That outline encloses 500 litres of boot, which is about par among the style-led premium wagons, but visibly less than, say, the Passat. The suspension and drivetrain use more aluminium than before, and the bonnet and front wings are aluminium too. Overall it’s slightly lighter than the old Touring.

Underneath, the Touring’s – like the saloon’s – components are almost entirely renewed for this new G20 generation. It also gives the design some forward-aiming dynamism. The front half is pretty much identical, and that’s absolutely no bad thing. The Touring remains the same length as the contemporary saloon. That makes, in effect, the biggest-ever Hofmeister kink.

Still, the 3 Series has some neat mechanisms to ensure your small but perfectly formed cargo is easily loaded and well restrained.

BMW 3 Series Touring

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p> The suspension principles, the seats, electronics and so on cascade down from the bigger cars BMW has launched in the past couple of years. To anyone who’s done their 3 Series homework, the Touring estate brings no surprises. As surely as the sun rises, they’ve grown. Towards the rear, the designers have taken on the same mission as with the saloon – don’t just clone’n’shrink a 5 Series – but used a different technique. Another easy spot: the main side crease no longer runs through the door handles.

Where previous 3 Tourings took the window line and simply extended it level, here the lower line of the glass angles upward behind the door. The added Lexus ls 2008 in kenya length is less than the length of a credit card, but it’s more about crash safety than interior space, which hasn’t seen much benefit.