BMW has confirmed that its new i3 will spawn a Touring - or estate - variant. Now, for members of the estate car fan club (of which I am one), this is tremendously exciting news. BMW always makes a good estate car, and a more practical version of its landmark electric saloon is something to keep a keen eye out for.
The word on the street is that the new car will be revealed toward the end of this year or early next, with the first examples arriving in showrooms towards the end of 2027.
That feels like a long time to wait. Happily, if you fancy the idea of bagging a big, beautiful Bavarian estate car before then, pretty much any BMW Touring is a good decision. And even better, there are bargains aplenty to be found in the CarGurus classifieds.
For example, if you’re after something a similar size to the i3, how about a BMW 3 Series Touring? In addition to that practical estate boot, you get a punchy engine, a slick automatic gearbox, a high-quality cockpit with the latest tech on board, and wonderfully comfortable seats.
The 3 Series Touring also happens to be one of the best estate cars out there to drive, and this 320i M Sport I’ve unearthed has 181bhp to play with, which will make it feel brisk and responsive when you’re in the mood, without too much in the way of compromise in terms of its fuel economy.
This example is two years old, and has done 29,000 miles: a touch on the high side for its age, but really nothing to be concerned about in the grand scheme of things.
And at £27,770, it’s a whopping £2,442 below its CarGurus Instant Market Value – a calculation of the car’s value based on its age, mileage and specification, and the price of similar cars for sale on the CarGurus website – making it a tremendous deal.
Perhaps you fancy something with a little more get-up-and-go, though. In which case, what about the 2024 M340d xDrive I found? Its creamy-smooth six-cylinder diesel engine punts out 335bhp and a huge wave of torque, and with four-wheel drive, it can always deploy that power to the road to great effect.
The M340d will get to 62mph from rest in just 4.8 seconds, making it a true performance car. Yet it’ll also achieve real-world fuel economy in the region of 40mpg, perhaps more on a long motorway run.
And with the same 500-litre boot as any other 3 Series Touring, it’s got enough luggage space for high days and holidays, making it a car that really can answer any want or need.
