Road Test: BMW 3-Series Touring

The new 3-series Touring has all the finesse you'd expect from a BMW. But its host of rugged gadgets point to a car that's meant to be used as a workhorse. John Simister puts it through its paces

Model: BMW 325i SE Touring
Price: £26,340, on sale from September
Engine: 2,497cc, six cylinders, 24 valves, 218bhp at 6,500rpm, 184 lb ft at 2,750-4,250rpm
Transmission: six-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Performance: 151mph, 0 to 60mph in 7.0 seconds, 32.8mpg official average
CO2: 208g/km

"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 1,385 litres of cargo, or if that sounds too liquid, 48.5 cubic feet.

That is 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 compartmentalise the underfloor space, too, a space made available by the lack of a spare wheel if you have the optional run-flat tyres.

The message, then, is that his 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 no Mondeo or Vectra estate, space-wise, but it's still a useful adjunct to a mode of life that 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.

To look at, this 3-series is predictable. The saloon version is already quite a calm 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 3.0 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, thus dispensing with a normal throttle. The accelerator pedal actuates, via an electronic control unit, a third " camshaft" 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 September 17: a 325i and a diesel-fuelled 320d. The rest will follow, but it's these two I have sampled. The 325i has up to 218bhp 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 on offer, 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. The Touring has a body-shell 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 Nürburgring 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 although the steering isn't great for road-feel it's accurate and calls for just the right amount of effort.

BMWs are, in the main, 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 rides quite smoothly, too, 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. And 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 163bhp engine manages a highly impressive 251lb ft of torque (the 325i, by comparison, musters 184lb ft). It's one of the more invigorating diesel engines around, if not the smoothest, and its easy thrust makes for a relaxingly rapid drive. An economical one, 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 smoothpetrol-fuelled 325i, pay the extra £770 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.

The rivals

AUDI A4 AVANT 2.0T FSI SE, £24,075

Four cylinders, but a turbocharger and direct fuel injection give this A4 a useful 200bhp. A recent restyle has added a certain appeal, but it's not the most engaging drive in the world. Another £1,400 buys the quattro four-wheel drive version.

JAGUAR X-TYPE ESTATE 2.5 V6 SE, £27,940

Four-wheel drive is standard here, and the X-Type estate is a much more stylish object than the fussy saloon. It has matured into a desirable car, more so in the £3,000-cheaper Sport version with fewer toys but a cooler aura.

SAAB 9-3 SPORTWAGON 2.0T AERO, £25,495

Saab's long-awaited 9-3 estate looks as striking as the saloon does not, with tall, ice-block tail-lights and a wedgy stance. This most powerful of the four-cylinder engines offers a keener drive than the new V6. Overall, it's both roomy and practical.