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This is the car for which enthusiasts have been crying out for decades — the BMW M3 Touring, the estate version of one of BMW’s best-loved performance cars. The estate body offers a lot more luggage space than the M3 saloon, serving up a side of family-friendly practicality in addition to 510hp performance, much sharper driving dynamics and much more aggressive visual flair than a standard 3 Series Touring.
What will its rivals be?
Considering that BMW’s rivals have been building hot versions of their estate cars for many years and BMW built an M5 Touring for a while, it’s perhaps surprising that an M3 Touring took so long to come to the party. Those rivals are primarily German and come in the form of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Estate and Audi RS 4 Avant – and even entry-level versions of the Porsche Panamera. Other potential rivals include performance crossovers such as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Porsche Macan, Audi Q3 RS and the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63.
Any tech info?
The M3 Touring gets the same Curved Display infotainment interface as seen elsewhere in the company line-up, consisting of a 12.3-inch digital driver’s instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch multimedia screen combined into one curved screen slightly angled towards the driver and running the latest versions of BMW’s Intelligent Personal Assistant and Operating System 8. For those keen on the idea of taking their family estate to the track, there’s the option of the M Drive Professional pack that allows drivers to analyse the duration, distance and angle of their drifts and which also includes a lap timer.
What will the range be like?
Under the bonnet of the M3 Touring is the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine seen in the saloon, developing 510hp and a maximum torque figure of 650Nm. That’s enough to send the Touring from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds, and elements such as the suspension, brakes, bracing and steering have all been tuned or modified to better cope with high-performance driving. The beauty of an M3 Touring though is that there’s also a 500-litre boot that increases to a substantial 1,510 litres when the rear seats are folded down.
Expectations?
Extremely high. The BMW M3 has been seen for years as a performance car benchmark and the prospect of plenty more space in the rear is very alluring. The M3 Touring will be available to order in Ireland from September with prices starting from €147,160. Expect deliveries here to begin sometime in 2023.