BMW Confirms a New 3 Series Touring While Rivals Axe Estates

The BMW 3 Series Touring is coming back for another generation, and for estate car enthusiasts, the timing could not be sweeter. Tucked into the tail end of the new i3 saloon’s reveal, outgoing CEO Oliver Zipse confirmed that a next-generation Touring variant is in the pipeline, flashing two shadowy teaser images of the car’s side profile and rear end on screen. In a market where even Volvo has walked away from the estate segment, BMW’s decision to press ahead with a new longroof sends a clear message: the brand still sees value in offering more than just SUVs and saloons. “Business customers and families will be particularly delighted,” Zipse said. “The Touring has always been a favourite with them.”

Details remain thin on the ground, but the teaser images reveal front and rear lighting signatures that closely mirror the new i3’s design language, suggesting the Touring will share much of the saloon’s visual DNA while adding a longer roofline and expanded cargo area. Given BMW’s current strategy with the Neue Klasse platform, it is widely expected that the estate will be offered with both fully electric and combustion powertrains. The i3’s 463 bhp dual-motor setup would be a strong candidate for the range, giving the Touring near-M3 levels of straight-line punch while slotting neatly below the larger 5 Series Touring and its electric i5 sibling.

BMW had previously leaked a batch of 2027 model year additions, including an M2 xDrive, an M350 xDrive, and a lower-powered i3 40 xDrive, but no Touring variant appeared on that list. This suggests the estate may not arrive until the 2028 model year at the earliest, with its availability in certain markets still uncertain. In the United States, the only estate BMW currently sells is the high-performance M5 Touring, and the compact 3 Series version would face an uphill battle against the ever-popular X3 in a country where SUVs dominate the sales charts.

In Europe, however, the 3 Series Touring has historically been one of the brand’s strongest sellers, particularly among company car drivers and families who want the driving dynamics of a sports saloon with the added practicality of a generous boot. With the shift to the Neue Klasse platform, the new Touring should benefit from improved interior packaging, more advanced digital systems including the Panoramic iDrive cockpit, and, in electric form, the rapid charging and long-range capability that have already made the iX3 a runaway success.

At a time when manufacturers are trimming their lineups and funnelling buyers towards crossovers, BMW’s commitment to the estate body style is a refreshing act of defiance. The 3 Series Touring has always appealed to drivers who refuse to compromise on handling just because they need more luggage space, and a new generation built on a purpose-designed electric platform could make that proposition more compelling than ever. Whether it eventually crosses the Atlantic remains to be seen, but for European buyers, the news that the longroof 3 Series lives on is reason enough to keep watching the road ahead.