Car launches are a laugh. Sure, there is a always a sour bunch in tweed jackets in the corner more concerned with the quality of the dinner or the star rating of the hotel - the sort that have forgotten how to enjoy their lives - but overall it really is difficult to call this side of our business 'work'. Not that BMW laid on an overnight stay for the UK launch of its 3-series Touring; just a brief flight to Aberdeen, a nice lunch and the keys to the cars and some directions back home via some of the best driving roads in the known universe.
The resulting high-speed convoy (a common occurrence on such launches) took us through some stunning scenery and the best driving roads I've personally encountered. I know this is a car review, not a travel guide, but bear with me; there is a point. Before we get to it: if you are fed up with speed camera-infested and congestion clogged roads across most of Britain and Ireland, take your vehicle of choice up to the empty, winding, bucking Scottish A-roads and come back when you've had your fill.
Not that these roads are particularly well-surfaced, but as well as being lightly trafficked, the tarmac twists and slices down valleys and up mountainsides, for the most part giving you a clear view of the deserted road ahead for a considerable distance. You might think that the ideal car would in fact be a low little number with just two seats, and that driving a 'boring' estate car would be nothing short of frustrating for driving nuts like us. You might be right; if we were not piloting BMW's fourth-generation 3-series estate, otherwise known as the Touring.
The class-leading dynamics of the latest generation BMW 3-series are well documented on the
BMW Road Tests page of this site, but even we usually have to put driving enjoyment aside when talking about a load-carrying estate. That is becoming less so, as the estate car has become a lifestyle choice, with the emphasis as much on style as it is on 'life'. BMW's latest Touring has the style aspect licked. Rear of the C-pillars, the new estate is elegant and in my eyes better looking than the 3-series saloon.
Inside, there is precious little difference between the Touring and saloon ahead of the rear seats, where the latest 3-series has been significantly improved. Behind the rear seats is naturally quite different. Bigger dimensions all round have resulted in an increase in luggage volume by 25 litres over the outgoing car (up to 460 litres with the rear seats in place). According to BMW, this betters the chief rivals from Audi and Jaguar.
Practicalities aside, I was keen to get behind the wheel and set off. The car pictured is one of the first models to be available in Touring format; the 325i, thankfully for our journey, fitted with a six-speed manual gearbox. The 2-litre diesel model was also available at launch, and since then the Touring range has been added to by the superb 330d, 320i and range-topping 330i. Buyers of the 325i should not feel short-changed, as this sweet powerplant is derived from the 3-litre straight-six, complete with lightweight magnesium construction. Without a back-to-back comparison I would be hard pushed to say which sounds better; the 325i emits a distinctive bark in the mid-range and that characteristic six-cylinder howl at high revs. I'm a fan.
Aural stimulation aside, the 325i doesn't embarrass itself against the clock, with the 0-62mph sprint covered in 7.2 seconds, on the way to 151mph. Of more relevance than the top speed, BMW claims that the 325i and 320d Tourings are quicker from 0-62mph and from 50-75mph than competitors from Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes. Numbers mean little in the real world, though the 325i holds its head high on a cross country blast. Just as keen to rev, and endowed with a torquey mid-range, the 325i doesn't quite hurl itself at the horizon in the manner the 330i does when you stoke its fires.
The horizon is not very far away thanks to the proximity of craggy peaks and cliff faces lining the roads south of Aberdeen, but the 325i feels plenty quick enough when you are actually able to use every one of its 218 well-groomed horses. After a couple of hours of hard driving something strikes me; the Touring is just as composed as the saloon, perhaps even more so. In the dry, the traction control system can be turned off with confidence as the chassis is quite forgiving. Provoke the rear end and mini power slides are there for the taking, but for the most part, the nose dives for the apex and the whole chassis works together to get through each corner quickly, efficiently, but somehow with enough tactile feedback to make the driver feel that he is responsible for it.
What about those roads? Well, it's tempting to say that 'even' in an estate car, they were a joy to behold, but I don't know if we'd feel the same in most other load luggers. Back in boring England the Touring performed the regular duties of a family car with aplomb, including looking good on the driveway. Think of it as the family man with a little bit more of a twinkle in his eye; life means more than just work to him.
