BMW M3 Touring Faces Audi RS 6 Avant in a Perfectly-Matched Battle of the Wagons

Today, we have the pleasure of witnessing one such battle, which was unsurprisingly orchestrated by carwow. Albeit it is between two cars that are not perfectly matched. In the left corner, representing Munich, we have the BMW M3 Touring of the Competition variety, a car many enthusiasts have been asking for since times immemorial.

To be fair, BMW did make a couple of other M Wagons in the past. Albeit, the power was hidden beneath the more business/grocery getter body of the 5 series. There is also that one-off E46 M3 Touring, but that does not count, as it was more a display of what BMW can do.

So, this is the first legitimate production, factory M3 Touring that petrolheads with a penchant for practicality can get their hands on. The design is what we have come to expect from BMW, with a driver-oriented, fully digital dash, and upholstered carbon bucket seats that will keep the driver in place on those extra fast school runs.

Standing against the manufacturer with the most ardent fanbase, there is the Audi RS 6, a name synonymous with performance wagons. One can’t help but think that the RS4 would have been a better-matched opponent here, but nothing is ever perfect, so we get to see what its bigger, burlier brother can do.

Performance-wise, the RS 6 is the kind of car that delivers it in a safe and responsible manner thanks to its Quattro All-Wheel-Drive system. It is the sort of vehicle you can convince the wife is a perfect family-oriented choice.

It does, however, offer the grunt when demanded, courtesy of its 4-liter twin-turbo V8 that puts out 591 hp (600 ps). The RS 6 is also quick off the line thanks to 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque being accurately vectored to all of its wheels through an eight-speed torque converter auto and the capable AWD system.

The BMW is light on both cylinders and displacement, sporting a 3-liter inline-six that puts out 503 hp (510 ps) and 480 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque. To compensate, it also weighs 463 lbs (210 kg) less than the RS 6, at just 4,112 lbs (1,865 kg). Everything else is evenly matched, with the M3 Touring also featuring AWD and an eight-speed torque converter auto.

So, considering that the differences kind of cancel each other out, the race should be interesting. And the two Touring beasts did not disappoint. They were so evenly matched that, despite winning the first best of three two to one in the BMW, Mat Watson agreed to race a best of five, hoping to get a clear win for the M3.

That eventually happened, albeit after six races, with the BMW taking four total wins and posting a best time of 11.4 seconds, 0.1 faster than the RS 6. But rolling races also needed to be held, and this is where the Audi could have washed away the defeat, as it represents a more lifelike scenario.

Sadly, it also lost in this category, albeit in a photo finish when both cars were in their maximum-attack modes. In the end, what we can take from this video is that you cannot go wrong with either choice, and the final factor should be a personal preference if the additional £27,000 ($32,000, at the time of the video) one would have to pay for the Audi is inconsequential.