BMW M3 Touring is 503bhp AWD family rocket

In addition, because it has nearly 50:50 weight distribution and a suspension and steering set-up that has been lightly fettled to account for the new body, BMW says it offers “the combination of agility, dynamics and precision in handling that is characteristic of BMW M automobiles”.

Aside from the extended roofline and upright rear end, the M3 Touring is nearly identical to the saloon. It swaps the standard 3 Series’ wide snouts for the M car’s larger vertical items, and adds chunky flared wheel arches, bespoke bumpers and side skirts, a beefy quad-exit sports exhaust, 19in front and 20in rear M Sport wheels, and a bespoke rear spoiler.

Inside, it’s a closer match for the standard, recently updated 3 Series Touring, with a familiar cabin set-up dominated by a new 14.9in infotainment screen running BMW’s latest, eighth-generation iDrive operating system, and a 12.3in digital gauge cluster. As with the M3 Saloon, subtle nods to its performance billing – red driving mode selectors on the steering wheel and M-themed upholstery – can be bumped up with the addition of carbonfibre trim elements and full-carbon bucket front seats. Prices for the M3 Touring start at £80,550, which makes it roughly the same price as the saloon, and it is available with the same choice of colour and trim combinations.

It will be among the final non-electrified additions to the full-bore M car line-up, alongside the upcoming BMW M2 Coupé (which uses a variation of the same powertrain) that will be revealed later this year. The brand’s first PHEV, the BMW XM super-SUV, also lands later this year, and the next-generation BMW M5 is widely tipped to use that car’s hybridised twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8.