BMW M3 Touring vs Audi RS6 | Which is the ultimate fast estate car?
#BMW #Audi #RS6
The Audi RS6 has been the daddy of fast estate cars for years, but with the first ever BMW M3 Touring comes a new threat. All-wheel drive, 500bhp+ and with one of the best M car chassis in years, does the M3 Touring have what it takes to knock the RS6 off its perch? CAR magazine’s James Dennison and Ben Barry review them both to find out.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:05 - Size comparison
3:20 - M3 interior
6:57 - RS6 interior
9:58 - M3 driving
16:02 - RS6 driving
23:01 - Verdict
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BMW or Audi RS6 - which gets your vote?
The one with the V8.
As a diehard BMW fan, I again have to admit that the Audi wagon is far and away the best looking wagon.
Definitely the M3.. a little bit more track orientated too, if you finalize the grocery activities in time 😁💪
RS6.
M5 CS
It should be the M3 Touring vs the RS4 and wait for the M5 Touring to take on the RS6. Anyways the RS5 Avant is also coming to replace the RS4
We did that test last year! Take a look… kzhead.info/sun/fMpslsakmat4aZE/bejne.htmlsi=EpBaP6tRuSbU_1El
What is the point of this review then?
@@kristian6622 Why not? No rules about these things..
Bruh the m3 is faster then the rs6 as shown on carwow 😂😂 the m5 will be a competitor too the r8.
@user-my4xu4gf1z 100% correct. It's also a known fact that BMW overboost their cars. They make more HP than advertised. Carwow showed that too.
RS6 for me.. fact it's comfy for day to day is a win as that's where it'll spend 99 percent of its life.. Won't shake my fillings loose every time I drive it.. Now just need lotto to come by..
RS6 exhaust sound is unbelievable. It’s a wild animal
Bmw all day long. That’s why I have one on order 💪🏻 the fact they compare this against the rs6 and not the rs4 shows how good it is.
EXACTLY
💯🤘
You must be a real driving enthusiast....carry on.
@@mikedenkinger9570 proper cute that.
Two different classes. RS6 is mid size and M3 is compact. RS4 should be compared to the M3 and RS6/RS7 against M5/M8. I’d take the more comfortable, better looking and fast enough Audis in both classes.
RS6 midsize? You must be american
@@giggity1144I mean it is smaller than an A8... really the A6 was originally a mid size, everything has just gotten so big that it no longer is, the current 3 series is only a tiny bit smaller than the e32 7 series.
Dude trust me. If ur an audi guy you don't want them to compare the rs4 to this freakn beast of an m3.
I've been waiting for this for quite some time now, well done on a thorough review. Loved every bit of this
Thanks!
With the RS4 Avant being a thing, what's the point of this comparison?
RS6 over 2 tonnes? That's a lot of mass. People have recently been complaining about how all electric cars are 'too heavy', and they are, but this RS6 is surprisingly close to a Taycan in terms of mass. There's something not quite right there.
it is also much bigger than taycan or m3
And the M3 touring is nearly 2 tonnes? All cars EV or conventional are heavy… mandatory emissions and safety systems and all the luxuries and equipment expect means cars are heavy.
larger and options
I had a Taycan Turbo S - the RS6 Performance has a heart and soul the Porsche can only dream of, despite the weight.
Great review. Ben's observations are so wonderfully granular and rooted in years of experience. Also, CAR deserves credit just for producing this video after both cars are no longer the hot new thing. As for the winner, in my opinion it's 100% RS6, because it's the only one available here in the USA!
Good for you Guys , this test was really very well explained and the performance of both Cars was analysed in terms we can all understand. More so than any other car testers I've watched on KZhead (which is most of them) . Well done then and if I was in the market for either of these cars then it would be straight into the dealers for a test drive.
Thanks!
@@CARmagazineTV You fell for the bot.. :D
M3 all day
Always loved the RS6 but the BMW front end does help make the choice a bit easier 😂
ah there we have a joke from 2019
These cars are beautiful and majestic I couldn’t bear choose one over the other 😂
Both great choices 👍
Audi RS6 for me, I can haul my family with some room, daily grocery, highway driving, weekend coffee run, restaurants, touring. I don't need a car that can have tail happy.
Audi is so much better looking. That's my criteria!
Jag is better looking than both
My criteria is how much one understeers. That‘s why I choose the audi!
My criteria is performance. The fact the audi cost 80k more and it's slower in every aspect is embarrassing
@@gasolinefleetare you kidding?!? You like understeer? This is the reason I don’t like audi, all Audis understeer. It’s very disappointing when you drive quickly in the bends
@@user-my4xu4gf1zRS6 is really competing with the M5. Should be comparing an M3 to the smaller RS4
Wagons forever!
