What Does the Former Stig Have To Say About the BMW M3 Touring?

Coming to answer this question is Ben Collins, who attended the first drive event of the BMW M3 Touring at the Nurburgring GP. He is the former Stig on Top Gear, and therefore more than qualified to give his feedback on the premium compact sports wagon from the Munich brand in a proper hands-on video review of the car.

With 503 horsepower (510 ps / 375 kW) and 479 pound-feet (650 Nm) of torque on tap, it is one fast family car that has what it takes in order to take on the famous German racetrack. It is only available in the Competition xDrive configuration, and packs the same engine as the eponymous version of the M3 Sedan, as well as the M4, namely a twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six.

Giving it extra traction, and making it a weather-proof machine, the rear-biased xDrive all-wheel drive system, which bears the signature of the M Division, is one of the highlights, though we reckon purists would have wanted it to be rear-wheel drive instead. The M3 Touring has a top speed electronically limited to 174 mph (280 kph), and can deal with the 0 to 62 mph (0-100 kph) in just 3.6 seconds – that’s Ferrari Enzo territory.

Now that we’ve reminded ourselves about some of the traits of the five-door model, let’s see what Ben Collins had to say about it while putting it through its paces. For that, you will have to take a 12-minute break, as that’s how long the video embedded down below is.