There’s no mistaking the M3 Competition Touring for any other 3 Series Touring. With its black, M-specific kidney grille, large air intakes, flared arches, extended side skirts and big rear diffuser the visual message is aggressive and purposeful. Jet Black double spoke alloy wheels are 19-inch at the front, 20-inch at the rear. Inside, M-specific design features include red Start/Stop button, M controls on the M leather steering wheel and interior trim in high-gloss carbon fibre. Merino leather-trimmed M Sport seats are fitted as standard but if you’re serious about those Nürburgring lap times you’ll probably want the optional M Carbon bucket seats, which save 9.6kg.
PERFORMANCE
To give the M3 Competition Touring the same high torsional stiffness as the saloon, BMW has included extra bracing in the bulkhead and under the rear compartment. Beneath the sculpted bonnet sits a 3.0-litre six-cylinder in-line engine, developing 510hp at 6,250rpm. Maximum torque is 650Nm, and the power drives to all four wheels via an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission. The zero to 62mph dash is dismissed in a mere 3.6 seconds; it only takes 12.9 seconds to reach 124mph from a standing start. M xDrive all-wheel drive offers maximum traction while maintaining a rear-biased drive split; the Active M Differential delivers fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels. Behind the wheel you can select from Road, Sport and Track modes, which alter the levels of intervention from driver assistance systems. You can even switch off the DSC system altogether and engage 2WD mode for tyre-smoking sideways drifts…
TECHNOLOGY
BMW’s Curved Display has been warmly received for its clarity and ease of use; it features a 12.3-inch driver information display and a central 14.9-inch control display seamlessly merged beneath a single curved touchscreen interface. M-specific widgets include a readout on your current driver settings, tyre pressure and temperature. BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant and BMW Operating System 8 are state of the art and make voice control or touchscreen operation intuitive and simple. Standard kit includes BMW Live Cockpit Professional, which also adds the BMW Head-Up Display, cloud-based BMW Maps navigation, customisable ambient lighting, and a Harman Kardon surround sound system. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging come as standard, and BMW Connected Drive allows over-the-air software upgrades.
SAFETY
The M3 Competition Touring comes with a host of safety systems, including cruise control with brake function, front collision warning with brake intervention, lane departure warning including lane return with steering assistance, an attentiveness assistant, and a speed limit info system. Park Distance Control sensors front and rear save your blushes in tight parking spaces. Also standard is the BMW Driving Assistant which adds lane change warning, rear crossing traffic warning and rear collision prevention. The optional Driving Assistant Professional package moves one step closer to autonomous driving with active cruise control, steering and lane control.