Don't agree. The best car here is the RS6, because its more balanced in every single item. And if i want a performance drivers car, i can't consider a station wagon in first place. And sorry but the grill design of the M3 still is ugly to the eyes. So as much as i like BMW (and i will choose every single day the M340i Xdrive), in these Vs i'd choose the RS6.
Rs6 all day BMW is ugly, but fans are marketing it up
RS6 is my daily driver and superb at that job. Critical things for living with the car every day like heating & ventilation /AC controls are to hand vs. buried in screen menus - that’s very important to me. Also has loads of room for the dogs! As a US buyer it really was my only choice, as I didn’t want an E Class AMG. I’m happy to live with slightly poorer 9/10’s driving dynamics for all the daily driver benefits of the Audi.
Excellent review guys. I think you nailed it.
Thanks Phil!
Not a big fan of VAG. Got 1 liter of extra oil with the delivery of my brand new Audi. What I need this for, I asked the dealer. You will see, he said. After 4000 km / 2500 miles the light for low oil come on 😄 Now I went for the M3 Touring instead, im so happy. Very nice Dad Car! And for the M-modes, its brilliant. You always start with road, then you see speed signs and that kind of information in the HUD. Change to sport you take away speed warnings / signs and shows revs in HUD. In track you turn of all unnecessary information in the right part of the screen, and get tyre pressure and so on in the drivers display. However. The M3 Touring is a sportcar with an estate body. The RS6 is a very fast and brutal family car. So witch one is best depend of how you will use the car. PS. My family dont love the carbon seats, but they accept them. I would never spec the car with standard seats, the back is all plastic and you get i M340-feeling over them. However two great cars, nice review.
scared of a little maintenance break-in period
The Audi all day…looks insane.
The M buckets. There is a technique for getting in and out, namely rear end in first, swing both legs round after / reverse for getting out. Having had them for a couple of years, vs Audi and other M seats and many others, they are the most comfortable seats in 40 years of performance car driving.
Great review! Having had an M3 Touring, I’d choose the RS6 for the sound alone 😂
what tires are the cars running?
Interesting you mention the road noise in the M3 touring. I’ve got a G82 M4 and out of all the performance cars I’ve owned it is quite refined in that regard. In fact it is an impressive mile muncher. My car is running Pirellis though. I’ve read that the Michelin’s are noisier. Also maybe being a couple helps.
Could very much be down to the tyres, yes. M3 Touring isn’t overly loud on road noise, but definitely louder than RS6 (as tested)
Having had Pirelli and Michelin on my G83 I can confirm the Pirelli are quieter. But. The Michelin are a lot better in every other way. And let’s be honest, I guess I can’t really say much about road noise in a convertible 😅
As a current Audi B9 A4 Allroad owner and a lifetime lover of Longroof cars, I still have to go with the RS6. While loving the M3 Touring I have an Audi obsession win or loss.
I love the M3, and would opt for one. I think a fairer comparison would be RS4 Vs RS6. If they make an M5 Touring then put that against the RS6.
Isn't the RS6 more of an M5 rival? Certainly size wise. As it stands, the V8 Audi sounds amazing. The Beemer ticks every other box, for me.
Love them both , had them both …. M3 is my choice , purely for the driving aspect , the m3 is like a little race car , you feel confident in it when kicking its head in.
As the proud owner of both of these brands... albeit 10 (or more) years in the past - the video - or the comparison itself, no matter in this video or millions of others - the comparison is built on the wrong premise. No one is cross-shopping these two cars, or audi and BMW in general. Or at least they shouldn't. Let me mansplain. It's Dingolfing versus Neckarsu... Ekshwually... the 3 series isn't built in Dingolfing... But it's the large German three (I just learned they're called ABB in China - standing, awkwardly, not for the German electronics giant, but for Audi, BMW, Benz) - it's the large three in Germany that are competing with each other - with the numbers - but the cars are very different. That's if you really into cars - you start to see they're different - and you probably should be into cars if you buy a car worth close to 100k - moreover ones that make upwards of 500 horses. So once more - audi and BMW are completely different cars. BMW couldn't give a rat's arse about true practicality, interior or ride quality. Or maybe one rat's arse. Definitely not two. At least the interior of my F11 is of vastly worse quality, the ride is much more.... what's the technical term... jiggly - and the luggage space is much smaller - than in my C6 generation Audi Allroad (and in the next generation - the C7 -, the one to be "compared" to the F11 bimmer - all of those attributes became even more in favour of the audi). That said - I drive the bimmer almost every day, I enjoy what it does in the corners (both vehicle weight difference is at most 30 kgs, both cars with both axles driven) - whereas the audi has just become a garden ornament for the last year or so. The bimmer justifies its name of The Ultimate Driving Machine - it's all about driving. Ultimate practicality or the best in interior quality (jesus those plastics) - those were not BMW's priorities. Smoothness of the straight six, steering and corner behaviour - those were. Whereas the audi could be the Ultimate cruising machine (don't know about the Vorsprung durch technik, although quattro is miles ahead of xDrive - but with caveats). It's softly sprung (air suspension all around, just like the RS6 in the video), has excellent roadholding even on harsh Latvian roads, and zero steering feel. And a much larger boot and better interior quality. In addition to that - the G30 generation of bimmers (the one in the video) has much smaller usable boot space compared to the freaking cavern that is the C8 audi Avant. Just my two (or 200) cents - thanks for the great video, keep up the work - from Latvia.
