CLASS WARFARE

The BMW M3 Touring offers a new take on the fast family wagon. But is a Jaguar F-Pace SVR actually a better bet?

IT'S the one that performance car fans have been waiting for decades for: after 37 years and six generations, a BMW M3 Touring has finally joined the production line-up. It has all of the performance of the staggering G80-edition saloon, but is wrapped up in an estate-car body.

The new M3 Touring promises to be the defining fast family car of a generation. But does it deliver the goods? The newcomer doesn't need to go toe to toe just with some seriously quick wagons, but there are a few hot SUVs that can hold their own at this level, too.

One of our favourites is the Jaguar F-Pace SVR. The standard F-Pace already has the handling ability to keep up with an executive estate, but the SVR takes the family SUV and bolsters its appeal by adding a thumping supercharged V8 engine.

These two have the potential to be the best high-performance all-rounders that money can buy. So we've put them through the in-depth Auto Express real-world road test to find out which is the best.

BMW M3 Touring vs Jaguar F-Pace SVR

BMW M3 Touring

MODEL TESTED: M3 Competition xDrive
PRICE: £86,365 POWERTRAIN: 3.0-litre 6cyl twin-turbo petrol, 503bhp

PRICES for the M3 Touring start from £86,365, which is £5,315 more expensive than the equivalent saloon. The optional extras fitted to this car include the £11,250 Ultimate Pack, the £7,995 Pro Pack (which features carbon-ceramic brakes) and £2,985 for Frozen Pure Grey metallic paint. These extras lift the total to £105,910.

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