbase 7 Series to be called the 760Li. Up to 50 examples of the super-Seven should arrive here by May next year.