Not a BMW M3 Touring | Six of the Best

Can't get - or don't want - an M3 wagon, but still have the prerequisite six figures to spend? Step this way

Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo, 2020, 7k, £99,000

Though a crazy statement for a 550hp V8 Porsche, it’s been easy to forget about the Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo of late. Wagon fanatics have been getting themselves in a state about a brace of Taycan estates, while those fond of the 4.0-litre engine have been distracted by an even more potent tune in the Cayenne Turbo GT. It can be paired with an electric motor in the Panamera, too, for the 680hp, Turbo S E-Hybrid. There’s plenty to recommend the regular Turbo, however, not least the way it looks. Even after a few years on sale, it remains a really handsome load lugger - as long as that spoiler stays down, of course. The price to pay for shooting brake style is a smaller boot, at 1,356 litres, but a roofbox could mitigate that issue. If it must be a V8 and it can’t be obvious, what a way to spend £100k on an estate.

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Audi RS6 Performance, 2017, 27k, £58,950

You can’t do a fast estate list without an Audi RS - they’re just the rules. And they come no mightier than the RS6. It isn’t the M3’s equal as a driver’s car, but the Audi can counter with more than 600hp from its twin-turbo V8, even more space inside (up to 1,680 litres) and perhaps the best fast estate aesthetic around, especially in last gen C7 form. The appeal of broad-shouldered aggression, all-wheel drive usability and easy-access, auto-marshalled turbo wallop is something BMW has only now given the M3, while Audi has been at it since 2002. This Performance example looks conspicuously good value in a world where the £84k M3 easily optioned to beyond six figures; speaking of which, this RS6 had another £15k thrown at its RRP back in 2017, so it won’t want for anything. Yet here it is, less than 30,000 miles later, with an asking price that starts with ‘5’. Be a long time before an M3 is that money.

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Lister Stealth, 2020, 3k, £99,950

There had to be at least one SUV in this list, because for many they’re now the utility vehicle of choice, but we’re also talking M3 Touring alternatives here - it couldn’t be just anything. So how about the Stealth? It might sound like a car from GTA, but Lister’s take on the F-Pace SVR was very much a real, if still slightly unbelievable, mega SUV. With 675hp, it’s the most powerful car in this list, and that includes the V12 Ferrari and Alpina flagship. The upgrades to the venerable supercharged V8 made a fast car into a madly accelerative one, as fast to 62mph as an M3 Touring despite the extra weight and not stopping until almost 200mph. In an F-Pace! The add-ons for this example seem a tad ironic given the name, but with just 100 made there aren’t a whole lot of Stealths to choose from. It is extremely low mileage, however, and lavishly specced. Who said family cars needed to be sensible?

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Alpina B5 Touring, 2020, 21k, £79,995

While BMW M has flirted with the fast estate idea over the decades, Alpina has committed to it wholesale, with a host of B3, B5 and B10 Tourings to its name. In 2023, it really shows, the Alpina wagons overflowing with star quality that precious few, if any, can really match. If something like an M3 Touring - let alone a Lister Stealth - is too overt, then Alpina has you covered. The niche appeal of the product, plus the fact that devoted buyers tend to keep hold of their lovely cars, means Alpinas don’t come up for sale all that often. But we’ve got lucky this week; a 2020 Alpina B5 Touring, which, courtesy of its age and 21,000 miles, sneaks in at £80k - less than even a standard M3. Both B3 and B5 estates are epic, but here you get a 600hp V8 instead of the straight six, to complement perfectly honed handling and one of smartest looking wagons out there. Dreamy.

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Ferrari FF, 2012, 27k, £99,990

A two-door Ferrari wouldn’t normally be compared with a 3 Series Touring, but then again the M3 is no regular BMW - and the FF was no ordinary Ferrari. Today, both it and the GTC4 Lusso replacement have been superseded by the Purosangue, which has proven so popular Maranello has stopped taking deposits. Ferrari certainly know their customers. In 2011, the FF probably looked as radical as the Purosangue does now, replacing the 612 with Ferrari’s first four-wheel drive system, a dual-clutch gearbox, a huge leap in power and genuine four-seat practicality. Bold then, and seriously cool now it’s out of production. The FF somewhat bucked the trend for four-seat Ferraris and catastrophic depreciation, too; this is an early (2012) car with a reasonable 27,000 miles, yet it still commands £100k. The M3 Touring test car was £103,135. Make the kids squeeze behind the seats - 660hp will be worth it.

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Mercedes-AMG E63 S, 2018, 22k, £59,895

Another copybook BMW M stole from when it came to develop the M3 Touring. And who can blame it? The 2017 AMG E63 S redefined expectations for both AMGs and V8 ‘bahnstormers. Thanks to its 4Matic+ technology, the E63 could offer the best of both worlds: the security of four driven wheels in a 612hp estate, and the rubber-melting mayhem possible with all that power going to just the back. Nobody actually used Drift Mode on their own E-Class, but it was nice to see AMG embracing new technology in its own unique way. The rest of the car was superb, too, far more luxurious yet also sharper to drive than its predecessor. Yes, the ride was firm, and not everybody loved the interior, but the V8 will be longed for when the straight-six comes. This one, with just 22,000 miles, a recent service and a great spec, is more M340i money than M3 - £60,000 still buys an awful lot of used AMG.

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Bencolem

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