BMW 3 Series Touring (2019) Review

Almost every visible area of the cabin is covered in soft-touch plastics and leathers. You‘ll have to look very hard to find any plastics of the cheap and scratch variety. Most are hidden in the lower parts of the doors and footwells, where their resilience is needed to cope with muddy shoes and boots that’ll brush their way. 

The push buttons and dials are finished in high quality smooth metals. And the options list for fabrics and trims is comprehensive.

All versions of the 3 Series Touring get ambient LED mood lighting as standard, with 11 selectable light designs in six colours. Admittedly, ambient lighting isn’t anything new these days (you can get them on much cheaper cars) but BMW’s system is impressive and bathes the cabin in a soft blue or purple that gives the interior the vibe of a first class airline cabin. 

BMW’s extensive (and often expensive) options list is comprehensive. This means you can get a 3 Series Touring with a full length panoramic sunroof, in-car wifi, wireless phone charging and automatic climate control for the front and rear seats. 

SE and Sport models get an 8.8-inch infotainment screen that’s located at the centre of the dashboard as standard, while M Sport versions get a larger 12-inch screen with a HD display. 

Both are operated by a large dial in the centre of the console, which makes it easy to browse radio stations, navigation commands and vehicle settings. The top of the dial is also a touchpad, which lets you write out numbers and digits for things like postcodes and house numbers. 

All models get a voice control function, which you operate by saying “Hey BMW”. This is useful for starting/cancelling the navigation system or making hands free calls. You can also ask the voice system to find the nearest fuel station or coffee shop by saying “I need fuel” or “I’m thirsty”. However, no matter how hard we tried, it refuses to tell any jokes. 

Navigation is fitted as standard on every version of the 3 Series Touring and the maps are automatically updated wirelessly for the first three years of ownership. After this time a payable subscription is required, which can exceed £100. 

M Sport models get a fully digital instrument display, which can be customised to show navigation routes, radio stations and engine data. A head-up display is available as an optional extra, which shows route directions, vehicle speed and local limits in the bottom right hand corner of the windscreen. 

BMW’s gesture control is an optional extra. To use it you need to wave your hand in a pre-set way to perform a certain action, such as adjust the audio volume or accept a hands free phone call. We found the system frustrating to use as it wouldn’t always recognise our hand signals. Most of the gesture controls can be bypassed by the buttons on the steering wheel which makes it largely redundant in our view. 

All versions of the 3 Series Touring get Bluetooth smartphone compatibility, but Android Auto is not available and Apple CarPlay is limited to a one year subscription only, which means you have to pay to use the service beyond the first 12 months. 

The 330e plug-in hybrid has the best advertised fuel economy, with a maximum 201.8mpg. It also has an electric range of 32-37 miles (depending on trim) which means you can run the 330e as a pure EV over short distances.

The 320d is the second cheapest option when it comes to fuel economy, with advertised efficiency peaking at 55.4mpg. This is followed by the less powerful 318d, which returns up to 53.3mpg. The six-cylinder 330d is the least efficient diesel in the range. The 330d returns 45.6mpg or 43.5mpg when specified with xDrive. 

The entry-level 318i four-cylinder petrol engine has the lowest advertised fuel economy (42.2mpg) while the more powerful 320i will return up to 41.5mpg. The most powerful four-cylinder petrol engine is the 330i and this returns up to 40.4mpg.

Fuel costs drop by a considerable margin for the high performance M340i. All versions of the M340i use xDrive as standard and the six-cylinder petrol will return just 33.6mpg, according to the official figures. 

The BMW 330d Touring returns up to 54.3mpg (depending on trim level) while the M340d's fuel economy is officially rated at an impressive (for the performance) 44.8mpg.

Insurance premiums vary from Group 25 to 42, depending on which model you choose. Generally, the sportier trims and high performance engines attract the most expensive premiums. 

The 318i and 318d in SE trim sit at the lower end of the premium list, while something like a 330d M Sport will sit as high as Group 39. 

This looks unfavourable compared to the Audi A4, with low-spec petrol and diesel models starting at Group 19 and mid-spec versions seldom breaking the Group 30 barrier.  

The 3 Series Touring is one of the most refined cars in its class, which means you can waft along the motorway in this BMW at 70mph in near silence, with road and wind noise reduced to a barely audible whisper.

The 330d does have a tendency to transfer some noise and vibration into the cabin during the winter months when cold -  at a set of traffic lights for example. But these imperfections are quickly ironed as the engine reaches optimum operating temperature. The four-cylinder engines are much quieter and refined at lower speeds. 

The 330e plug-in hybrid has a maximum range of 37 miles, which means it’ll run on pure electricity in silence until the battery depletes and the 2.0-litre petrol engine kicks in.

The potent M340i is theatrical at all speeds, owing to its powerful engine and sports exhaust system delivering a racecar soundtrack. Even in its most docile setting, the M340i will deliver a deep throated burble as it pulls away, with the occasional crackle and pop as you lift your foot off the throttle. 

If you want to have your cake and eat it, there's even a hot diesel model badged the M340d. This uses the same six-cylinder diesel as the 330d but with power boosted to 340PS and an incredible 700Nm of torque. This makes overtakes an absolute breeze, while its 0-62mph acceleration figure of 4.8 seconds means it's one of the quickest diesel cars on sale today.

The 3 Series Touring is fitted with a comprehensive array of safety kit. The 3 Series scored a maximum Euro NCAP safety waiting of five out of five when it was launched in 2019, along with a 97% rating for adult occupant safety and 87% for children.

The 3 Series Touring uses a sophisticated array of cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings and alert the driver of nearby hazards or step in and take direct action. 

A smart front collision warning system, for example, is fitted as standard and will apply the brakes if it detects an immentante impact with a cyclist or pedestrian. It’ll also slow the vehicle or bring it to a halt if it thinks a collision with another vehicle is likely. 

The optional Driving Assistant Professional pack adds a range of semi-autonomous driving tech that includes adaptive cruise control that’ll automatically control the vehicle’s speed and gap between the car in front on the motorway. The pack also includes a rear view traffic alert system, which will warn you of approaching vehicles when reversing out of a parking space or driveway. 

The 3 Series Touring is advertised as a car that’s capable of carrying three child seats across the rear bench, but only two ISOFIX anchor points are fitted. This means the middle child seat will need to be affixed by the seat belt. 

There is no space for a full size spare wheel in the 3 Series Touring. All cars are supplied with a BMW Mobility Kit, which includes a can of tyre sealant and an electrically operated 12V compressor that can be used in the event of a tyre puncture. An optional 17-inch space saver tyre is available as an option, but reduces luggage space by 115 litres.