The BMW M3 Competition xDrive Touring is a mouthful of a name for what we find is a simple car. Let’s break down that long name: This is a BMW, obviously; M3 means this is the sportiest version of the venerable 3-Series; Competition means it’s an even more extreme version of the M3; xDrive means the vehicle is all-wheel drive; and finally, and likely most important, Touring means this here is a wagon.
While the aforementioned definition makes it easy to understand what this car is on paper, the sum of its parts is just so much more special than any practical wagon has any right to be. Read more for our full review of this missile of an estate.
Styling
We here at Top Gear love our wagons (or estates if you live across the pond). There is just something about the way a low-slung wagon looks that really tickles the car enthusiast in all of us. By combining the best profiles of sports sedans with the practicality of SUVs, the styling of the M3 Touring comes off as nothing short of special.
The front-end looks the most ‘plain’—the M3’s wolf in sheep’s clothing design. A large kidney grille is thankfully bisected by the plate holder required in our country, which lets the car have a more sophisticated front fascia.
It’s the way this car looks from the side and rear that really shows off how special the M3 is. From the side, large haunches house the extremely wide wheel and tire combination, and the black side skirts make the car appear sleeker from a vertical perspective.
From the rear, the wagon body style shows off its flexibility, as it casts a unique silhouette, finished off by quad exhausts housed in a black rear diffuser. Frankly, we love it, and aside from the somewhat divisive front grille (which grows on you, by the way), we feel that BMW has a winner on its hands with the design of this M3 Touring.
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Interior
Entering the cabin, you are greeted by BMW’s M sport seats (orange in this application), and aside from that, this is the 3-Series interior you know and love, with some carbon fiber and alcantara here and there. But this 3-Series deja vu is a double-edged sword.
On the plus side, this is a fantastically practical interior. Everything falls to hand just as any BMW should. The steering wheel is quite chunky, and the paddle shifters feel great to the touch. The sport seats are extremely comfortable, a wonder, given just how tight the bolstering can be (for my large frame at least).
On the negative side, that also means that certain parts of the car, like the steering wheel buttons, can feel a bit plasticky, which can be a disappointment given just how much more expensive this is as compared to the regular 3-Series.
Niggles aside, it is a premium 3 interior. It's also is as practical as can be, which, for a sporty wagon, is about perfect. You wish the second row were a bit more spacious, given the large footprint of the front seats, but overall it is a very usable space for a family’s daily use.
Engine Performance
Here’s where the M3 Touring gets a bit crazy. The 2,993cc Twin Turbo inline-6 of the M3 puts out a staggering 510hp and 650Nm of torque. This means that acceleration in this practical wagon is rated at around 3.6sec for the 0-100kph sprint (although independent testing has shown that this number can get as low as 3.2 in some runs; typical for BMW to underreport performance figures).
This kind of output means that the M3 is a scary car to drive when you first get into it. Everything feels so insanely raw and visceral. From the start-up growl, to the way the engine sings at its redline, the car just feels so very, very fast and so very, very special.
Flooring the accelerator and blasting through its 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with the paddles is an almost spiritual experience. Spiritual because the speed is transcendent, and also because it may make you mutter a prayer or two as you experience the relentless acceleration, and the world comes at you faster than you have ever experienced.
Ride and handling
While the engine and transmission combo can be absolutely terrifying for the first few moments of driving the car, it is the handling of the M3 that will bring you back to calmness. With power going to all four wheels via BMW’s xDrive system, and an absolutely brilliant adjustable suspension system, this car feels planted like no other car in its class.
There is just so much mechanical grip that no matter how ham-fisted our attempts at unsettling the car were, the M3 just took everything in stride. Yes, it can be a bit firm for our roads, but it is never too firm to be considered uncomfortable, and that in itself is worthy of praise. We would put its handling up there with the GT-R and other great all-wheel drive systems.
Extra features
Here’s where the BMW falls a bit short. For a car in 2025, especially at this price, you would expect that it would have all the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, the M3 lacks any form of ADAS. In fact, it only has a reversing camera and some parking sensors, meaning no adaptive cruise control and no automatic emergency braking.
The iDrive system is also a bit of an annoyance, as the A/C controls are baked into the touchscreen without any physical buttons. This means that adjusting the fan speed requires leaving the navigation screen to enter the climate screen, which can be a hassle while on the move.
Despite this, the car boasts an almost complete focus on the driving experience. There are 10 different traction control settings, and multiple options for the transmission, the engine, the steering, and the suspension. This car is customizable to such a crazy extent that it can be overwhelming. Thankfully, take the time to get to know the car, input everything into the quick set M1 or M2 buttons, and you can shift from a practical family car to a fire-breathing monster with a click of either one of the big red steering wheel-mounted buttons.
Verdict
This is one of the most impressive cars we have ever tried. It accelerates and handles like nothing with a large boot has any right to. But this does come at a price, and that price is P10.59 million. It is prohibitively expensive, but it stands alone as one of the most practical super wagons on sale today.
If you want the practicality of an SUV, but with performance rivaling even some supercars, there really is only one wagon for you, and it’s this—the BMW M3 Competition xDrive Touring. We love it, and if you are lucky enough to ever have a chance to drive it, you will see exactly why we find it so special.
SPECS: 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive Touring
Price: P10,590,000
Engine: 2,993cc Twin Turbo inline 6-cylinder
Power: 510hp
Torque: 650Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed M Steptronic Sport
Layout: xDrive AWD
Seating: 5
Score: 19/20
More photos of the 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive Touring:
