NEW BMW M3 TOURING

At last count, NZ was the world’s number one market, in percentage terms, for sales of full-fat BMW M cars and M Performance models. That evocative ‘M’ logo appears on one in four new BMWs sold here.

With the M3 and M4 twins being traditionally popular models, we’d expect solid demand for the new M3 Touring variant. Practical plus-points are 1510L of luggage space when the rear seats are dropped and the debut of xDrive. Power has risen 15kW, the 0-100km/h sprint has dropped to just 3.6 seconds, yet economy is better than you might expect, with 10.4L/100km quoted and 11-ish perfectly achievable.

The 3.0-litre straight-six initially offered 375kW when this generation of M3/M4 was launched. It’s been ramped up to 390kW (or 525 brake horsepower) and there are minor revisions to the 8-speed M Sport auto and adaptive M differential. To say the new twin-turbo motor has pin-your-shoulders-back accelerative intent is an understatement. It’s ferociously quick with full throttle and would be rather intimidating on a wet road were it not for xDrive and a comprehensive electronic safety net. In hard-changing M modes (which remain easy to access and configure) gears are often best changed via carbon paddles either side of the steering wheel.

Our M3 Competition Touring was decked out in ‘under-the-radar’ Dravit Grey with full Merino black leather and double-spoke forged alloys in gloss black. Offsetting the dark upholstery was a generous amount of carbon fibre interior trim, brushed aluminium elements, and tri-coloured M stitching for the leather steering wheel and seat belts. All attractive touches, and nothing we considered over the top.

Inevitable road roar makes the firm-riding Touring a little tiring as a daily driver on our road surfaces. Even in default modes the noise of expansion joints and cats’ eyes reverberates through the cabin. It’s also apparent that xDrive has added complexity and weight that is impossible to disguise all the time. You really feel the bumps and joints in sporting modes where the ride is firm bordering on harsh, but necessarily so given this car’s brief and potential. The former is quite clear from the get-go but a track would be necessary to truly understand the latter due to the track-specific tech  and sheer speed.

The overall equipment list is very comprehensive but nothing seems superfluous. M Sport seats up front are essential and hard to fault, the 12.3-inch instrument display is complemented by an excellent Head-up display at the screen base, BMW laserlights are a godsend for swift night driving, harman/kardon sounds make the most of the cabin acoustics, and Parking Assistant Plus preserves those precious alloys. A solitary option (active seat ventilation – yours for $1800) tipped the car over the $200k mark. Money well spent from our experience.