The New BMW 3 Series Touring Might Lose A Signature Trait
Article Summary
- Much like the 5 Series Touring, its smaller brother might drop the tailgate’s separate glass opening.
- The 3 Series Touring has had this feature since the days of the E46.
- The i3 Touring (NA1) is likely coming out next year, with the gas-fueled model (G51) not far behind.
Raise your hand if you saw this coming. After the 5 Series Touring lost the tailgate’s independently opening rear glass, the next long-roof 3 Series might follow suit. Car paparazzi spotted the electric i3 Touring this week, and there is no longer a small handle with a button below the rear wiper. Unless the rear glass opens differently, which doesn’t seem to be the case, this signature feature is going away completely.
As for why, the most obvious explanation that comes to mind is cost-cutting. However, BMW had other reasons for explaining why owners of the current-generation 5 Series Touring can’t open the glass independently of the tailgate. When the G61 debuted a few years ago, the car’s product manager told us it was a combination of aerodynamics and packaging. The larger wagon has a more sloping roof to improve airflow. At the same time, retaining the separately opening rear glass would have apparently compromised cargo capacity, or so we were told.
Circling back to the smaller wagon, the 3 Series has offered this feature since the E46 Touring arrived in 1999. It carried over to the E91, F31, and G21 generations, but it now appears to be on its last legs. With new electric and gas-powered 3 Series Touring models on the way, the G21 and G81 are likely not long for this world. Both are expected to go out of production in 2027, when the Munich plant switches entirely to EV production, including the i3 Touring (NA1). Its G51 combustion-powered sibling could be assembled in Dingolfing, where BMW has already confirmed it will build the sedan.
BMW Says People Don’t Know That The 3 Series Touring’s Rear Glass Opens
The feature’s potential demise shouldn’t come as a surprise, and not just because the 5 Series Touring already lost it. Back in 2019, a BMW product manager hinted it was at risk of disappearing. Why? Many owners apparently aren’t even aware they can access the cargo area without opening the entire tailgate:
20 autotech“It’s a bit of a hidden thing. We argued we should keep it – but we need customers to know about it, or it will die.”
It would appear that time is running out for this handy feature. If it does disappear, it will come shortly after the loss of another practical BMW feature: the X5’s split tailgate. BMW had a different explanation for giving the SUV a one-piece tailgate. Internal studies showed that people with average-length arms struggle to reach the rear section of the cargo area.
Whether next year’s second-generation X7 will lose it as well remains unclear, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it does.
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