- The facelift for the M3 Touring is very subtle, focusing primarily on the lights.
- The straight-six turbo will likely get a power boost too.
- The facelift is expected to be released sometime in 2024.
The average new car spends six to eight years on the market before being replaced by a new design, so automakers routinely update or facelift models at the midway point to keep them looking fresh in the face of newer opposition and overfamiliarity. Some cars are in desperate need of a makeover by this point, but BMW’s M3 Touring – seen here in facelifted form – definitely isn’t one of them.
There are a couple of reasons for that. One is that the wagon version of the M3 was only launched a couple of years ago, which was two years after we’d been introduced to the M3 sedan and M4 coupe, and deliveries didn’t start until right at the back end of 2022.
And another is that having waited more than 35 years for BMW to build an M3 wagon, there’s so much pent-up demand from M fans that it could look like a Pontiac Aztec and people would still be falling over themselves to buy one.
So a facelift isn’t likely to have much of an effect on M3 Touring demand, and this one definitely won’t because the changes are so small that only a true BMW geek will spot them out on the street. The sheet metal is identical, as are the front and rear bumpers, and the giant twin nostril grille that, we have to admit, has grown on us. Which means the main focus of the update is the lights.
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The fronts get the same lamp units fitted to the recently updated M4 coupe and convertible, including arrowhead DRLs that double as turn signals and high and low beams incorporated into the same LED module.
We’re also expecting the final car to get the M4 CSL-inspired rear lights, though this prototype is still fitted with the current taillights. It’s also wearing the stock 2024-spec wheels, but it seems likely that the new rims showcased on the updated M4 will also make their way onto the M3 wagon and its sedan counterpart.
Sadly, the commonality between the coupe and wagon means it’ll probably also get the coupe’s new flat-bottom steering wheel. Sure, it does look stylish, but it’s going to feel horrible when you’re making use of the all-wheel drive system’s rear-wheel drive mode and are hanging the tail wide on your favorite roundabout, letting the wheel spin through your hands.
More welcome is the upgrade destined for the engine bay when the facelifted M3 sedan and Touring go on sale this summer. The wagon is only available in xDrive Competition form with the ZF auto and the M4 Competition’s 3.0-liter turbo six was just handed a 20 hp (20 PS) boost, taking power to 523 hp (530 PS).
