Here’s a very niche problem for you. You’re driving along in your 523bhp family estate. Partner in the passenger seat, kids in the back, boot full of luggage for your family vacation to set the stereotypical scene. But something’s nagging away at you. You dismiss it as a fleeting, oddball thought, one of several you have each day. This one, however, gnaws away at you. Leaning on your already quick estate, you briefly satisfy yourself that this is, in fact, more than enough. Anything more would be mental. Unnecessary, even. But… ah… but what if it had an extra 20bhp, sprinted to 60mph two-tenths faster and was a little more track focussed? Here is the answer to that very niche question: the BMW M3 CS Touring.
Someone went through this exact thought process in Munich. The BMW M3, already so impressive, was given the Touring treatment (turned into an estate) for the first time with this generation of M3s. This was already plenty of car, received to widespread acclaim, too. The temptation to dial it up to 11 just couldn’t be resisted in the corridors of BMW. The M3 Touring would be given the further CS (competition sport, in case you’re wondering) treatment on top. Not content with merely producing a great fast estate and leaving it there, the temptation to tinker was simply too great. I, for one, am always grateful to see these slightly madcap ideas come to fruition.
For this, certainly, is madcap. The first question that springs to mind is: who on earth is this car for? It’s lighter, tauter, more powerful. But the M3 Touring Competition is no shrinking violet. This CS version comes in £30,000 more, too. But then this isn’t a car for those who acquiesce to logic.
Is the BMW M3 CS Touring actually a bit of a bargain?
The price is something of a red herring here. With options, the model tested comes in at £135,000. There’s no escaping that’s a sizable sum. £13,000 of that is paint and carbon ceramic brakes, though. Start speccing a ‘standard’ M3 Touring and you’re very quickly north of six figures anyway.
Time, too, for some logic. You know, that thing people who’ll buy one of these fly in the face of. SUVs have taken over the world. They’re basically estates on stilts. BMW’s X5M starts at £134,000. The word ‘starts’ is doing a bit of heavy lifting there, too, because you will spec some options. So, really, the M3 Touring CS, fully loaded, is starting to look like a bargain already. You just have to look around to alter your perception of things.
Living with the BMW M3 CS Touring
This is a nice environment to be in, too. The cabin is driver-focussed and there’s a sense of occasion. It gets you in the mood for what’s about to happen.
The only slight drawback is the outright commitment to weight saving. Centre console for cups and stuff? Gone. Rear climate control? Gone. Welcome to carbon bucket seats and manually adjusted steering. It still weighs 1925Kg though. Would you mind if it was slightly more convenient and weighed 1930Kg?
The seats, however, are sublime. BMW is right at the top of the tree with them. There’s no adjustability, but there doesn’t need to be. It slides forwards and back and finding the perfect driving position is easy.
Then you get five seats, ISOFIX and a massive boot. It’s practical. The ride quality, too, is surprisingly pliant for such a machine. I didn’t wince over every speedbump. On the commute, enjoy the Harmon/Kardon audio and waft along. You could almost forget the potency at the behest of your right foot.
One thing to be wary of are the conditions. On one commute, on a freezing morning on cold tyres, it was something of an ordeal pulling away from junctions. The rear end constantly wanted to slip round. You could perhaps describe it as being a little excessive. In fact, ‘a little excessive’ would make a suitable three-word review of the BMW M3 CS Touring.
Another point to note is the steering wheel. It’s absolutely massive. Alcantara-lined, it’s nice to the touch, but it’s plump in the extreme. Again, it’s a little excessive. I was okay because I’ve got large hands. And you know what they say about people with large hands? Large gloves. But the Alcantara slipped right through them, so it’s just as well it’s heated.
What’s the BMW M3 CS Touring like to drive?
Whilst you can cruise around and commute to work in near ignorance of the power available to you, there are regular reminders. The 536bhp and 650Nm of torque take only half an invitation to join the party en masse. In the midst of January, with freezing temperatures, it takes a breath on the throttle to exit junctions sideways. The BMW M3 CS Touring is a keen runner and make no mistake.
This is brilliant because it matches the driving characteristics to the aesthetics. It looks lairy and it drives lairy, with no attempt made to disguise this.
0-60mph takes just 3.5secs, although conditions were against me to properly test this. The traction control was kept honest during my week with the car. You can turn it off, but cards on the table, I’d run out of talent pretty quickly if 1925Kg of super estate got away from me.
On the occasions it was dry, the BMW M3 CS Touring revealed itself to be exactly what it looks like it is: a family wagon on steroids. There’s a pleasing note from the exhaust, the gearbox thumps through its cogs in its most aggressive setting and the car shoots forward with real purpose.
The steering, whilst not the most communicative, is sharp and precise. Feedback comes instead from the chassis, although the suspension isn’t as stiff as you’re ever expecting it to be. It flows along a British B-road with aplomb, darting from corner to corner in a howl of straight-six glory.
Even when conditions are sub-optimal, the mighty M3 CS Touring is hugely confidence inspiring. Once the tyres are up to temperature, there’s always more grip than you could reasonably expect. Its limits certainly exist way beyond my own.
Conclusion
The obvious question here, given the existence of the already ballistic M3 Touring is, what’s the point of the BMW M3 CS Touring? If you’re asking that, then I think you’ve already missed the point. This isn’t an obvious car. No one needs a track-focussed estate. But sod it, I really want one now. It left me yearning for a few laps of a closed circuit.
So, it’s niche, but that’s absolutely fine. It comes imbued with a sense of occasion that only such special edition cars can offer. Lowering yourself into those surprisingly comfortable carbon bucket seats, you just know what awaits you. That it never disappoints is to its eternal credit.
I covered 318.1 miles in the big Beemer yet barely felt like I’d driven it at all. Yet, simultaneously, I also felt I knew all about it. It took a little while to entirely gel with, mostly owing to the conditions, but I finally had that moment where it all made sense on a trip to Henley-on-Thames. Empty, dry, flowing roads opened ahead and there was finally the opportunity to poke and prod at the performance on offer.
Here you are, hurtling around in what started life as a sensible family car, with a massive smile planted across your face, turning the air as blue as the Leguna Seca paintwork with expletives at just what it’s capable of.
Absolutely no one needs this car. But from the curious glances, thumbs up and questions from passers-by, there are plenty who want one. From the outlandish looks to the outlandish performance, the BMW M3 CS Touring delivers on its mandate of being more than a little excessive in every respect. Madcap? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely.