BMW M3 CS 2024 Review

The price tag on the 2024 BMW M3 CS does require a second take. Its $249,900 (plus on-road costs) ask is a whopping $70,000-plus more than the BMW M3 Competition xDrive on which it’s based and a similar amount more than the previous-generation CS, where the premium was closer to $40,000.

Then again, when you consider BMW wanted $210,000 plus ORCs for the – admittedly more special – E46 M3 CSL back in 2004 ($350,000 in today’s money) it doesn’t seem so bad.

If you’re after something this niche, talk of competitors is probably somewhat moot, especially as even the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance is miles cheaper at $187,900 plus ORCs, and the Audi RS7 Performance (from $255,800) is a bigger, less-focused machine.

The total for our tested 2024 BMW M3 CS was swollen further by the fitment of the only real option, carbon-ceramic brakes, but it’s a hefty one in terms of impact on the wallet at $16,500.

Only four colours are available – black, green, grey and frozen white – with the staggered wheels (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) either black or gold bronze and wrapped in sport or track tyres, our test car coming on the latter wearing Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.

Sticking with the externals, the CS differentiates itself from the regular M3 with yellow laserlight headlights, a unique wheel design and lightweight measures likes a carbon bonnet, roof, front splitter and air intake and a titanium exhaust, while a CS-specific front strut brace improves body rigidity.

Unlike previous CS models, BMW has left the interior features largely alone, which is part of the reason the new version weighs only 15kg less than a standard all-wheel drive M3, though the fact that weight is coming from high up (bonnet and roof) will help more than the figure suggests.

The good news is that this means all the regular luxury touches are present, including dual-zone climate control, heated and electrically operated carbon bucket seats, keyless entry/start, head-up display, ambient lighting as well as an Alcantara steering wheel.

Some of the options, in particular the carbon seats and frozen white paint, are options on a regular M3. So, like-for-like you’re looking at around a $45,000-$50,000 premium depending on specification.

BMW’s standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies but servicing is condition-based, depending on how and how often you use the car.

There is no official safety rating for the 2024 BMW M3 CS as ANCAP’s five-star score only applies to the 2.0-litre models, the different nose, engine and materials all affecting how the sportier versions would crash.

Nevertheless, it benefits from most of the same safety gear, both passive in terms of airbags and also active, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist and departure warning, blind spot warning and the like, though it loses adaptive cruise control.

Likewise, park assist is deleted, but the rear camera and sensors are retained.

The increasingly ubiquitous widescreen display sits atop the dash of the 2024 BMW M3 CS, something you’ll be familiar with if you’ve read or watched any recent BMW reviews.

The infotainment offers a huge number of features and apps and connectivity and will require significant study to get the best out of it. The search function makes things easier, as does the ‘Hey BMW’ voice control – if confused, ask for what you want and the car will either comply or not.

More superficially, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is aided by the full-screen, high-resolution display that’s very responsive. As with most vehicles, however, sticking the majority of the climate control functions in the central touch-screen is irritating.

The digital instrument display can show several different screens which are adjusted – along with the head-up display – using the buttons on the right-hand side of the steering wheel. A bit fiddly, but easy enough with practice.

Being an M car, there’s also plenty of driver-specific tech as well. Lap timers, drift analysers and a 10-stage adjustable traction control – essentially a plethora of toys to play with in the right environment.

Changes to the 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine in the 2024 BMW M3 CS are relatively slight, though it didn’t really need much assistance.

New mono-scroll turbos and a 0.4bar (6psi) bump in boost pressure lifts power by 30kW to 405kW, while torque remains the same at 650Nm.

An eight-speed automatic is standard, as is all-wheel drive, though this is switchable through three modes: 4WD, 4WD Sport and RWD.

The claimed 0-100km/h sprint is just 3.4sec and top speed is 305km/h, thanks to the fitment of the M Driver’s Package as standard.

The claimed combined figure for the 2024 BMW M3 CS of 10.4L/100km is pretty reasonable and just 0.1L/100km more than the standard car.

On a cruise it’ll easily dip into single figures, but under heavy use it’s best not to think about the fuel consumption. Just fill it up when it needs more.

Awesome. Fantastic. Savage. All are apt adjectives for the way the 2024 BMW M3 CS drives when turned up to the max.

As is the modern BMW way, there are myriad ways to set the car up, with multiple settings for the engine, gearbox, suspension, steering, all-wheel drive system, stability control and even the brakes.

Your favourite two combinations can then be saved to the red M1 and M2 toggles on the steering wheel. My favoured settings for road exercise are Sport Plus engine, Comfort steering, Sport suspension, AWD Sport and Sport brakes, though the latter really doesn’t make much difference.

