Hardcore 3-Series Touring less than a year away.

FIRST quarter of 2023 – that’s the diary note fans of the first BMW M3 that ‘hauls’ more than metaphorically has to make in respect to New Zealand availability.

In the wake of the factory delivering full detail of the M3 Touring, and confirming that the car will be blasting up Lord March’s driveway this weekend during the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, BMW New Zealand has box-ticked that this bliz wagon will be sold here.

Price and local specification are set to be announced later this year - for reference, the M3 Competition M xDrive which has the same basic spec, but with a sedan body – starts at $184,500.

The car itself comes around March, going by the tenor of the Auckland-domiciled distributor’s announcement.

Purchase consideration is straightforward; the marriage of the G80 M3’s 375kW/650Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged ‘S58’ inline six-cylinder into the beefed 3-Series station wagon body avails exclusively in high-output Competition trim, with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

It doesn’t seem possible to get an M3 Touring with the same carbon-fibre finish found in the M3 sedan M4 Coupe, but there is an M Carbon exterior package, featuring carbon inlays for the front air intakes and a unique rear diffuser, along with carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic door mirror caps.

Mixed-size alloy wheels are fitted, measuring 19-inch up front and 20-inch at the rear, painted in Jet Black. They can be finished in a bi-colour diamond polish or a buyer can upgrade to M forged wheels.

BMW claims a 0-100kmh sprint time of 3.6 seconds (one tenth slower than the sedan), a 0-200kmh time of 12.9 seconds, and a top speed of 250kmh as standard, rising to 280kmh with the M Driver's Package.

The M xDrive all-wheel-drive system operates as it does in the isedan sibling; so, there’s a choice of a standard 4WD mode, 4WD Sport (which shifts more power to the rear), and a rear-drive setting that disconnects the front axle and disables stability control.

The adaptive suspension has been recalibrated to account for the additional weight over the rear axle. There’s the usual spread of drive modes from Comfort to Sport Plus.

Carry-over performance items from the M3 Competition xDrive sedan include variable sports steering, a limited-slip rear differential, aluminium under-body bracing, and a multi-stage M Traction Control system. M Carbon ceramic brakes are optional.

Though the body enhancements make it longer and wider than a standard 3-Series Touring, in respect to practicality the cars are even. Behind the M3’s automatically opening tailgate (the glass can open separately) is a 500-litre boot, expanding to 1510 litres when the split-fold rear seats are tumbled forward. To keep luggage in place during high cornering speed, M Division can outfit the car with optional rubberised anti-slip rails that rise up out of the boot floor when the hatch is closed down. One point: Being an M car, it cannot take a tow bar. So, no high-speed caravan hauling. But there are roof rails, and so a kit to carry bikes on the roof.

The cabin proper mirrors that of the M3 sedan with lots of other M-specific details. The specification includes Merino leather-upholstered M Sport seats but these can be dropped for M Carbon buckets that save nearly 10kg.

The M3 Touring gets BMW's Curved Display dashboard. Two screens - one for instruments, the other a touchscreen - are integrated into one design, and it runs the latest BMW operating system.