THE ALL NEW BMW M3 COMPETITION TOURING

THE ALL NEW BMW M3 COMPETITION TOURING

Price when new:£83,095
Before adding any extra specs to the BMW

On sale in the UK:January 2023

Engine:
2993cc straight-six twin-turbo petrol, 503bhp, 479lb ft

Transmission:
8-speed M Steptronic ZF, four-wheel drive
Performance:3.6sec 0-62mph, 174mph, 27.4mpg, 232g/km CO2

Weight / material:1940
Dimensions (length/width/height in mm):4794/1903/1436mm

The BMW M3 Touring Competition has the weight of expectation resting heavily on its shoulders. It’s the first time the M3 franchise gets an estate version since the first model arrived in 1985, and as far as enthusiasts are concerned, it’s long overdue. In creating this car, BMW is making a play at building the best estate car in the world…

Undoubtedly, it is the fastest, baddest and loudest estate car the German maker’s ever built, and it sports styling and a range of colours that are designed to shout ‘look at me‘. It’ll be bought by confident types with deep pockets, who will appreciate a combination of searing performance and rear-world practicality, and won’t mind too much at its loud exhaust and heavy fuel consumption.

The BMW 3 Series has earned a well-deserved reputation as a car with a great interior. Following its 2022 facelift, it received an updated dash which united the infotainment and instrumentation behind a single curved piece of black glass. Whether you like that or not, there’s no denying it’s striking.

We rate BMW’s iDrive infotainment system very highly, and appreciate that you can still control it without touching the screen using the touch-sensitive control wheel in the centre console. It’s simple to use but customisable and complex if you want to delve further in.

You get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the BMW ID system that allows you to transfer personal settings between vehicles using the My BMW App and a smartphone. BMW ConnectedDrive means the latest 3 Series can receive over-the-air updates, too. As for practicality, you get 500 litres of space with the rear seats up and 1,500 litres when folded – which just squeaks ahead of the Audi RS4 Avant’s 495 and 1,495.

Unlike the regular 3 Series Touring where you have near-limitless choices, the M3 is only available in one trim in the UK (Competition), one engine (a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six) and one transmission – an eight-speed automatic.

Unlike the M4 Coupe and M3 saloon, which are rear-wheel drive (standard fit) or all-wheel drive – the Touring is only available with BMW’s excellent xDrive four-wheel drive set-up. We appreciate this, as it provides more traction in all driving, with obvious benefits in poor weather.

Of course, you can get busy selecting optional extras. These include the Comfort Pack, Visibility Pack, Technology Plus Pack, M Driver’s Pack, M Carbon Pack, M Pro Pack and Ultimate Pack. The latter bundles most of the above together, giving you almost everything you could realistically want on the M3 Touring – but at a stiff price.