BMW introduce M3 Touring with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

The BMW M3 Competition Touring is possibly the most long overdue and eagerly anticipated car ever from the German car maker’s Motorsport division.

For years, keen drivers have asked, pleaded even, that BMW makes an estate version of the agile M3 to take on the Audi RS4 Avant and Mercedes C63 wagon. Well, now they have and it’s more than worth the wait.

BMW has not held back with this M3, which is the fourth body style to have the famous badge applied to it. The Touring comes as standard with the same 510hp turbocharged six-cylinder engine as the M3 saloon and M4 coupe. That’s enough power to see the Touring from a standing start to 60mph in 3.6 seconds and it will head on to 155mph, or 174mph if you choose the optional M Driver’s Package.

There are other trademark M3 cues to be found on the Touring, such as the four exhaust pipes and the subtly wider wheelarches that give the car its hunkered down, aggressive look. These extended wheelarches are not there for show, however, as they are needed to contain the bespoke 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels.

These exquisitely detailed wheels are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, which are the same as used on many supercars.

It’s fitting, then, they are the standard tyre for the M3 Touring super estate, which comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive, too. For track driving, you can use the M Driving Modes to switch to rear-wheel drive that gives the car a racing style set-up.

If you’re going to be a regular on track days, the optional M Pro Pack that provides carbon ceramic brakes will be a useful addition. However, for most drivers, the standard M3 brakes will be more than up to the job and they work brilliantly with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres to offer masses of confidence when you want to slow things down.

In corners, the M3 Touring is equally impressive, with the Michelin tyres providing superb grip, balance and feel to the driver through the steering wheel. They are also refined when you want to use this BMW to cover big miles, which it can easily thanks to average fuel economy of 28.0mpg. On far-flung trips, the M3 Touring also has the luggage capacity to cope thanks to its 500-litre boot, and you can extend that up to 1510-litres by folding down the rear seats.

With all of the seats in place, the M3 Touring has the same roomy cabin as any other BMW 3 Series Touring model. The only difference is the M3 comes with sculptured sports front seats that use carbon fibre in them to save 9.6kg over normal M Sport chairs. You’ll also find instruments, dials and stitching that are bespoke to the M3, as well as the M button on the steering wheel to engage the various driving modes.

It all adds up to a very special car that BMW M fans have been waiting decades for. Now that wait is over and the M3 Touring is here and ready to entertain on its Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.