BMW i3 Touring Breaks Cover, And The Quick Estate Lives Again

The estate car has been quietly slipping away, so the sight of a BMW i3 Touring circulating near the Nürburgring counts as properly good news. Volvo, long the standard bearer for the long roof, has all but stepped away from the format. BMW is heading in the opposite direction. Camera cars have caught the i3 Touring running in Germany, and it is the first Neue Klasse model to wear a wagon body.

The disguise is oddly selective. The tailgate is covered, which makes sense given it is the one genuinely new panel. The nose is hidden too, hinting that the Touring may wear something slightly different to the saloon up front. Yet the roofline runs entirely bare. Whatever the reason, the Neue Klasse look carries over intact. The broad kidney grilles and the diagonal accent lights sit just as well on the estate as they do on the four-door.

The important detail is what BMW has not done. There was every chance the roof would be tapered for the sake of a rakish silhouette, taking a chunk of boot space with it. Instead, the roofline stays high all the way back, which keeps the load bay usable. That tall glasshouse, already a highlight of the i3 saloon, looks better still stretched over a wagon body. Visibility from the driver’s seat should be a genuine strong point.

Powertrains have not been confirmed, but there is little mystery here. Expect the Touring to mirror the saloon range. So far BMW has announced only the i3 50, which draws 463bhp from a pair of electric motors. The saloon is estimated at around 435 miles on the EPA cycle. The extra metal and bluffer tail of the estate will shave a little off that figure, though not enough to matter to a family covering long distances.

Whether North America gets it remains open. BMW has hinted that healthy M5 Touring sales could open the door for more wagons, and much of the homologation groundwork would already be done. Saloon production has just started in Munich, and the Touring is expected to follow at some point next year. For anyone who still believes a fast estate beats an SUV, that is a date worth marking.