BMW M3 CS
Now the new 3-Series has been launched, the M3's days are numbered. Even so, with a V8 replacement not due until next year, BMW is keeping performance buyers happy with this special edition, the CS.
Although it's due for replacement, the M3 is still a great car - and the CS is even better. For £2,400 more, it offers a more involving driving experience with the virtues of an amazing straight-six engine and a practical coup
Now the new 3-Series has been launched, the M3's days are numbered. Even so, with a V8 replacement not due until next year, BMW is keeping performance buyers happy with this special edition, the CS.
Based on the M3, it adds go-faster bits borrowed from the now out-of-production CSL - the ultimate 3-Series, which had a carbon fibre bonnet, glass roof and a £59,000 price tag.
The CS is less extreme and a bit more affordable. For an extra £2,400 over the £41,155 M3, you get a quicker steering rack, bigger brakes and CSL-style 19-inch alloys. The CS also comes with the CSL's stability system which, activated by a button on a new Alcantara steering wheel, lets the car slide more before the traction control intervenes.
BMW has not uprated the suspension any further, though, and the 338bhp 3.2-litre powerplant remains the same, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
On the move, the ride is still as firm and the brakes just as strong as the M3's, but the quicker steering means the CS is sharper and more involving to drive - exactly what BMW needed to improve. One area it didn't have to better was the engine. And with its metallic straight-six howl, Porsche 911-rivalling acceleration and masses of torque, it is one of the world's best units.
Notchy gearchanges let the new car down, while £43,555 is a lot to pay for a 3-Series coup