Great video. But for me BMW M3 Touring is more of Audi RS4 Performance fighter and Audi RS6 will be BMW M5 Touring competition 😊😊❤❤
Thanks! Check out our M3 Touring vs RS4 video below: kzhead.info/sun/fMpslsakmat4aZE/bejne.htmlsi=RiDde-pbRL8HFu10
That tells you how much better the M3 is ….💯🤘
Alpina B3 Touring, plizzzz...
I don't understand the reviewers that use an M1/M2 button for "daily use". The car defaults to comfort everything every time you restart. Just let it do that and drive it that way. If you want it dialed up a bit for slightly sportier driving...M1. If you want something sportier still M2. Don't waste an M button on a "track" setting either...you're never going to use it on the road and if you're at a track, you're just going to set it once and drive the session, so just use the iDrive menu. Yes, it's a bit of a faff but once it's set up, it works brilliantly.
And if you are driving in M1 (or M2) and want to go back to your "comfort everything" mode, just press M1 (or M2) again and the car will go back to "comfort everything"
I use m1 and m2 on the road all the time 💯🤘😃
You ever driven an M car?😂
I want both.
Many years ago, I owned a C5 followed by a C6 RS6: I NEEDED a big estate car, but WANTED the fastest, and in both iterations, there were no other options in my eyes (I haven't owned one since, as with the amount of mileage I do, the fuel/running costs were crippling, so I moved to the black pump, and have owned various iterations of the A6/S6 Avant 3.0TDi since). So to compare these cars is simply non-sensical to me, as I still NEED the space of an A6 Avant (or E-Class/5 Series Estate), so I simply would not look anywhere near an M3 Estate sized car as an alternative, no matter how fast or 'fun' it was down a country lane (the same reason I wouldn't get an RS4 Estate...... which if the space didn't matter to me, would be the one I'd choose over the M3 Estate anyway, as it is actually faster!). If fun/handling was the priority, then yes, the M3/RS4/C63 size class would be one I would go for: if having the fastest load hauler was the priority, then clearly I'd be looking in the RS6/M5/E63 Estate direction......... these two cars have completely different modus operandi: why don't you just be honest lads, and say the only reason you 'tested' them, was because you happened to have both cars on hand, and hey...... the channel needs content!
So the BMW 550 XD actually is the proper car for you I guess.
My dream car is the 2024 Audi RS6 Performance in Florett Silver, Carbon Package, Red Calipers, Sport Exhaust, B&O stereo, etc!!! 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁
It's been 3 plus years for bmw m design language and its still ugly. Seats look great and work on the track but horrible to get in and out of. Regardless of Money, RS6 for me.
Rear of the Touring 3 looks epic. Front end yup some 3/4 years later refuses to age gracefully. It’s a dog front end styling. I’d have the 3 though. Smaller. Better driving dynamics.
Nah the m3 looks great!!
Says the beaver
@@USConnexionIn the dark, at 50 paces, with cataracts. The Audi is better looking from every possible angle and while I do think it’s a little cartoonish it cannot be described as ugly in any area.
Same. The RS6 engine note is the icing on the cake too.
unless i missed it, do they mention the massive price difference between the two cars at all? Nearly £30k on list prices.
Does (any kind of) 3-series compare with (any kind of) A6? Isn't it 3-series vs A4 and 5-series vs A6?
Great review, guys. Both superb cars. But, I still prefer the look of the RS6.
Thanks!
@ 8:53 did the steering wheel buttons look scratched … like someone tried to clean the steering wheel with a metal scourer …. But from other Angela it’s doesn’t look scuffed …?? B
BMW all day long. The Carbon seats are hard to get in and out off but they are very comfortable, even on longer journeys.
