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BMW has updated the large-nostril M3 - both the Sedan and Touring - and we want one.
BMW HAS UPDATED THE LARGE-NOSTRIL M3 - BOTH THE SEDAN AND TOURING - AND WE WANT ONE.
When we first saw pics of the BMW M3 sedan with that oversized kidney grille, we thought it was an April Fool’s joke, except the reveal of the car wasn’t in April. The new design was so left field that it had the world’s motoring press and fanatics divided, but luckily the design was only meant for the M Performace models and the regular, more sedate 3 Series styling would carry on as before thus not affecting sales of the bread and butter model for the brand. The weird thing is, that oversized nose was like a fungus, it just sorta grew on people. I was determined not to like the car, it was just too odd, yet the first time I saw one roll up behind me on the N1 it had me shouting out “Daaaaaaamn, that’s mad!” and it still does. That front end just seems to work now, and of course, the rest of the car’s design matches and looks just right, almost too right. When it was announced that BMW would finally be creating a wagon for the 3-series range, and they would also be giving it an M3 badge, it got plenty of people excited. The world’s automotive fanatics love themselves a wagon, and having one with an M Performance badge means BMW created something very desirable. The BMW M3 Touring is quite possibly the best-looking M3 of all time, that big kidney grille suits the dimensions of a wagon even more. I personally know a few chaps who have been planning to buy one of these cars as soon as they made it to SA, and it’s taken so long that the model has received an update along with that sought-after Competition badge and xDrive, but the best thing about that is the BMW M3 Touring now shows on BMW SA’s website. There’s no pricing listed yet, but we went and configured the one we’d want in M Isle of Green Metallic paint with the 20-inch M forged 826 wheels in black and a black-on-black interior. As you’d expect with an M-badged car, the update is pretty comprehensive and most parts of the car have seen some sort of improvement.
The BMW M3 Sedan and Touring’s updates include a bunch of cool things, and while this is the first update to the Touring, it’s actually the 6th generation of the BMW M3 so the updates have been practised for a while now and happen smoothly and seamlessly. The engine variant in the new BMW M3 Competition Sedan with M xDrive and the new BMW M3 Competition Touring with M xDrive is now the most powerful version of the twin-turbocharged inline-6 being rated at a nice and strong 390 kW of power with 650 Nm of torque, and it’s directed to all four corners via BMW’s 8-speed M Steptronic transmission and xDrive all-wheel drive underpinnings. Power is up by 15 kW over the previous generation, which is pretty decent at this level. The result is a more ferocious, sustained power delivery that adds another layer of intensity to the performance experience. This translates into the sedan version’s ability to hit 100 km/h from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds, while the wagon does it in 3.6 seconds. The sedan also hits 200 km/h in 11.8 seconds while the Touring does it in 12.4 seconds. Both are electronically limited to 250 km/h on top, but if buyers option the M Driver’s Package the sedan can run on to 290 km/h for the Sedan and 280 km/h for the Touring. The M3 sedan can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission for those who wanna do proper cog-swapping. Other new details for the updated M3 siblings include newly designed LED headlights, slim LED rear lights with L-shaped taillights, a new 3-spoke multifunction M leather steering wheel (with an Alcantara version available as an option), a new control panel on the centre console, interior trim elements in the Aluminium Rhombicle Anthracite, M Carbon Fibre and new Fine Brushed Aluminium variants, M sport seats with integrated head restraints with illuminated model badging, optional M Carbon bucket seats, the latest generation BMW iDrive based on BMW Operating System 8.5, a fully digital screen grouping made up of a 12.3-inch information display and a 14.9-inch control display, BMW Head-Up Display, Shift Lights and M View, interior lighting, BMW Maps, BMW Live Cockpit Plus, an M Carbon exterior package, an M Race Track package with M Carbon ceramic brakes, and also the usual BMW features. There’s no word on when this updated model will arrive in SA, or the projected pricing, but we’ll keep you posted when things are set in stone.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off the updated and quite possibly coolest BMW M car to date, the Competition version of the M3 Touring. How cool, how damn cool?: Driving the new BMW M3 Competition Touring | BMW M
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