So configured, the M3 CS devours difficult tarmac like few other cars. It is truly, ludicrously fast, the engine possessing an enormous breadth of power.

The gearbox isn’t dual-clutch-fast but it’s more than adequate and the short ratios give you multiple options for each corner.

The brakes are hugely powerful, grip levels are enormous, yet it’s always happy to display attitude, the extra rear bias of 4WD Sport making it throttle-steerable in a way few other all-wheel drive cars are.

The changes over the standard M3 are relatively minor, primarily consisting of set-up changes, with recalibrated dampers, springs, anti-roll bars and more negative camber, but they coalesce to create a car of remarkable athleticism. It does still feel heavy, which it is at 1765kg, but also ferociously fast.

An added benefit is that these changes come at no detriment to the CS’s everyday manners. The track-focused tyres create a bit of a hum, but the gearbox is smooth – far more so than the previous generation’s dual-clutch – and the ride is very compliant with the dampers set to Comfort. It’s not at all taxing to drive.

Of course, you can only experience a certain amount of a car as potent as the 2024 BMW M3 CS on the public road. This is why racetracks were invented.

Our chosen venue is Calder Park and, without wishing to make excuses, there’s a suspicion its layout doesn’t suit the CS.

Calder’s tight corners sit right between second and third and suddenly that monster engine feels laggy and unresponsive, but there are other issues. Stability under braking is highly questionable, for one.

Granted, Calder’s first turn is a perfect storm, being downhill and requiring speed to be dropped from 250km/h to around 80km/h, but significant correction is needed to keep things pointing in a straight line.

In terms of settings, the obvious move on a racetrack is to crank everything up to its most aggressive setting, but this proves to be a mistake. On the road, 4WD Sport is fantastic fun, but with the tyres near their limit of grip on track it introduces too much oversteer.

In trying to make the car feel playful, it sends power backwards at every touch of the throttle and you end up chasing the rear-end, not being able to put the power down. This is exacerbated by selecting the most aggressive gearbox setting, which results in upshifts unsettling the car.

Somewhat counterintuitively, regular 4WD and the least aggressive gearbox setting feels fastest and most enjoyable. The CS always feels heavy, though.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s hugely fast and lots of fun, with a playful and balanced chassis.

But you’re always managing the car, coaxing it into and out of turns rather than grabbing it by the scruff of the neck. It feels more M5 than M3, though a grippier track with faster corners may well produce a different verdict.

As mentioned earlier, the 2024 BMW M3 CS doesn’t go as far as its predecessors in paring back the interior. The original M4 CS didn’t even have door cards, which suited the focused ethos but was a massive pain if you wanted to put anything anywhere.

Thankfully, the latest version has the wireless charging pad for your phone and a cubby in the all-carbon centre console for keys and the like, but cup holders are annoyingly conspicuous in their absence.

It does feel special, though, liberally slathered in Alcantara and carbon.

You also sit extraordinarily low in the CS, lower than perhaps any other production car I’ve ever been in, so much so that the steering wheel rim obscures the head-up display, though you can always lift the seat higher, of course.

Speaking of the seats, I’m not a fan of BMW’s carbon buckets. After an extended period I get lower back ache and the carbon hump between your legs is a pointless affectation. This is a personal view, but I mention it to suggest at least trying a car so equipped before you sign on the dotted line.

The rear seat is as per a regular M3, though occupants no longer get air vents or USB ports, let alone separate temperature controls. Nor are there the cool quasi-buckets you get in its bigger brother, the M5 CS.

The verdict here is somewhat irrelevant as the 2024 BMW M3 CS is one of those cars that you’ll buy if you want it.

You’ll fall for the look or the exclusivity and you’ll be rewarded with a monster of a sedan, a car that sits in a select group in terms of on-road performance and excitement.

Is it worth the significant premium over a regular BMW M3 Competition? Objectively, no, which is a compliment to the ability of the standard car that still has the edge in practicality over the CS, thanks to small but crucial things like cup holders and rear-seat amenities that do make a difference every day.

That said, the fact that there will be 10s of M3 CS cars sold in Australia rather than 100s will make that premium worthwhile for some.

An opportunity still exists for another M3 closer in spirit to the previous F80 CS. Perhaps based on the standard M3 manual, allowing the weight to be closer to 1600kg than 1800kg, one without some of the luxury or trinketry, one that sacrifices some outright performance for immersion.

But then, I might just have described an M2. Fast BMW buyers are spoiled for choice.

2024 BMW M3 CS at a glance:
Price: $249,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 405kW/650Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.4L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 234g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested