BMW 328i Touring: good on paper
There are now more features designed to make your life that little bit easier. The tailgate, for example, is electrically powered as standard and can be opened when your hands are full by waving your foot under the rear bumper. If you just want to sling some shopping bags in the back though, the rear […]
There are now more features designed to make your life that little bit easier. The tailgate, for example, is electrically powered as standard and can be opened when your hands are full by waving your foot under the rear bumper. If you just want to sling some shopping bags in the back though, the rear windscreen opens up separately.
Three versions will be available from launch – the 320d, 330d and 328i. There are no prizes for guessing the 320d will be the big seller, but our first taste of the Touring was in the 328i – powered by a 242bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and fitted with the optional (£1,660) eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The only significant chassis change is firmer dampers at the rear, to account for the extra 70kg of weight. But on a blind test you’d be hard pressed to notice any difference in the way it drives next to the saloon, which is excellent news. It’s no sportier to drive than its predecessor, but high-speed refinement has taken a step up, and so long as you order the optional adaptive dampers the ride is supple in all but the firmest setting and the body control is superb.
As with all electro-mechanical set ups, the steering is light and loses some feel next to a hydraulic system, but toggle up through the four driving modes (Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+) and it weights up nicely without feeling too artificial. Throw it into a few corners and it’s not the last word in agility, but you’ll walk away with a bigger grin than an Audi A4 Avant owner.
There’s plenty of rear leg and headroom, acres of luggage space and accessing it has never been easier with an electric tailgate fitted as standard. Despite weighing 70kg more than the saloon, it drives just as well, although the 328i isn’t the pick of the engine.