Being that not everyone wants a high-riding SUV to justify his or her needs for more space, BMW has been constantly offering a station wagon version of its most famous model series under the Touring nameplate since the E30 from the late 1980s.
We’ve already shown you plenty of spy shots of the next traditional four-door sedan and the newest arrival in the 3-Series’ portfolio, the five-door GT liftback, but now our scoopsters captured the Touring model wrapped in plastic camo.
Leaving aside the new styling highlights that will characterize the entire range of the next generation 3-Series like the concave body-side surfaces and the sharper front end, the Touring maintains the current model’s sleek but not over the edge appearance with a heavily raked rear hatch.
The new Touring will grow slightly thanks to the longer wheelbase. The front-engine, rear-wheel drive architecture will remain similar to the current model’s, with BMW offering its all-wheel drive system as an option on select engines.
Talking about the engine range, BMW will overhaul the powertrain package with the introduction of its brand-new 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engines producing from 135HP to 245-horsepower, that will join the firm’s straight-six turbo unit.
A variety of four-cylinder and six-cylinder diesel engines, and later on, a hybrid powertrain will also be on offer (depending of course on the market).
Power will be transferred to the wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox or an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Look for the new BMW 3-Series Touring at showrooms next year.
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