We tested the BMW M3 Competition Touring M xDrive: customer racing, with boot space

From the Nürburgring to the school gate, or from a weekend at the beach with a surfboard or mountain bike, its architecture invites leisure because there is room inside for almost anything, and also leisure behind the wheel, because every drive is an exceptional experience. There is only one risk, and it is permanent: the future of your licence points and your driving licence.

I have had the privilege of driving many BMW M cars in ideal conditions and also at the limit, in the rain, on the track and on the road. Some of them, even in their competition versions, at places as legendary as the Nürburgring. What is expected of a car bearing the M badge goes beyond what is demanded of most supercars. Because an BMW M is not only asked to go fast: it is required to deliver surgical precision, emotional capacity and a dynamic balance that is hard to describe. And this Touring delivers on all of it… without forgetting room for the family.

• The chassis setup has been refined at the Nürburgring: the M3 Touring is a race car with a number plate.

Licensed to compete on any surface

From the first glance, the M3 Touring imposes the aggression of its performance range. There are no half measures. Its obligatory vertical kidney grille, widened wheel arches, rear diffuser, quad exhausts… Everything has a purpose, everything is necessary and nothing is decorative. Everything works in favour of performance. Under the bonnet, the 3.0-litre straight-six with M TwinPower Turbo technology delivers 510 CV and 650 Nm of torque. It does not just push, it explodes in the upper part of the rev counter with the rage of a 1990s naturally aspirated engine and the punch of a modern turbo. It is not an explosive kick, it is a progressive push that never seems to end.

Every time you take it to the limiter, the instrument cluster LEDs hit your brain like spurs to a horse’s belly. The paddle shifters respond with surgical precision, the sound pierces your ears and the acceleration takes your breath away. You change gear, you fly, you brake late, you trace the line and repeat. The steering wheel, perfect in diameter and feel, communicates every centimetre of grip. On deceleration, the sound is almost more intoxicating than at full load. And the brakes, whether the standard M Compound or the optional carbon-ceramic discs, allow you to brake late corner after corner without fading.

• The 510 CV engine derives directly from the powerplant of the BMW M4 GT3. It pushes like a demon and sounds even better.

All-wheel drive that can also slide, and the magic is completed by the M xDrive system, which distributes power between the four wheels, but can prioritise the rear axle (4WD Sport mode), or even disconnect the stability control and run on rear-wheel drive only (2WD mode). Frankly, this should come with a warning like medicine leaflets: use only in very favourable conditions and by experienced drivers. The result is a family saloon capable of sliding like an M3 E92 on its best day. In addition, the M traction control allows slip to be modulated across 10 levels. And if you add the M Drift Analyzer, you can directly study your art of cross-cornering the car as if you were in a drift test. The numbers are as striking as the sensations: 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, 0 to 200 km/h in just 12.9. Top speed of up to 280 km/h with the M Driver’s Package.

Chassis, suspension and brakes respond as expected, with the obligatory Bavarian precision that has paid special attention to the chassis. The adaptive M suspension with electronic dampers, the M Servotronic steering, the active rear differential and the specific structural reinforcements confirm what you already feel behind the wheel: this is a race car dressed as a Touring. It has so much technology and racing content to discuss that we could be here for weeks. The setup has been carefully worked on at the Nürburgring and other test tracks. It is clear that they are developed by racing drivers. The balance between sporting precision and travelling comfort is simply exceptional; in fact, it is surprising because it can also be very comfortable. You can go on holiday or do fast laps without touching a single setting.

And yes, the family comfort is real: a boot of up to 1,510 litres, genuinely usable rear seats, a 40:20:40 split-folding rear backrest and practical solutions such as non-slip rails or compartments under the floor. Inside, the “M” DNA can be felt on all four sides. The cabin strikes a balance between technology, ergonomics and extreme sportiness. The curved display (BMW Curved Display) with two high-resolution digital screens and the BMW iDrive 8 system form an intuitive ecosystem that responds to voice and touch. Everything is where it should be. And everything breathes pure motorsport. The standard seats are already exceptional, but the optional M Carbon Bucket seats take the experience to the next level: lighter, more extreme and with a design that looks taken straight from the pit lane.

• With configurable traction and driving modes, this Touring can also slide like a pure rear-wheel-drive car.

This family M3 is an act of rebellion with a number plate in these times, times when the politically correct option is called a lazy hybrid SUV. BMW launches a family estate with 510 horsepower and configurable traction. The M3 Touring is not a fashion. It is a car that reminds you why you love driving, why you enjoy driving. A rarity that defies the current, that stands up to mandatory electrification and that recovers the essence of the car understood as pleasure and precision. It is a car for the brave, for those who do not settle, for those who do not follow the herd. And it is, for all these reasons, a gem with a number plate.