FAST FLEET

Does the CS Touring have the long-term game to eclipse the memory of our Audi RS6?

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TWELVE MONTHS IN AN RS6 PERFORMANCE Twas always going to be a tough act to follow (the small violins are behind you on the shelf). You may have noticed its custodian wouldn't stop banging on about how good it was, but now here I am with the chunky key to a BMW M3 CS Touring. Damn, this life is hard.

This isn't evo's first G80 rodeo, with a saloon and two M4 coupes having enjoyed residencies on the Fast Fleet since the model's 2021 introduction. But it is my first time with the current M3 for any meaningful duration and it's our first CS version. Which, had senior staff writer Yousuf Ashraf not returned from its launch claiming it to be the best G80 and the best CS he had driven, would have left me a little concerned (because being handed the key to a £135,000 BMW M to use for six months is a huge concern, obviously).

That's because, while both the M3 and M4 CS models have impressed in the past, neither has blown us away like their M2 and M5 counterparts. In 2023 the M3 CS finished sixth (out of nine) in eCoty, ahead of the 911 Carrera T and behind Honda's last Civic Type R. Twelve months later the M4 CS finished a place lower, level on points with Morgan's updated Plus Four.