Finally caught in the wild.
We knew BMW’s next-gen electric wagon was lurking behind the curtain. Now we have spy shots. And they actually look good. Not just boxy storage containers with badges stuck on them, but genuine design statements.
This is the i3 Touring.
The sibling to this year’s i3 sedan. Long-roof edition.
Brief teases dropped earlier this year left us guessing. These prototype images strip back some of the camouflage enough to show the shape. Even wrapped in stickers, the lines feel sharp. Modern.
It looks like you won’t have to choose between cargo space and curb appeal.
Check the details. Flush door handles. Crisp surfaces. The proportions scream athletic compared to the gas-guzzling 3-Series wagon currently in showrooms. That one always felt a bit soft around the edges. This? Leaner.
The shoulder line pulls up. From the rear door all the way to the D-pillar. It visually squeezes those rear side windows. Makes the roof look lower. Sleeker. A trick of the light? Maybe. But the roof isn’t actually curving down into a coupe shape. It stays flat. Mostly. Because someone had to remember why wagons exist in the first place. Cargo. Volume. Space.
Same Face. Different Bones.
Underneath the shiny paint? Completely different world.
The sedan rides on the Neue Klasse. BMW’s dedicated EV platform. This wagon gets the same treatment.
There’s a gas version coming too. Don’t be surprised. But that one will ride on the CLAR platform. An updated version of what holds up the current ICE 3-Series. Different skeletons. Nearly identical skin.
Once you ignore the wheelbase difference, the exterior styling is shared. The interior is even more shared. BMW’s new Panoramic i Drive cabin arrives here too. That wide digital bar running along the base of the windshield? You guessed it.
Power?
Expect it to mirror the sedan closely.
So far we have confirmation for the dual-motor setup. The i3 50 xDrive. 463 horsepower. Strong. But wait.
Look at the iX3 SUV. Look at the numbers. A rear-wheel drive version is practically written in stone. Call it the i3 40. Single motor. 316 horsepower. Good enough for most highways.
520+ Miles? Yeah, Probably.
The range game changes here.
BMW isn’t messing around. Sixth-generation eDrive tech. 800-volt architecture. New cylindrical battery cells. The pack is massive. 108.7 kWh of capacity.
Will it match the sedan’s staggering 559-mile (900 km) WLTP rating? Unlikely.
Physics exists. The wagon is heavier. Taller. Less aero-friendly than the low-slung sedan. It’ll shave some miles off. Sure.
But barely.
It will still likely be the longest-legged EV wagon on the market by a country mile. Literally.
Efficiency doesn’t always mean small. Sometimes it just means clever engineering.
Performance variants? Obviously coming.
BMW doesn’t do “base model only” for this tier. An M Performance version is inevitable.
Then there’s the bigger question.
Remember the cult following for the gas-powered M3 Touring? People love fast wagons. Really love them. A fully-fledged four-motor electric M3 Touring isn’t a pipe dream. It could borrow heavily from that Neue Klasse sedan concept we’ve seen. Four motors. Massive torque. Practicality you can’t spell without “fun”.
Who’s buying the sedan instead when that exists?
We’ll find out soon enough. Until then, we’re just waiting for the launch.
