First things first: 500 to 1,510 liters of luggage space. Well, honestly, why buy the M3 Touring?
Guys, how beautiful this is! We are talking about the M3 and the trunk volume at the same time. Yes, yes, we are finally here! First ever M3 Tour. And in this form – as a pure combustion engine – it may also be the latter.
It is doubtful that in terms of quantities it will not be a start like the last station wagon from M GmbH (M5 E61; exactly, V10), of which only 1025 were made. Of course, with the United States and China, the two most important markets simply disappear here. But it is expected that the markets in Germany, the UK, the rest of Europe, Japan and Australia will have enough willingness to buy. Otherwise, the boys and girls of Garshing wouldn’t have been able to complete the project of their absolute heart through the board of directors. It must be a tough fight.
Because the modifications that were necessary to convert the 3 Series Touring into the M3 Touring are enormous. The M3’s rear axle doesn’t really fit into a conventional three-seater station wagon. As a result, the car had to be expanded by 76 mm. You can see it clearly in the – please excuse the French – the sharp rear fenders.
Additionally, the Touring is essentially an open-back concept, which means there’s no floor rack with the cross-arches attached to it like on the limo and coupe. This means: more softness.
BMW makes up for it with generous cross struts and so-called strut blocks at the rear of the lower body. Additionally, there’s a massive strut package and push-pad up front, which can also be found on the M3 Limo and M4. A good station wagon is 85 kilograms higher than a similar xDrive sedan. The noticeably heavier two-piece tailgate also plays a role. Without the driver, we eventually got to 1,865 kg.
All the dimensions of the M3 Touring (which is also significantly longer than all the other Series 3 tours) are here again for you in a neat table:
| Dimensions | BMW M3 Touring |
| long | 4.794 mm |
| Wide | 1,903 mm |
| to rise | 1.436 mm |
| wheelbase | 2.857 mm |
| Front track width | 1.617 mm |
| Back track width | 1.605 mm |
| curb weight | 1.865 kg |
| payload | 505 kg |
| trunk size | 500 – 1.510 liters |
As far as the modifications to the chassis are concerned, BMW has it covered in the official press release. However, we do know that the M3 Touring will have its own adaptive dampers that have been modified to fit the larger mass.
The rest is the M3/M4 as we know it: a dual-connecting prop hub in the front including aluminum wishbones with ball joints, aluminum tie rods with newly designed bearings, forged swivel bearings with independent strut clamps and more impact-resistant wheel bearings. Plus a five-link rear axle with M-specific wheel bearings and wishbones. The car has 19-inch wheels at the front and 20 inches at the rear.
You’ve already read the word xDrive above and as a fan you probably already know: The M3 Touring is only available as a competition variant with an 8-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive and an electronic rear axle locking differential. The M version of the all-wheel drive system is very heavy at the rear and allows operation in three stages of all-wheel drive, all-wheel drive (perfect drift) and two-wheel drive (maximum drift and no ESP salvage canopy). Matching this there is a 10-level traction control and a great pointless drift analyzer.
Engines should also be known. It’s the S58’s 3.0-liter inline-six twin-turbo engine making 510 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 650 Nm of torque, between 2,750 and 5,500 rpm. The maximum speed is 7200 rpm.
All this ensures a relatively outrageous driving performance despite the extra weight. The M3 Touring goes from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, from 0-200 km/h in 12.9 seconds and has a top speed of 280 km/h.
The big news in the cabin is the new Super Screen, which started in the iX and i4 and is now slowly rolling out to all other BMW models. A 12.3-inch instrument screen and a 14.9-inch infotainment screen are combined here. It’s all here for the first time with the special M screens.
In addition to the standard seats, you can of course get the lighter 9.6kg carbon bucket seats in your station wagon. Little tip: try it out beforehand. Very uncomfortable.
The long-awaited “BMW M3 Competition Touring with M xDrive” will follow the Audi RS 4 Avant from December 2022. It can be ordered from September. Prices start from 97,800 euros.
