Hot on the heels of the recently launched F30 3 Series saloon, BMW has now lifted the wraps off the latest iteration of its load-lugging stable mate: the BMW 3 Series Touring. it will go on sale in Europe by September but will not be offered in South Africa.
The new 3 Series Touring shares much of its sheet metal with the saloon – essentially from the B pillars to the nose. The car’s wheelbase has been stretched by 50 mm and the overall length grows by 97 mm over than of the saloon. In lieu of the saloon’s boot is a glazed rear load compartment that serves up 35 dm3 more load space than the previous Touring and now totals 495 dm3. This can be expanded by dropping the 40:20:40 rear seatback.
Along with a sleek D pillar design, the Touring’s rear features L-Shaped brakelamps and can be specified with an electrically powered hatch that can be operated via the key fob or, in the case of Handsfree Opening Tailgate specification, by waving a foot beneath the rear bumper.
Larger load bay aside, the interior is stock F30 3 Series, although the aforementioned extended wheelbase means that there’s an additional 17 mm of legroom for the rear occupants. Options such as BMW’s Connected Drive system (media, smartphone, Internet, social media etc.) can be specified, while certain markets will see Luxury Line, Modern Line and M Sport exterior/interior cosmetic packages made available.
The imminent European launch, will see an engine line-up initially comprising a pair of diesels and a single petrol powerplant. The entry point will be the 320d. Powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder unit mated with a six-speed manual gearbox, this unit develops 135 kW and 380 N.m of torque while returning 4,7 L/100 km and CO2 emissions of 124 g/km. The halo diesel model is the 330d, which is mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission and develops 190 kW and 560 N.m of torque from its six-cylinder powerplant – enough to propel the car from zero to 100 km/h in 5,6 seconds. Fuel consumption for that model is a claimed 5,1 L/100 km.
The lone petrol is the 328i, which is powered by a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine displacing 2,0-litre. Coupled with a six-speed manual gearbox, this unit produces 180 kW and 350 N.m of torque.
These engines all feature automatic start/stop as standard and will be joined by 316d and 318d models at a later point.
BMW South Africa currently does not have any plans to introduce this model locally.
