The 2024 BMW M3 CS has a controversial grille with gaping nostrils.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when BMW created the original late-eighties four-cylinder M3, as the first-generation of the high-performance car was never exported to South Africa, where I was living and working at the time. But BMW South Africa created its own “local hero” alternative, shoehorning the 3.2-litre, six-cylinder engine from a 7 Series into the E30 body and calling it the 333i. Memories were made. There was drifting.
Moving on to Canada and the E36 generation of the M3, I was in the right place at the right time when the infamous run of 45 full-on European-spec 285-horsepower 1994 M3s made their debut – this, while U.S. BMW buffs were still awaiting the toned-down official North American version that would arrive in 1995. Apparently, my story in a U.S. magazine that revealed this anomaly did not go over well at BMW of America.
Not that there was much wrong with the less peppy 240-horsepower North American version when it did come. My brother in Florida bought one of the first U.S. M3s in 1995 and that car is still in the family. I adopted it in 2017 and drove it home to Ontario.
Even at 300,000 kilometres, mine still has one of the smoothest, sweetest-sounding engines of all time.
The dash of the 2024 BMW M3 CS. The CS’s performance is electrifying, accompanied by acoustics so intense that they’re borderline frenzied.UWE FISCHER/Courtesy of manufacturer
Meanwhile, other M3 generations came and went. The E46 brought a full Euro-spec engine and a welcome boost in performance, though I was shocked by the harsh sound and feel of the first one I drove in 2000 (oddly, the same engine in a Z4 M that I drove later was much better).
That became a moot point when the E90 generation arrived in 2007, powered by four-litre V8 that could rev to an exultant 8,400 rpm, with a dual-clutch automatic transmission available for the first time.
For 2014, the next-generation M3 (sedan) and M4 (as the coupe was now called) reverted to a three-litre, straight-six engine, but this time turbocharged. Of course it was fast and track-capable, but by now BMW and I were having a difference of opinion about steering feel. I also loathed the fake engine “music” BMW introduced, as if some electronically synthesized boorish blare improved on the silken siren song of the straight-six.
Now we’re in year three of the current G80-generation M3, and still BMW is poking the bear that is its loyal audience. I refer, of course, to the grille. No, I’m not a fan of the gaping nostrils, either. But from the driver’s seat, you can’t see what your car looks like, and as long as I like what I’m feeling at the wheel, I don’t care what outsiders think of what they’re seeing.
The front seats of the 2024 BMW M3 CS with M carbon bucket seats. The M3 CS blends vivid steering response and chassis predictabilityUWE FISCHER/Courtesy of manufacturer
I still haven’t driven a “civilian” version of the G80 M3/M4 on the street, though an M Division 50th-anniversary party last fall included track time in the hard-core, limited-edition M4 CSL. Then this summer, BMW brought us to Area 27, a spectacular new track in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, to drive the M4 CSL’s sedan equivalent (sort-of), the new M3 CS (Competition Sport).
It and the coupe both produce 543 horsepower – 70 more than a base M3 and 40 more than the M3 Competition. Like the Competition, the CS comes only with an automatic transmission, but while the Competition offers the choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, AWD is mandatory on the CS. (Only the base M3 now offers the classic purist’s configuration of manual transmission and RWD.)
The CS sheds 34 kilograms of weight compared with an M3 Competition xDrive, but it still weighs considerably more than the CSL because the sedan keeps its rear seat, as well as power adjustment for its front bucket seats, which allows a surprising amount of rear-seat legroom.
Track time in the M3 CS proved a mixed blessing. The CS’s performance is electrifying, accompanied by acoustics so intense that they’re borderline frenzied, and grip levels (on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires) are of hero-car proportions. But my ride-along instructor valued personal safety above investigative journalism, so the stability control stayed on and the drivetrain was set to four-wheel drive.
Unable to probe the CS’s behaviour at the limit, the track sessions highlighted the M3 CS’s blend of vivid steering response and chassis predictability.
Later, back in the Toronto area, I booked some street time with the CS and an M2. In theory, and in isolation, the M2 should be everything I want in a BMW – small, rear-wheel drive, available manual transmission, less powerful than the M3 CS but more refined, and barely more than half the price. It’s the closest modern BMW equivalent to my E36 M3, and it’s a great little car. Car and Driver called it “Strong medicine for the driver’s soul.”
So what does it tell you about the M3 CS when a back-to-back comparison leaves the M2 feeling soft and dull?
The 2024 BMW M3 CS is, at $148,000, arguably one of the best all-round cars money can buy.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
The CS is peak M3. It’s also arguably one of the best all-round cars money can buy. It has four doors, and I already mentioned the roomy back seat. Another unexpected left-brain virtue is the civil ride. Even in Track mode, it doesn’t beat you up.
You may need night classes to master all the different drive modes and other adjustments, but after you graduate, the CS can be whatever you want it to be: a safe, predictable, all-wheel drive sedan when everything is dialled back; a balanced-on-the-knife-edge drifter in two-wheel drive with stability control off; or an in-between sweet-spot ride in rear-biased all-wheel drive and medium stability control.
Whatever mode you choose, the M3 CS exudes a sense of lightness and sheer, vivid aliveness that elevates every trip.
Is it worth a suggested price of $148,000? I can’t imagine spending that kind of money on any car, but the Canadian allocation of 60 cars is already sold out so evidently, some people think it’s worth it. Meanwhile, I’m holding out for when BMW decides the M2 is ready for the same CS makeover magic.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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