The BMW M3 Touring Is Just Better Than the Sedan: Review

Motor 1

a day ago

The BMW M3 was, at launch, a polarizing car. Not because of its power, nor due to its pedigree, but instead because of its odd maw. Time has been kind to the M3 (also the M4), and the public seems to have gotten used to the grille; the latest car isn't an unfamiliar sight on European roads, usually in a garish hue.
A few years back, BMW teased the Touring spec (wagon to you and me), and the internet went crazy for it. People looking for performance and practicality finally had a new darling; the Audi RS4 and Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate had a new rival, and it was Bavarian.
Quick Specs
2025 BMW M3 Touring
Engine
Twin-Turbocharged 3.0-Liter Inline-Six
Output
503 Horsepower / 479 Pound-Feet
0-62 MPH
3.2 Seconds
Weight
4,078 Pounds
Base Price
£91,775 (UK)
With a mid-cycle refresh, the
M3
gets gentle exterior tweaks like sharper headlights and some interior fiddling like a flat-bottomed steering wheel. Plus,
BMW
gave it a gentle power bump that will undoubtedly raise a few more interested eyebrows.
In the UK, at least, the M3 is only available in the Competition spec with an automatic. That means the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six fires 523 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic.
Those numbers are the same whether you want a sedan, an M4 Coupe, or a Touring. Happily, in the load lugger, that means a fearsome 0-62 mph time of 3.6 seconds and a 155-mile-per-hour top speed—though, you can bump that to 174 miles per hour with more money. Plenty of grunt for people who need to do huge grocery runs in a big hurry.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Pros: The Face Finally Fits, Astonishing Speed, So Much Room For Stuff
Being a wagon, the Touring offers extra practicality over the M3 Sedan. Rather than a 16.9-cubic-foot trunk, there's now 17.6 cubic feet of space with the seats up, and a vast 53.3 with them down—by comparison, an X3 gets around 20 cubes with the seats up and 60 with the seats down. A bit less for the Touring, but it comes in a less gawky package.
BMW UK's test car is a handsome beast. Finished in a subtle gray that helps the car's swoopy bits look suitably muscular without being overwhelming, the M3 Touring looks damn fine in a parking lot or stuck in London traffic. Thanks to its pace, the chances of being able to take it all in on the highway are… slim. Ahem.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Inside, a big 'ol screen covers infotainment and instrument duties, and there are plenty of dramatic-looking surfaces to keep your eyes entertained if you get bored in traffic. Buried in there is the drive select screen, which allows you to flick between the usual drive modes or dive into the minutiae of the car to make various aspects angry or placid to suit your taste. You can even, with the right number of button presses, fiddle with the AWD system to make it a rear-biased monster, too.
The level of choice is pleasing, but also a bit much—the modern need to have a car that can be all things to all people is justifiable, but in an M3, make the thing either wild or not wild. Giving Joe Blow the option to set the drivetrain, steering, and whatever else to be 'just so' seems sort of needless. Thankfully, the 'wheel-mounted M1 and M2 buttons allow you to map your setup of choice to a thumbable switch.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Cons: Those Awful Seats, Jiggly Ride, Blinded By Settings
The M3 Touring comes with the option of M Carbon bucket seats with hard, pointy bolsters flanking each side and a bizarre carbon fiber junk tray in the middle. And they can be had in some truly interesting colorways (here in blue and yellow, which goes at odds with the subtle gray exterior, a bit like a dark suit with a bright pink lining, I guess).
When you're in them, though, they're outstanding. The buckets keep you in place, don't pinch your wibbly bits, and allow you to play without worrying you're going to slide into the door. However, when you want to get into or out of them, you have to clamber over the hard bolsters in a most undignified manner. It takes the shine off turning up to your destination in a shouty car with quad-pipes when you have to extract yourself from the seat with all the grace of a freshly birthed giraffe.
For god's sake, don't spec them.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
On the move, in its most inert setting, the M3's ride is the first thing you notice. A Range Rover it is not. While it'll take most roads well enough, the M3 is a little jiggly at low to middling speeds. Of course, this is to be expected from a car that prides itself on going very fast, so it isn't something you can legitimately complain about. But it is something you should know going in.
Ride aside, in town it's just dandy to drive. It's a touch on the large side for London, which meant the odd bit of wincing in narrow lanes and tight parking lots (especially with the massive alloys at each corner). But this test car had a 360-degree camera to take the edge off.
Obviously, the city isn't the right place for maximum attack mode, but giving the car a tickle to get through a small gap won't disappoint. The power is plentiful and delivered smoothly, though it does build with gusto, so keep an eye on the speedometer. Five hundred and twenty-three horsepower is a lot of grunt and needs to be deployed sensibly.
On the highway, the M3 Touring is quiet, comfy, and smooth enough (though the ride can be a touch rough on nasty surfaces). Should you need to get past something, the go pedal will more than happily make that a reality.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
The M3's real party trick is country lanes. Set the car to its most aggressive setting and let the thing do what it does best. The steering gives fantastic feedback, while the way it rides its torque curve is addictive and urgent. The acceleration doesn't seem to ever run out; it certainly doesn't let up until you reach the speed limit.
Flicking from corner to corner, the car hides its 3,990-pound curb weight incredibly well. You expect its body to lollop from corner to corner, but no, it plants itself and grips merrily. It's a car that most people don't have the talent to touch the sides of, which is, considering how many of the things BMW has sold (nearly half of the M3s sold in the UK in 2023 had a long roof), probably a good thing.
While the myriad modes are fun to mess with in the short term, you're best off leaving it in the normal setting for the daily stuff, and finding a 'mad' and a 'slightly more mad' setup for the programmable buttons for 'bad' or 'really bad' days at the office. No matter what you do with it, the M3 will blow the cobwebs away.
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1
In the real world, the Touring's extra lump doesn't mess with how it drives. There may be minute differences you notice if you're a pro driver, but chances are (and I hate to say this), you're not—so it doesn't matter. It does make the M3 at least look, scientifically speaking, 1,000 percent cooler. It also makes it a whole hell of a lot more practical.
Simply put: The BMW M3 Touring is a more practical, better-looking M3. In fact, it's probably the best M3 of the lot. Just don't spec the stupid seats.
More On The BMW M3 Touring
BMW M3 CS Touring: This Is It
If the M5 Touring Is Successful, We Could Get a New M3 Wagon in the US
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2025 BMW M3 Touring
Engine
Twin-Turbocharged 3.0-Liter Inline-Six
Output
503 Horsepower / 479 Pound-Feet
Transmission
Eight-Speed Automatic
Drive Type
All-Wheel Drive
Speed 0-62 MPH
3.2 Seconds
Maximum speed
174 Miles Per Hour
Weight
4,078 Pounds
Seating Capacity
5
Cargo Volume
17.6 / 53.3 Cubic Feet
Base Price
£91,775 (UK)
On Sale
Now
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