http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
NEED
TO KNOW
Despitethe
3Series To uring
outselling the
saloon in many
markets, there
is no sporty M3
estateplanned
andcruisingcomfort.Adaptive,stroke-
dependentdampertechnologymeansthat
selectingComfortmodeoffersagenuinely
refinedridewhenyouwanttotakethings
easy. MSportcarssiton18-inchwheels
asstandard,andwe’dstickwiththem
ratherthanmoveuptothe19s.
Thedifferenceinthewaythesuspension
andbodyrespondtoinputsandcornering
inSportmodeisnoticeable.Itmeansthis
isn’tjustaBMWthat’sgoodtodriveona
twistyroad–it’senjoyabletodrivealmost
anywhere.OurBavariantestroutedidn’t
quitesimulatetheworstofBritishB-roads,
butwe’retoldthattheUK’sscarredtarmac,
andWalesinparticular,issomewhere
BMW’schassisengineersarespending
moretime,sothingsbodewellforthe
newTouring’sUKdebutlaterthisyear.
Throwinthe330d’s3.0-litreturbodiesel
engineandtheendresultissomewhat
cliched:thisisallthe3Seriesyoucould
everneed.Don’tpaytoomuchattention
STILLthedriver’schoiceinthis
family-orientedsegment,nothing
canmatchthe3SeriesTouring
frombehindthewheel.Ittakes
thishonourwhileprovidinga
competitiveloadarea,andthe
330dhasthesortofeffortless,
six-cylinderdieselshoveyou
expect.It’stantalising,butwe
expectthefour-cylinder320d
and320idieselsandpetrolswill
sufficeifyou’refeelingsensible.
★★★★★
Verdict
EQUIPMENTEight-speed autoisstandard
and 3Series To uring is firstBMW to feature
dash-cam Drive Recorder function. Footage
can be used as evidenceafter accidents
PRACTICALITYRear head and legroom
is good, while the boot has acapacityof
500litres up to the parcelshelf –making
it marginally larger than the Audi A4 Avant’s
BMW330d xDrive
Touring MSport
Price: £44,565
Engine: 3.0-litre6cylturbodiesel
Power/torque: 261bhp/580Nm
Transmission: Eight-speedautomatic,
four-wheeldrive
0-62mph: 5.4seconds
Topspeed: 155mph
Economy: 50.4mpg
CO 2 : 146g/km
ONSALE Now
Essentials
Running costs
50.4mpg (official)
£77 fill-up
Performance
0-62mph/top speed
5.4 seconds/155mph
BMW3SeriesTouring NEWCARS
SpecialIssue 27
tothe261bhpfigure.The580Nmoftorque
spooledupbythissilkysix-cylinderiswhat
willgrabyourattention.Youcanconsistently
summonthrustandapacethat’llworry
bona-fideperformancecars.Andwhilethe
sensiblethingwouldbetocompromise,
savemoney,andoptforoneofthemore
frugalfour-cylinderdiesels,thepunchier
330dwillonlycostaround£50-£70extra
permonth(dependingondeposit)onaPCP
deal.Andinoureyesit’swortheverypenny.
Elsewhere,theinteriorremainsasstrong
inpresentationandexecutionasinthe
saloon,mixinggoodmaterialswithasense
ofhighbuildquality,allintegratedintoa
neatandpracticaldesign.The12.3-inch
digitaldialsaren’tthebestinthebusiness,
buttheiDriveinfotainmentsystem–nowin
itsseventhgeneration–stillis.It’spinpoint
sharp,fast,easytonavigateandcomes
withnewfeaturesonthe3SeriesTouring.
Itroundsoffwhatisaverystrongand
highlydesirableall-roundfamilycar.
