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BMW 318i Touring - What Car?
01.02.2000 |
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Lifestyle estates are now so popular it's not clear whether you need a lifestyle to justify the estate, or an estate to warrant the lifestyle.
BMW kick-started the idea in 1988 with its 3 Series Touring, an estate designed to blend style and comfort rather than being an out-and-out workhorse. Others took a while to cotton on, but they did and the idea really took off. Now BMW has launched the latest incarnation of its benchmark model and it's a real cracker.
Just one quick look is enough to tell you that this 318i Touring goes straight to the top of its class segment, much like the more powerful 328i version did when we tested it against the Audi A4 Avant.
With the new 3 Series' superb chassis underneath, BMW has eked out more space, practicality, comfort and enjoyment over the previous model. So you can expect the Touring to shake up the compact executive estate market in much the same way the four-door car did the Saloon sector. And that's especially relevant to the 318i as it accounts for half the 3 Series Touring sales.
The men from Munich have done a thorough job on its styling. Rather than taking the easy option and just tacking on a box to the rear quarters of the new Saloon, the Touring is completely re-shaped from the front pillars back.
The rear doors are squared off at their top edges and the roof line tracks straight and flat to the tailgate. Rails top it all off so you can mount a roof rack or box to lug even more load.
To avoid a slab-like appearance, the tailgate window slopes to meet the roof, rather than rising vertically. Practicality hasn't been forgotten, though. Like the 5 Series wagon, the rear screen can be flipped up independently of the rear door if you just want to drop in small loads. Lifting and lowering the tailgate itself is simple stuff. It's not heavy and a handle on its lower edge means even shorter users can pull it shut without effort. The standard rear wash/wiper is vital as the rear screen attracts rain and dirt like a toddler with new wellies.
BMW has taken the opportunity of the reshaped rear to enlarge the loadbay, so now there's an extra four inches width inside. It's longer, too, giving an extra 2.3 cubic ft of loadspace over the old model which makes it bigger than the Audi A4 Avant.
The 3 Series Touring still doesn't beat the Mercedes C-class estate for outright luggage space, but it does have a 60/40 split rear bench. Dropping the seat back is quick and simple and it folds to make a very usable, if not completely flat, floor. Our only complaint here is that a ski hatch through the rear seats would have made the Touring even more versatile. Chromed luggage securing hooks and a pair of rubber straps set into the floor help keep the goods in place. A cargo net also comes as part of the package to lash down loads. This can also be used as a divider between the front and rear cabins by using securing slots in the roof.
There are also two hidden cubbies under the floor, the larger one is big enough to hide a briefcase from prying eyes when the retractable luggage cover is not pulled out. Panniers on either side house a first aid kit, optional CD player and satellite navigation.
There's also a 12-volt power point set into the boot wall. The main beneficiaries of the reshaping are the rear passengers. They get almost an extra inch of rear knee-room over the Saloon to relax in. And with the roof line extending to the tailgate rather than sloping to a boot, they also get more headroom than in the Saloon. A fold-down arm rest has a lidded tray and two cupholders.
The other major difference for those in the rear is that the central passenger gets a three-point seat belt as standard. They might have to sit higher on the raised centre cushion, but this is a small price to pay for the added safety.
Otherwise, the safety tally matches that of the Saloon with twin front and side airbags, plus BMW's head bags set into the roof above the front doors. Rear side airbags are a £250 option.
In the front, a typically clean-cut BMW dash, identical to the Saloon's, sweeps before the driver. Everything is laid out with clarity in mind and you don't even have to touch it to appreciate the quality; one glance is enough. Perhaps the only improvement would be revolving knobs rather than fiddling with buttons for the air conditioning and stereo. The major controls, however, are a real joy. Few manufacturers come close to BMW's balance of weight and feel in steering, brakes and gearchange. There's a smooth precision to them that sets the 3 Series above other compact executives and makes the driver forget that this is supposed to be a sensible beast of burden.
The only thing to mar this is a slight vagueness when you first start to move the steering wheel off the straight ahead position.
At the legal limit, the cabin is quiet and relaxed with only a small amount of wind noise filtering through. It only starts to intrude noticeably at the sort of speed associated with German Autobahns. And then the four-cylinder 1.9 litre engine also makes itself known.
Performance from the 118bhp motor, the smallest in the range, is decently brisk, if not quite as rapid as the marginally lighter Saloon version.
In spite of that, the Touring still feels very flexible, and cruising at motorway pace rarely requires a change down from fifth thanks to the engine's 133lb ft of pull which peaks at 3900rpm. The relaxed nature of the engine at higher speeds helps towards a combined economy of 34.9mpg, which betters an Audi A4 1.8 or Mercedes C180.
Don't get the idea that the 318i Touring is only suited to traipsing up and down motorways, though. Show it a twisty road and the underpinnings it shares with the rest of the 3 Series range shine through.
The Touring's body control is every bit as good as the Saloon's. Its stiffer suspension, which helps it cope when carrying loads, is just as adept at rounding bends.
This ability is enhanced by a number of driver aids including traction control, Corner Braking Control and Dynamic Stability Control. Anti-lock brakes are standard, too. You'd have to drive with massive over-exuberance to get this car to misbehave.
The stiffer suspension doesn't come at the expense of ride quality either. The 318i Touring shrugs off poorly surfaced roads in a way the Audi A4 cannot match. Even mid-bend ruts fail to unsettle BMW's small estate.
Which kind of sums up the 318i Touring. It really is an unruffled package. Buying one costs £900 more than the SE Saloon, but all Tourings come in that level of trim and residual values are likely to be on a par with the whole range's incredible ability to resist depreciation.
Throw in leasing costs to undercut Audi and Mercedes, and it looks as if you don't need the requisite lifestyle to justify buying a 318i Touring.