BMW unveils three variants of the 3-Series Touring fast family hauler
In a different era, station wagons were the vehicle of choice for a typical family that needed to carry copious cargo on a regular basis. Their big trunks and long roofs made them ideal for loading large amounts of cargo. And there was something sexy about their utilitarian two-box shape: Think suburbia with a hint of sexy sophistication. I, myself am a huge fan, and own a station wagon, as well.
Throw in the finest in German engineering and you have not only a practical cargo mover, but also a fast and engaging one, plus, a sharp-looking, handsome or even aggressive, motorsport influenced one at that. This is the latest BMW 3-Series Touring which is station-wagon speak for BMWs.
Three variants were recently launched at the RSA Motors/ BMW Greenhills flagship dealership. The range starts with the 318i Touring, powered by the brand’s B48 2.0 liter inline-4 cylinder turbocharged engine that puts out a modest 156hp and 250 Newton-Meters of torque. Drive is sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. It comes with the G8x’s face-lifted exterior, with more streamlined headlights, new, sportier looking bumpers, 18-inch wheels and the new double kidney bar kidney grille.
Inside, the 318i Touring has a massive 14.9-inch infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. The 318i Touring, as with the M340i M Sport Touring and the M3 Touring has an available 500 liters of cargo space in the trunk, and can expand to a massive 1,510 liters with the second-row seats folded. The seats are covered in Sensatec upholstery and has aluminum trim highlights to liven up the cabin. The 318i is the comfort-oriented variant, as well.
Next up is the M340i xDrive Touring, straddling the lines between performance and practicality perfectly. Propulsion comes from BMW’s B58 3.0 inline-6 cylinder engine, an engine we are highly familiar with as it is used in the latest A90 Toyota Supra and its twin, the current BMW Z4 roadster. In the M340i xDrive, this engine outputs an astounding 374hp and an earth-shaking 500 Newton-Meters of turbocharged torque. Thanks to xDrive all-wheel drive coupled with the ZF8HP eight-speed automatic transmission, it helps the M340i accelerate to 100 kilometers from rest in an astounding 4.6 seconds, which is well-within sportscar territory. It has the drivetrain to match its mighty engine, thanks to the aforementioned xDrive all-wheel drive, the adaptive M Suspension and M differential which help deliver unrivalled cornering capability and the massive gloss red front multi-caliper pistons on equally massive discs that deliver heart stopping braking performance. This wagon packs serious heat!
The sporting intent carries on with the M Shadowline trim, the M Aerodynamics package and black and machined-silver 19-inch alloy wheels with summer ultra high-performance Pirelli tires.
And as a driver, should you ever need some visual cues to remind you of how sporty this BMW is, the M badge on the steering wheel, and the M stripes on the seatbelts give the driver and his or her passengers a hint of the M340i’s potential. Aside from the massive LCD screens and Apple airplay / Android Auto duo found on the 318i Touring, the M340i also comes with a Harman-Kardon Surround Sound System and carbon-fiber trim pieces replace the aluminum trim from the 318i Touring to accent and highlight the interior. Terra Cotta colored interior seats in leather give it a classic, sophisticated look. And yet, despite all this sportiness, the M340i acquits itself a practical everyday load-lugger.
The last, and range-topping variant is BMW’s M3 in full-on Competition xDrive Touring spec, which is extra hard-core from the standard M3 Touring. As with the M3 sedan and M3 coupe, the M3 Touring comes with BMW’s highly polarizing vertically oriented and massive kidney grille that attracts so much emotion. The engine is the alloy S58, BMW’s new-generation high-performance inline-6 engine reserved for its M models, which in M3 Competition trim makes an astounding 510hp and 650 Newton-Meters of wall-climbing torque, driving all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. It will accelerate to 100km/h from rest in an astounding 3.7 seconds, firmly putting it in supercar territory, and will continue to accelerate until an electronically limited 250km/h. The Competition-spec M3 Touring comes with a carbon-fiber roof, M Compound carbon-ceramic brakes, double-staggered 19-inch foot and 20-inch rear wheels and tires plus the M Driver Professional package, allowing brave drivers access to a 10-stage adjustable limited-slip differential, a lap-timer and a drift analyzer. Sounds totally hooligan and irresponsible from a station wagon, and a German one at that. Who says Germans have no sense of humor?
Inside, a special M button switches between road, sport and track settings, and the M xDrive four-wheel drive system is adjustable to driver preferences together with the steering effort, engine mapping, chassis and brake pedal. You get deeply sculpted body-hugging range and black bucket seats up front with matching rear seat trim in the back plus that gorgeous M Steering wheel with paddle shifters.
The G8x M3 Touring is immensely special, not only because it is a M car, but it is the first-of-its-kind from BMW. The Bavarians came close to producing an M3 Touring concept in 2000 with the E46 chassis but it never came to see the light of day. Over two decades later, that dream is now a reality. This is THE M car of choice, until BMW makes a M5 Touring!
Prices are at P3,890,000 for the 318i Touring, to P5,890,000 for the M340i xDrive Touring and a whopping P10,490,000 for the M3 Competition xDrive Touring. The M3, in particular, seems expensive, but that is the price to pay to own a piece of BMW’s history and its impressive performance potential.
