BMW has been building wagons since 1987, but over the last 35 years, the words ‘M3’ and ‘estate’ has always stayed very separate – until now. This is the BMW M3 Touring, which gets you access to the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine from the standard M3, now with added boot space for all your clobber. Performance looks promising: 4WD, 0-60mph in 3.7s (which is even faster than the M4 CSL), and a top speed of 174mph. All looks good on paper, but why have we had to wait so long for the M3 Touring, while rivals like Audi and Mercedes have been producing RS4 and C43 estates for years? We sent Top Gear Magazine’s Ollie Marriage to find out.
You joined me in the boot of a bmw estate car nothing unusual about that you might be thinking bmw’s been building a state since 1987. the first was an e33 series the first generation that also gave us an m3 but across those 35 years those two elements the estate and the m3 have always stayed separate until now welcome everybody to the bmw m3 touring let’s deal
With the dull stuff now shall we the boot is obviously big enough to handle a me or more accurately 500 liters of clobber which with the seats folded is 1500 liters it’s exactly the same size as a regular 3 series touring it’s got the same solutions as well underfloor storage and these rather neat magnetic rails to hold your gear down tight but the best news is
That we barely have to go around the front of this car because all the news happens around the back the good and the bad that separate opening tailgate glass is really useful but you cannot have a tow bar so no high speed caravan towing and also the hassle that bikes are going to have to travel on the roof not a tow bar rack what you don’t care about that well
It’s just as well i do then but i can more about the looks and the driving check out these pumped arches the stance is on point the estate weighs about 25 kilos more than the saloon and most of that isn’t the bodywork up here it’s the extra strengthening put in underneath to make sure this is every bit as rigid as the saloon and because the weight is at the
Back the rear suspension has been given fractionally more support slightly stiffer springs and dampers this is all shaping up rather nicely the puzzle is why it’s taken bmw so long audi’s 315 horsepower rs2 first showed up in 1994. and the rs4 that came along in 1999 has been an estate ever since merck’s fast wagon history isn’t much shorter in 1998 amg did a
Wagon version of the c-43 and has continued that through every generation so if its rivals have been finding buyers for fast compact estates for quarter of a century why hasn’t bmw and what’s changed now the demand wasn’t there they claim buyers wanted suvs but now with the m3’s four-wheel drive platform the time is right besides it’s not strictly true to
Say there’s been no estate there have been two m5 wagons the first an e34 in 1992 then again with 2007’s e61 and 21 years ago bmw did build an e46 m3 estate prototype but it went no further than that 36 years of m3 and no estate but now we do and in profile what a fantastic looking thing this is what you don’t have though is a carbon roof bmw couldn’t find
A supplier able to do such a big part so it’s aluminium and you can either have it gloss black or body color otherwise from the b pillar forward this is identical to the saloon which means yes we’ve got to go there the front end although if it’s all right with you i’m going to stand here under the bonnet the same three liter twin turbo engine as the regular m3
And m4 503 horsepower and 479 pounds foot of torque it’s only available in one version this car the m3 competition x drive which means it gets the highest spec competition trim but no manual option it’s auto only four wheel drive for excellent traction though not a 60 in 3.7 seconds which is even faster than the m4 csl and a top speed of 174 miles an hour the
Big markets for this car are germany and the uk followed by japan and australia see what’s missing there that’s right this car like toyota’s gr yaris is not going to be available in america and there’s a reason for that the standard 3 series touring isn’t homologated there and that means the m touring can’t be either it’s repelled at the border much like i
Am when i go around the front of this car so let’s retreat to somewhere safer marginally the old red leather’s a bit of a bold choice but these are the same aggressive seats as the regular m3 with the old built-in cod piece and the same newly upgraded infotainment system shared with the i4 and the ix that’s one continuous sweep of glass and then the rear more
Headroom than the saloon and good leg room for two but the third is going to moan about the transmission tunnel meanwhile those in the front are going to be poked in the kidneys not only is the touring a more useful m3 but the estate treatment offsets the front end restores a bit of visual balance this is the m3 i’d have over any other and far far ahead of any
M versions of the x 3 4 5 or 6. there’s way too many of those in the uk it’ll be priced slightly above the 78 425 m3 competition x drive so let’s get a whisker under 80 000 pounds a costly 3 series but also perhaps the most exciting family car there is yes it’s a shame bmw didn’t do this earlier but i don’t even need to drive it to know that i want one very badly indeed you
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FIRST LOOK: BMW M3 Touring – First Ever Official M3 Estate Car | Top Gear By Top Gear
