BMW enthusiasts have long begged for an M3 Touring. Yet, it’s never happened. Nor will it ever happen. BMW has teased the idea before but ultimately squashes it every time. However, there’s now a car that’s closer to a proper M3 Touring than ever before. It’s a car that could become the Swiss Army Knife of the BMW lineup and it’s on display at the #NEXTGen19 event in Munich. It’s the BMW M340i Touring.
The BMW M340i Touring is the M Performance wagon version of the 3 Series lineup. That means it gets a 3.0 liter turbocharged I6 (B58) that puts out a very healthy 374 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. In the real world, 0-60 mph should happen in the low four-second range, making it alarmingly close to the performance of the F80 BMW M3. And yet, it’s not even a proper M car.
Don’t think it’s just a blunt instrument, though. We drove the BMW M340i sedan on track and it’s a surprisingly fun car to push hard. It’s obviously better on the road but can hold it’s own on track. So it might not be a proper M car but that doesn’t automatically make it a hammer to an M3’s scalpel. It’s still a sharp, precision tool.
It also comes available with xDrive all-wheel drive, making it all-season capable, something the older M3s never were (though, this new one will be). Combine that all-wheel drive with M3-levels of performance and the practicality of a wagon and you have a car that truly is a Swiss Army Knife. There’s really nothing it can’t do well. It might not be the fastest or the most practical but it’s so good at both that it’s hard to argue against.
We haven’t driven the BMW M340i Touring just yet but we’re dying to get our hands on it. Seeing it in person at the #NEXTGen19 doesn’t help the urge.
