It’s no surprise that a wagon from the M Division is fast, comfortable enough for long journeys, and spacious enough for road trip luggage. It’s also no surprise that a wagon with “CS” on the back is capable of quickly lapping a track. But what’s remarkable about the BMW M3 CS Touring isn’t that it can do all of those things. It’s just how remarkably good it is at doing all of them in the same day.
Chris Harris recently spent quite some time in an M3 CS Touring, a car that we American BMW enthusiasts wish we had here, and he put it through the wringer. He drove it all over the UK; starting in England, then driving to Wales to do a long track day at Angelsey Circuit, then drive to Glasgow, Scotland. After Glasgow, Harris’ video partner drove it to an undisclosed location at the German/Swiss border. So it did around 2500 miles in just a few days, while throwing a long track day in the mix. And it handled it all, seemingly without breaking a sweat.
Driving a few thousand miles in an M3 CS Touring in just a few days is an impressive test for such a high-strung car on its own. But when he got to Angelsey, he used the fast wagon to give wounded veterans and service members track day thrills. And if you’ve ever seen Harris drive on a track, you know how hard he’s capable of pushing the a car and how he can hold a car on the razor edge of its limits.
The track day was grueling, too. It literally lasted all day and into the night, as this year the Mission Motorsport charity event was offering veterans a nighttime racing experience, so they could feel what it’s like to be in a 24-hour endurance race. That meant many full-throttle, full braking track laps. At night, you could see the carbon brake rotors glow orange from track use. And yet, the brakes never faded, the tires never completely wore, and its engine never skipped a beat. Through all of that abuse, after days of highway driving, the M3 CS Touring behaved brilliantly.
According to Harris, the M3 CS Touring is the “best all-rounder on sale.” That’s a bold claim, but it’s hard to argue with it. Sure, the car is massively expensive, at $159,000, so it better be great. But even at its price point, it’s still impressive just how much the M3 CS Touring can handle and still work perfectly.