2025 BMW M3 CS Touring (G81) | PH Review

BMW never intended to make an M3 CS Touring. The fact it built an M3 wagon in the first place is something of a novelty, having famously revealed an achingly cool prototype based on the E46 and taking the best part of 20 years to follow up on it. And when it did arrive for the G81 generation in 2022, the plan was to cap performance at the Competition level and leave the faster variants to the M3 saloon and M4. But then came the glowing reviews of the most recent CS models – much as they were for the old M2 and M5 – which got BMW thinking: ‘It’d be a shame to not do the same for the Touring, wouldn’t it?’

Yes, it would, not least because the M3 Touring has proved immensely popular. Sales for the wagon were up 57 per cent following last year’s LCI updates, and it wasn’t that long ago when orders between the Touring and saloon were an even split. And while it may seem a bit out of character for BMW to make a more focused version of the biggest and heaviest model in the G8X range, today’s M cars are so naffing heavy that the estate’s additional 90kg over the saloon feels like a drop in the ocean. Providing it can successfully transplant all the goodness from the M3 CS saloon to the Touring, it’ll doubtless find enough people willing to spend at least £120,600 – or £30k more than the Comp – to get their hands on one.

To that end, BMW is following the saloon’s formula to a tee, right down to the M4 CSL-derived red highlights that draw attention to the M3’s gopping grille like a baboon to its backside. That being said, I’ve always thought the Touring wore the G8X snout better than the rest, and it does look extra mean with those carbon fibre flicks, diffuser and CSL-inspired bonnet, especially when paired with Individual British Racing Green like the test car BMW laid on for us. 

It’s not often you get a racetrack all to yourself, but that’s exactly what PH’s first encounter with the CS Touring entailed. A full hour and a half of fun at Thruxton, the UK’s fastest circuit, with nobody else in sight. I could drive the thing backwards if I wanted to, says the man at the pit exit, and doing so at the request of BMW’s snapper to get some action shots at the final chicane feels a bit like mooning the teacher. But this is a circuit made up of long, high-speed sweepers broken up by two heavy braking zones, the sort of layout that’s thrilling in a BTCC car and punishing to super estates with 50 per cent more weight. On paper, you might expect the near two-tonne M3 CS Touring to be overawed by the challenge. Well, BMW didn’t get the memo, because the CS Touring is nothing short of sensational.

Pretty much immediately, the CS Touring feels more agile and direct than the standard M3 Comp. The speed at which it will take Thruxton’s opening, right-hand sweeper would surely send most cars of its size and weight understeering off into the nearby tyre walls, yet the CS Touring dives eagerly towards the apex and claws its way out without so much as a chirp from the front axle. Like the saloon version, BMW has given the CS Touring new adaptive dampers and springs, fine-tuned the geometry, recalibrated the steering and adjusted the DSC, all of which have sharpened up some of the Comp’s softer edges.

Of course, it helps that this particular car is shod with the optional Michelin Cup 2Rs, and the CS sticks with xDrive, though you can still fire 100 per cent of the power to the rear wheels for a more traditional feel. But even with both axles in play, the Touring will oversteer long before it washes wide. Thruxton’s Goodwood corner is both blind and slightly off camber, and requires you to pin the throttle long before you see the exit. So confidence-inspiring is the CS that it’s easy to get overly greedy with the throttle, but the rear end is always a model of predictability even when it does break loose – helped no end by an improvement in feedback from the steering. As ever, M Dynamic Mode’s more lenient DSC will step in if it thinks you’ve overcooked it, though in the CS this rarely seems to impede on all the fun you’re having. 

There isn’t really a back straight at Thruxton, but there’s enough room towards the end of the lap to unlock the full 550hp from a 3.0-litre straight-six that now boasts the CSL’s turbochargers. Goodness, it’s quick, as illustrated by the 3.5-second 0-62mph time and a claimed 11.7-second dash from 0-124. You’ll be going a fair bit quicker than that in the run up to the final chicane, where you’ll discover a lovely, progressive feel to the (again, optional) carbon ceramic brakes. They’re so powerful that it’s easy to brake far too early, seemingly no matter the kerbweight (despite a 15kg weight saving through standard M Sport Carbon buckets and various other bits, the CS Touring still weighs 1,850kg). The CS disguises its weight so well, in fact, that after 90 minutes of near-continuous lapping, I’d completely forgotten I was driving the Touring version. 

What’s even more impressive is the way all those little upgrades and refinements translate to the road when you slap a set of Pilot Sport 4Ss on and head out into the real world. It’s noticeably firmer than the M3 Comp, but it’s neither uncomfortable nor hunting for cambers, even when you dial the dampers up to Sport Plus. The steering feels weightier around the centre, and it sounds good, too, thanks to a new titanium sports exhaust lifting the volume a fair bit – though admittedly not enough to turn the M3’s baritone bark into something a little more tuneful. Even when you dial everything back to its most comfort-oriented setting, the CS Touring still feels more eager and responsive than the Comp, yet the underlying setup leaves you in no doubt that the prospect of driving to and from the Nurburgring would be no more taxing than in the base car. And yet your lap time would acknowledge the difference. 

For anyone with their heart already set on the CS, that confirmation will very likely suffice. For everyone else, it’s worth noting the incredibly high bar that the M3 Touring has previously set. The CS comfortably exceeds it, but the step change doesn’t feel quite as significant as, say, the monumental leap made between the old M5 Comp and its own CS alter ego. Objectively speaking, that does make the £30k premium a little trickier to justify, although, then again, it does improve on the Comp in all the key areas without demanding any irksome sacrifices. Moreover, of course, the CS Touring will only be built in double figures, which ought to virtually guarantee a sales home run (not to mention copper-bottomed residuals). Those lucky few will be getting arguably the most versatile M car to date. 

Engine: 2,993cc straight-six, twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 550@6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@2,750rpm-5,950rpm
0-62mph: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 186mph
Weight: 1,850kg DIN, 1,925kg EU
MPG: 22.4
CO2: 238g/km
Price: £120,600