13 May 2012

BMW 3 Series Touring announced

BMW has announced the arrival of the Touring version of the famous 3 Series. The latest model continues the trend that BMW started since E30 3 Series, a blend of  load capacity that is the largest in its class, complete with innovative storage solutions, wrapped in a dynamically styled and strong but lightweight body that follows the same winning formula of previous BMW 3 Series Tourings over the years. 


For the exterior, the 3 Series Touring is exactly the same as its Saloon brethren from the tip of the nose to the B-pillar. It gets the similarly  expressive front end, twin headlamps with LED accent lights that combine with the gently forward sloping BMW kidney grille to generate a purposeful face, further highlighted by the additional outer air intakes below the headlamps and the sweeping lines of the bonnet that converge on the grille.
From the side, the new 3 Series Touring is defined by the sweeping silhouette, with its smoothly sloping roofline and glasshouse that extends to the rear of the vehicle. The new car is 97mm longer overall and 50mm longer in the wheelbase than before and that, together with the steeply raked D-pillars, angle of the rear window and the traditional ‘Hofmeister kink’, adds a real sense of forward motion to the profile. At the rear, the spoiler ‘peak’ that accentuates the long roofline, together with the horizontal lines and L-shaped lights set far out to the edges, combine with the 48mm wider track to plant the design on the road.

As for the interior, the 3 Series Touring follow exactly the trendy design first seen on the F30 Sedan. In a nutshell, it is more commodious than before especially the rear seats where there is now 17mm extra knee room and 9mm more headroom making ingress and egress to the rear seats is easier than ever before. However, more importantly for this Touring model is the new luggage area is significantly more spacious than before with extra 35L, totally 495L. Loading sill height from the ground is 620mm.
The new BMW 3 Series Touring has a split rear boot opening with the upper glass area able to open independently of the overall unit. This is unlocked electrically via a button located on the rear wiper arm, and then opened manually. It is particularly convenient when loading in small items, perhaps where space behind the vehicle is limited. To add the convenience the new 3 Series Touring receives an electrically powered boot, controlled either via the key fob, a switch on the A-pillar or a button on the boot itself, standard for all version. In addition, customers can enjoy further convenience with the Smart Opener feature offered as part of the Comfort Access option. When specified, the boot can be opened with the motion of a strategically placed foot beneath the rear bumper.

Other than that, the drivetrain option, BMW Lines option and equipment level mirrors those on the new 3 Series Sedan.

More photos of BMW 3 Series Touring after the jump.





More photos can be found in the gallery below:

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