When BMW sets its sights on snaffling a slice of the market, the car that results is so virtuous in every respect that motorists would be unwise not to pay obeisance to them – or so Jane Austen might have written had she been a 2025 motoring correspondent.
For those of us whose eyes glaze over when struggling to read a traffic sign and wouldn’t know a conditional clause from a migraine, let’s put it simply? Respect to BMW for coming up trumps!
The latest 330e M Sport Touring plug-in hybrid certainly stacks up the superlatives. There’s an old adage which tells us that ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. In my view this applies most particularly to the Touring (or estate car). A sensible concept if ever there was one.
Many novelty-seeking nomads, having had their heads turned by crossovers, now realise what they have missed. To put simply, if practical motoring is your aim, a ‘Touring’ will take you far along the road to perfection.
One which portrays serious potential towards being one of the best there is, is the…from £49,130 … 330e M Sport Touring. (£61,913 when all the ‘make life even more wonderful’ packs have been added – like comfort plus pack, the visibility pack, the tech pack and the ‘magic motoring pack’ with see-through glass, blow-up tyres, electric lights etc. Only joking!). So well equipped, it has sat nav, air con, cruise control, power seats, sun roof and every adjunct to comfort and convenience you can think of…the list goes on. This latest model has a huge panoramic touch screen to control most functions but, thankfully, the rotary control on the centre console remains. It is nigh-on ergonomically perfect.
Such excellence really means that rivals to this functional family/business touring designed to sweep away the blues, have little chance. And sweep away the blues it does. It’s the magic broomstick with magic right down to its rubber souls – it’s that nice to drive. And that’s it’s forte.
Simply put, it is aristocratic in its demeanour, performance and overall presence, exuding quality with confident ease. Take for instance the excellent ride and the silence of the cabin. One feels instantly at home in an oasis of calm. I felt so relaxed that I was convinced that this BMW would even bring a smile to the face of a Yorkshire poet caught in a ‘force eight’ high on a Pennine ridge. Heathcliff would have considered the car a ‘belter’ – perfect for his wandering ways.
With such a good blend of practicality and performance the 3 Series Touring is at the top level of this market niche. It’s as elegant as a dapper dandy with the cut and thrust of a rampaging highwayman. The motto is not so much ‘stand and deliver’ as ‘deliver outstanding’.
Beneath the bonnet the 4 cylinder in-line 2.0 litre petrol engine combines with the electric motor and is capable of delivering 292PS. It’s a plug-in hybrid so you can swap into electric mode when you want to. Electric only range is realistically around 50 miles – ideal for stop-start city driving and emitting no noxious nastiness. Stay on electric forever and you could claim a million mpg as the petrol goes stale. But this is a ‘drivers car’. Enjoy it and realistically average consumption is around 40 mpg.
Few cars will deliver you and your payload with such dash and panache. It’s a sublime motorway cruiser and when twisty roads beckon it comes alive as you select ‘sport’ mode and enjoy waggling the paddles controlling the seamless 8 speed automatic gearbox. Add in supremely responsive handling – due in part to traditional rear wheel drive. – and you’re treated to a confidence-inspiring combination of grunt and deportment. Smooth and responsive as a sinuous dancer with enough straight-line momentum to startle an astronaut.(Lunatics have told me that top speed is around 150mph).
There is no doubt that given the carrying capacity, it truly represents twenty first century space travel. This is not any old estate. This one belongs to the Baron and Baroness of Bravado who – in the politest way – sweep past ‘the petit traffickers who curtsy to them and do them reverence’. (As that well-known car pundit William Shakespeare wrote). For readers untutored in The Classics, that is to say that driving such a car puts much of the competition in the shade. Who would buy a C Class Mercedes when you can have one of these?
With excellent road manners, comfort and space for anything, I’m pleased to report that the BMW 330e M Sport Touring gives a thoroughly good driving experience that keeps you feeling as fresh as a daisy and fragrant as a bottle of Action Man aftershave.