The front grill is what made me buy the G80 no regrets 💯🤘
Ive owned too many Audis would feel like buying a similar car again so I went with a M3 Touring to switch it up and looks like ive made the correct choice. + I purchased carbon Vorsteiner grille asap lol
Either of them, as long as it’s the Audi.
The Aether, you should do videos about it..
And… the M cockpit. Mechanical buttons are easier, no doubt, especially bouncing along a road. However, once the voice control is dialled in, the need for buttons is almost zero! Asking the car to heat seats, warm up, cool down, adjust heads up, tyre pressure information, turn radio on, apple carplay, etc etc…. BMW works so much better than Audi/VW equivalents.
I am an Audi guy, so bias coming, I would choose RS6 over those two. However, put any other car, RS4, RS5 or such, M3 wins by landslide. I love the M3 Touring so much, it does everything really well. I am not a race driver nor have the experience, so to me being able to push a car to 100% like with the BMW is not as necessary as pushing the Audi to 70-80%, where it is the most comfortable and confident. That is probably the biggest difference between them. BMW, as said in the video, is the better Performance choice, while the RS6 is the more daily focused, which would be the reason to buy these cars.
What happened to the Mercedes E63 wagon?
Wouldn't the proper comparison be we with the RS4 Avant?
We’ve already done that! kzhead.info/sun/fMpslsakmat4aZE/bejne.htmlsi=WYuAqbD3VDpv9uYt
To answer the actual question posed, it's really the demographic that each car is aimed at can only proper answer it. To those who are always wanting that always on, fully dynamic chassis setup and the ability to "feel" they are going fast everywhere then any M car is the obvious choice. It seems that the RS6 has always been aimed at a more subdued/mature market, where comfort matters more than the ability to get the tail out at opportunity. The unfortunate stereotype attached to BMW's in general are directly opposite to the RS range (apart from the RS3). This was the one of the deciding factors as to why I personally moved on from full fat M cars. Still love them to bits though, would happily have another parked out the front of my house in the future! When I was originally looking at RS cars I favoured the RS3 but they were all modded to the hilt and although the 5 pot DAZA is legendary I found myself looking more towards the RS6 where classifieds were more focussed on how the car had been looked after more than how it was able to embarrass the rest of the hot hatch brigade at the obligatory traffic light drags. So glad I settled for the C7.5 RS6, it can be violently fast when you want it to be but the more positive attraction it attracts is much more fitting to the age I'll be at the end of this year! It's much more thumbs up and headlight flashes from other drivers, kids out with their phones and more relaxing than the constant harassment from 30 something boy racers with money to spend that has grown far too tedious over the years. I do miss an M car, but thankfully I've got many happy memories with the fun I've had out of them over the years.
No I don't agree with your verdict only with fact that the 2 cars for choice, it's only a matter of preference and that says it all. The preferred choice is the owners choice.
Not a choice I’ll ever be lucky enough to make, but RS6 for me. I’ll take the added comfort over the slight advantage in the twisties 👍
My man never see youll (ever be lucky enough) to have one. I was a young boy brought up in childcare, started with absolutely nothing. Im now 35, and i got an rs6 c8 last year. Never say never my friend all the best 👍👍
While the Audi has better more logical dashboard displays, the BMW wins for me. I wish it was rear wheel drive and a manual.
Rs6 for Sure Audi makes better looking estate cars ❤😊
You are not comparing the same category, so it's unfare for the Audi. You should compare the RS6 with the M5. I vote for the RS6 because I have one on order! RS6 Avant performance 2024, Can't wait to get it in July...
bmw driver is just bmw fann
Even if the M3 touring was available in the states. Id still take my rs6 performance. The exterior looks 100x times better.
Touring all the way!!!🔥🔥🔥
m3 touring all day, i just love bmw
RS6 all day along! So tired of BMW's way of steering and driving.... very unpredictable and twitchy... besides, the RS6 looks helluva' lot better!
Second hand, face lifted E63s estate for me all day
Audi RS6 all day long with that lovely V8! Look at it!! It looks fantastic!!!!
I think the M5 Touring will be a better direct comparison with the RS6/when it is available. The M3 Touring seems to sit mid-way between the RS4 and RS6.
BMW must release a M5 Touring, the RS6's competition is the Panamera which is better in numerous ways
M3 touring is the best genuinely engineered vehicle + price
for a everyday car with family then the rs6 by far
I am ambivalent as I have been driving Audi S and RS models for many years and see the M3 Touring as a real alternative. What I can't get used to, even after a few years, is the BMW's front grille. The RS6 is a nicer vehicle and I just like V8 engines.
