BMW M3 Touring debuts as the first-ever M3 Estate

Estates, or rather stations wagons, are not a very popular body style around here. Europe is where they mostly thrive and there is no shortage of fast estates in the old continent. But there had never been a BMW M3 estate, until now. The 2023 BMW M3 Touring hopes to change the status quo with more than 500 hp.

If you look at the BMW M3 Touring dead in its eye from the front, everything looks familiar. The front fascia is lifted off the M3 sedan. But tilt your head and move to the side to reveal the prominent rear end. The estate body style is already available with the regular 3 Series but the M3 Touring is 84 mm longer and 76 mm wider than the standard estate. This helps it accommodate the special M rear axle. It is obviously lower to the ground and features additional bracing for more stiffness.

This being an M car, under the hood is where all the action is. You can spot the familiar 3.0-litre turbo straight-six in there, churning out 503 hp. All four wheels get the power through the BMW xDrive system, and the 8-speed M Steptronic transmission, as standard. If AWD is not your cup of tea, there is a 2WD mode packed into the M3 Touring for some tail-out fun.

With all this arsenal, the 2023 BMW M3 Touring can hit 0 to 100 kph in just 3.6 seconds. Keep your foot deep in there, and the speedo will go up to an electronically limited top speed of 250 kph. If you want to get to the market a bit quicker, opting for the M Driver’s Package will help. This raises this bar to 280 kph.

If it is an estate, there is no point in leaving without speaking about the interior, especially that massive rear-end. It can gobble up to 1500 litres of cargo which is, in layman’s terms, a lot.

Moving up front, BMW has packed in something that is exclusive for the M3 Touring customers. A big curved display that the M3 sedan does not get. The screen combines a 14.9-inch infotainment system and a 12.3-inch driver’s display. These act as an interface to the multitude of M-specific functions in the M3 Touring.