Rise of the Super-Estate: First-ever BMW M3 CS Touring revealed

Driver Guides  New Launches 

Estate cars are boring. That’s obviously not the reality, but it’s an attitude, a hard-to-put-your-finger-on feeling that the undeniable practicality of an estate car means you’ve somehow compromised on everything else that makes a car exciting and interesting. Those of you of a certain vintage are probably casting your memories back and thinking there may even have been an element of truth to it x-number of decades ago. Then you look at the brand-new BMW M3 CS Touring and realise you couldn’t be more wrong. Even if you tried…

The introduction of the first-ever BMW M3 CS Touring delivers a new level of power and performance to BMW’s legendary high-performance lineup. ‘Boring’ is definitely not an appropriate descriptor for this particular estate car. Building on the success of the current M3 Competition Touring that's already available to lease, BMW has developed this special edition M3 CS version to further enhance its unique combination of exhilarating performance and exceptional practicality. More power, bespoke chassis tuning, and a lot more carbon fibre to reduce weight, all combine to squeeze every last drop of excitement from car and driver.

Let’s be honest. One look at the M3 CS Touring is all it takes to understand exactly what it has to offer.

It doesn’t matter which angle you view it from, the new M3 CS Touring is a symphony of front splitter, enormous air intakes, rear diffuser, wide arches, and roof spoiler, all of which contain lashings of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) to make it as lightweight as possible. Even the bucket seats, gear shift paddles, and centre console are made of the same weight-saving CFRP to make the CS version around 15kg lighter than the standard – we use the word loosely – M3 Competition.

The forged light-alloy wheels (19-inches at the front and 20-inches at the rear) with an exclusive double-spoke design featuring a matt Gold Bronze or matt Black finish are also standard equipment.

The weight savings are important too. That’s what has allowed BMW to pack the M3 CS Touring with the latest technology to ensure the interior is as comfortable and well-equipped as you’d expect from a range-topping model.

The performance theme extends to the interior

The performance-focused cockpit features heated M Carbon bucket seats in full Merino leather, BMW Curved Display with 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, head-Up display, navigation, wireless phone charging, Comfort Access, two-zone automatic climate control and Harman Kardon Surround Sound System. Park Distance Control and the Parking Assistant, Driving Assistant, Front Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and the Speed Limit Info system are also standard fit. It may be a performance-focused model but BMW clearly doesn’t believe that means you should be uncomfortable.

The aggressively-styled body hides the cutting-edge engineering to back up the looks too.

The BMW M3 CS Touring boasts a chassis tuned to maximise the performance and serve as a solid foundation that can cope with any bend you care to throw it into. The DSC system and M Dynamic Mode are optimised for the specific demands of track driving, supported by the bespoke electronically controlled adaptive suspension dampers, Servotronic steering, and enormously powerful brakes.

Power is transferred to the road through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system via an eight-speed Steptronic transmission. The Variable Active Differential can also transfer more or less power to the rear wheels as the mood takes you, easily switching between all-wheel drive, 4WD Sport mode to send an even greater proportion of the engine’s power to the rear wheels, or for the truly brave and talented purist, a 2WD mode that sends all the power to the rear wheels whilst simultaneously deactivating the traction control system.

In-line six engine

Obviously, that power has to come from somewhere, and in the case of the BMW M3 CS Touring, it comes from the motorsport-inspired 3.0-litre six-cylinder in-line engine.

Lots of clever engineering was borrowed from BMW’s extensive motor racing experience to squeeze as much as possible from the engine. For those who understand these things, it’s got a lightweight crankshaft, specially-coated cylinder bores to reduce friction, uprated cooling system and oil circulation, and upgraded TwinTurbo technology that raises the maximum charge pressure to generate more power. Even the engine mounts have been specially designed to create an extremely rigid connection between engine and car for a sharper throttle response.

For those of you who don’t understand/care about the clever engineering in the M3 CS Touring we can translate that into a more understandable context: 550bhp, 62mph in 3.5 seconds, and flat out you’ll be doing 186mph.

Now we’ve got your attention it’s only fair we point out the downsides before you start searching down the back of the sofa for loose change so you can lease yourself the new BMW M3 CS Touring.

Yes, it’s stupendously powerful, and there’s no reason to think it won’t be a phenomenally good car to drive, but there is a price to pay even for those sensible enough to lease their car.

Firstly, the price you have to pay is inevitably influenced by the £120,000 list price, and the fact the CS Touring will only be produced in a limited run so you’ll need to get your order in quickly. There’s also the small matter of the 26mpg fuel consumption and the 240g/km CO2 emissions that will put you firmly in the higher brackets for road tax.

If that doesn’t concern you then feel free to give us a call and we’ll do everything we can to ensure you’re on the list of lucky drivers when UK deliveries start in March.

If you decide that’s too high a price, or you don’t manage to get on the list, there’s always the larger, more powerful, more economical thanks to its hybrid drivetrain, and (don’t ask us how) less expensive option of leasing yourself the latest new M5 Touring instead.

Either way, we can absolutely guarantee that taking a spin in either of them will quickly dispel any notion that you entertain that estate cars are boring. Because they’re not!

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