BMW reveals all-new 3 Series Touring 14 | 05 | 2012
BMW HAS LIFTED the wraps from the fifth generation of its 3 Series Touring, which will go on sale at Scottish dealerships in September. Prices will start at £29,380.
Understandably targeting the Audi A4 Avant and Mercedes-Benz C-class estate, the new 3 Series Touring maintains BMW's style-heavy approach to the estate car.
With its extended roof and angled rear window, the newcomer also benefits from greater rear legroom and load-carrying capacity by dint of its new, longer wheelbase.
The new 3 Series Touring is bigger all round than its predecessor: it's 97mm longer and 11mm taller at 1429mm. Wheelbase has been increased by 50mm (2810mm), and track widths have been grown by 37mm at the front, 47mm at the rear.
Storage space too has increased, up 35 litres with the rear seats in place, to 495 litres: that just nudges it ahead of the Audi (490 litres) and the Merc (485 litres).
See more official photos of the all-new BMW 3 Series Touring
Fold the rear seats down, and the new BMW's luggage-lugging ability increases by 115 litres, to 1500 litres: that's 70 more than the A4 Avant, and the same as the Merc.
Initially just three engines will be available: two diesels — the 182bhp 2.0-litre, four-cylinder in the 320d Touring, while the 330d Touring gets 254bhp from the 3.0 straight six — and one petrol, the 242bhp, turbocharged 2.0 in the 328i Touring.
But it's the diesel which are expected to take the vast majority of sale. The 320d Touring covers the 0-62mph sprint in 7.7sec (7.6sec for the auto) and accelerates on to a max of 143mph. It also returns 60.1mpg (auto 61.4mpg) and has a CO2 output of 124g/km (auto 122g/km). Step up to the 330d Touring, and you get 0-62mph in 5.6sec, a 155mph top speed, 55.4mpg and 135g/km.
The smaller diesel comes with the choice of either a standard six-speed manual or optional eight-speed automatic gearbox, while the 330d Touring gets the eight-speed automatic as standard.
New-look BMW X1 starts at £24,660
The petrol model — available with a standard six-speed manual or optional eight-speed automatic gearbox — returns 41.5mpg (43.5mpg auto) and
159g/km (152g/km), and hits 62mph from standstill in 6.0secs (155mph max).
Plans are also in place to introduce an EfficientDynamics version of the 320d Touring, though this isn't expected to arrive in Scottish dealerships until the first quarter of 2013. It's also expected that a four-wheel-drive 320d Touring xDrive — which will go head-to-head with Audi's A4 Allroad — will come to the UK.
Prices start at £29,380 for the 320d Touring, and rise to £34,700 for the 330d Touring. the petrol 328i Touring can be yours for £30,400.
BMW reveals Olympic fleet
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars
Jim McGill