Tried to like the G80 but it’s even worse looking in the flesh. Love my RS4 😅
The M3 is a different level to RS4, I know I moved from RS4 to M3 Comp, drive one and you will change, guaranteed 😊
@@geoffbullock8280 each to their own. I drove the G80 in saloon, no doubt it’s a better car for driving on the limit but I’m using it more for the nursery run than any track time. The Audi with DRC was a nicer place to be, and it just looks a million times better in my opinion.
I did try the G80 saloon and still preferred the Audi 😅. I get the BMW is a better car on the limit, but that’s not my use case. I was happy sacrifice some performance for better looks and ride (with Audi’s DRC).
@jamsxr to be honest when the 2 cars were side by side the M3 looked like a pit bull and the RS looked like a Labrador puppy lol. I liked that BMW made sure that they looked like nothing else. Everybody wants to talk about the M3 but the RS4 was quite unnoticed, which could be a good thing to some people I suppose. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 😉
@@geoffbullock8280 fair play, we all like different things. Enjoy your M3 👊🏻
M3 for me!!!
I'll take the Alpina B5 touring thanks.
Different categories. You should compare it with the RS4
RS6 for me, don’t care how well the M3 Performs the front end is ugly, I can never get on with BMW’s new design language.
Both great cars but think it'd be the M3 for me. Undoubtedly the RS6 is the better looking car but not sure I could justify paying 27 grand or so extra for it.
Audi RS6, just stunning.
So if you want a quick estate it’s the m3 , you want fast and luxury, Alpina 😮 It breaks the gap in between . the end
If you need loads of space for dogs get the RS6. If you only need space for shopping, get the M3.
I would take RS4 performance.
Totally. Well said.
Even worst 😂😂
Rs6 will always be iconic
Nobody does fast estates like Audi does. I'd take the RS6 anyday over the M3 Touring... 🙂
RS6 over everything for me. Personal preference. Very nice M3 though
Rs6 looks awesome but i think i would still choose the Bmw.
Did you actually weigh them though? I suspect the Audi is much heavier than quoted
Car - come on you should know better. I've got an RS6 Performance and I'm getting super tired about these comparisons. It's £40k on the M3, so if we wanted the M3 we'd buy that instead. But we don't. People who own the RS6 will often have a different car they'll use (I have a 765), we don't use these 2 tonne cars for chisel sharp, razor edged driving on country roads. We want bahnstormers that can sit at 100mph + in incredible comfort with the power we want, when we want. It's unbelievably well made, a fantastic place to sit in day to day, and provides more than enough power to enjoy slip roads and A roads. We are not trying to drift an RS6 sideways out of country lanes, to try to shoehorn it into that category shows a legitimate lack of understanding for use cases for these cars. I absolutely love the RS6, it's my second C8. The M3 touring is also awesome, but they are very different cars - buyer decisions prove this.
Rs6 + GT4 = Sorted
Eyes just above the steering wheel and complains the seat is too high… guess seeing the road is secondary to actually seeing out?
It's a bit of a mute point, it's nice to have choice but the ultimate wagon is RS6 Always has been, always will be, qualifing a big heavy fast estate on B roads and twisty just ISN'T logical
the Porsche panemera sport tourismo would get my money over either of these two
The RS6 should be compared to Alpina's B5, the M3 plays in the RS4 class.
Why are we comparing the m3 to the rs6, should it not be against the rs4?
Back in the day (sorry, man in his mid thirties), the size disparity between these cars would have put them squarely in a different class. Yes, an E46 estate would have been a lot smaller than an RS6 estate in 2005. But these new cars are both very heavy and very large. You're talking differences in terms of centimetres, so realistically these two are very much in the same bracket now. The lines have been blurred. Frankly it's a question of which brand do you prefer? They both do four wheel drive, they're both too fast for the road (let's be honest here) and they're both bigger than they really need to be. Don't get me wrong, fast estates are the coolest cars out there, but to the average consumer this ultimately comes down to which one you think looks better: they ultimately do the same thing. Shame, as there used to be more variety.
The bmw ❤❤❤❤❤
Either rs4 vs m3 Or rs6 vs m5 Or no comparison Despite everything, I would definitely go for the BMW as the Audi doesn't appeal to me technically and visually at all
Where’s the fun in that? 😀
I assumed a serious test... sorry, my mistake
The M3 looks like the fun car to drive but Audi sounds great and probably a better daily car. I think the new M5 Touring will be a better comparison to the RS6.
The inside video is different to the outside because he has the wipers on driving in the rain and the outside video is dry no rain that’s weird
Better choice RS6 !!
RS6 IS KING 👑
Yea pay 80k more for a slower car 😂