Model:
BMW 325i SE Touring.
Price:
£26 340 (about R310 000 at 12/07/05), on sale in UK from September, in South Africa from November/December.
Engine:
2497cc, six cylinders, 24 valves, 162kW at 6500rpm, 250Nm at 2750-4250rpm.
Transmission:
Six-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive.
Performance:
240km/h, 0 to 100km/h in 7.0sec, 8.66 litres/100km official average.
"I love to go a-wandering with a knapsack on my back," happy Germans used to sing (in German) and when BMW launched the previous 3 Series Touring it described the not-quite-estate as "a 3 Series with a rucksack".
Have a 3 Series, carry more, wander happily. Sounds good.
And now there's a new one. This time there are no hiking allusions but the rucksack is bigger by 25 litres with the rear seats in use, 40 if they're folded down.
In total, used as a two-seat van, the new Touring can carry 1385 litres of cargo, or if that sounds too liquid, 1.385 cubic metres.
That's the chief practical difference between the new 3 Series Touring and the last one. There are some useful new details, too: a reversible mat for the load-bay is one, with a flap to protect the back bumper from damp dogs with hard claws.
Various dividers can also compartmentalise the underfloor space made available by the lack of a spare wheel, if you have the optional run-flat tyres.
The message, then, is that this is a car to be used, not just driven. There's more.
The transverse bar that contains the roller-blind luggage cover also incorporates a tough pull-out net that extends either from rear seats to roof or, with the seats folded down, over the height of the load bay.
It keeps cargo, or dogs, from flying forward under braking.
As in the previous Touring, the tailgate's rear window opens separately by means of a catch under the rear wiper's pivot. This time, though, opening the window causes the roller-blind to shoot upwards as the catch is squeezed.
You have to pull it back down manually, though - maybe automatic return will come with the next generation.
So that's the capacity part: it's not an MPV but it's still useful if your mode of life involves more than just a daily commute. It would be an ideal companion on a ski trip, for example, in which case the ski bag, which unfurls from the rear armrest, would be useful.
Alternatively you can remove the bag and insert a module containing cup holders, or another with a cooling box powered from a 12-volt socket.
Predictable styling
To look at, this 3 Series is predictable. The saloon version is already a mild interpretation of BMW's current look, and it translates well to the Touring whose tail section is really quite handsome. Mechanically, too, there are no surprises as the Touring contains all the technology of the recently-launched saloon and all its new engines.
The two six-cylinder petrol units, of 2.5 and three litres, are very interesting. They have a magnesium block so they're very light, and they feature not only variable valve-timing for both inlet and exhaust camshafts (giving an even spread of power across a wide speed range) but also valvetronic valve-lift control.
This varies the inlet valve-lift according to the load on the engine; the accelerator pedal actuates, a third "camshaft" via an electronic control unit which alters the lift as needed. The advantage is greater efficiency, because there's no throttle to impede airflow to the valves.
Two Tourings will be available from the European launch on September 17: a 325i and a diesel 320d. The rest will follow, but it's these two I've sampled. The 325i has up to 123kW at its disposal, a figure I remember from BMW engines a whole litre bigger back in the 1980s.
And where BMW's smaller sixes used to feel feeble at low speeds, this one is strong. A six-speed gearbox helps make the most of the power but it takes a few miles to get used to the valvetronic system's response and make perfectly smooth gearshifts.
With this mastered, you can enjoy probably the most pleasing drive possible in what you might call, if you were a marketing whizz, a compact premium estate car.
Rigid body
The Touring's body is just as rigid as the saloon's, an unusual feat because the big hole in the tail normally softens the structure, and BMW's tests have proved the Touring to be just as fast around the Nuerburgring as its saloon relative.
So driving the Touring is like driving the saloon. And that's a good thing, because the 3 Series is the most engaging car in its class. It sits precisely on the road and the steering is accurate and calls for just the right amount of effort, although not great for road-feel.
BMWs are mostly rear-wheel drive cars, which marks them out from the crowd.
Many people have grown up knowing only front-wheel drive cars and might be worried about the possibility of power slides, but the traction and stability systems are so effective that no anxiety is needed.
The best front-wheel drive cars can power effectively out of corners but the feeling of being pushed by the back wheels as you exit a bend still elicits a ping of pleasure.
This Touring also rides quite smoothly, which hasn't always been the case with past versions, whose suspension was over-stiffened to cope with loads they were never likely to carry. There's an underlying firmness, especially on the top models' lower-profile tyres, but it's not irritating.
Interestingly angular
The interior is pleasant, well made and interestingly angular, but the wood trim sits ill with the technology elsewhere. The textured aluminium alternative looks much more appropriate.
Either way, you still have an iDrive control system with which to wrestle and I remain unconverted. It demands too much attention.
I also tried the 320d, whose 122kW engine manages a highly impressive 340Nm (the 325i, by comparison, musters 250Nm). It's one of the more invigorating diesel engines around, if not the smoothest, and its easy thrust makes for a relaxingly rapid drive. Economical, too.
The 320d is the 3 Series Touring that makes the most sense. Does that make it the best compact premium estate car you can buy? It's hard to think of a better one, but I'd rather have the smooth petrol 325i, pay the extra £770 (about R9000) and put up with the thirst. Then I'd have a 3 Series that not only goes as a BMW should, but sounds like one, too.
- South African motorists will have a choice of only two six-cylinder petrol derivatives when the 3 Series Touring is launched here in the last quarter of the year: the 320i and 325. Prices will be announced at launch.