2025 BMW M4 CS | UK Review
The CS was mightily impressive on Cup 2Rs last year; what about in the eye of a good ol' British storm?
‘CS all the things!’ A mantra which appears to be writ large on the M Division mood board at the moment, at least as far as its coupes, saloons and estates go. Let’s take the mercy of no CS SUVs while we can.
Perhaps this latest M4 CS acts as a useful reminder its base car exists. It’s approaching a half-decade since the G82 landed to consternation from all corners about its ginormous twin grilles. I was never much bothered by them - certainly not as much as social media told me I ought to be - and it feels like collective online anger is channelled elsewhere now. Whatever happens to the M3 and M4 in the Neue Klasse era will surely have a much less disruptive snout on it.
This latest CS injects extra intrigue before the new dawn, then, with a sledgehammer spec sheet that blows a similarly priced 911 into the weeds. The 3.0-litre straight-six turbo is uprated by 20hp, to 550hp, though its 479lb ft torque peak is unchanged and its 3.4 second sprint to 62mph just a tenth down on the stock M4 Competition. A 188mph top speed – still limited, only much less so – is noteworthy, however, as is a 20kg diet.
Detailed improvements win the day; the turbo boosts a little harder, new engine mounts with increased spring rates ramp up the drivetrain response, there are new dampers, anti-roll bars and camber settings and the DSC further loosens its grip in M Dynamic Mode. Perhaps the biggest change of all is the availability of Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyre, a proponent of the G82 CS blitzing the Nordschleife in 7:21.989 and the closest to road-going slicks as you’ll feasibly find.
That’s how Matt Bird sampled the CS on the Salzburgring and – thank heavens – not how I’m sampling it in the UK. There’s a storm with a human name, y’see, and the rain is beyond torrential when I point the M4 at a favourite Peak District road to see what’s new. Bordering on self-harm on Cup 2Rs, but completely within the realms of sanity with the Pilot Sport 4S setup we’ve been gifted here.
This M4 is still equipped with xDrive too, to make hauling out a boisterous car in such abhorrent weather a mite less ridiculous. Should an M track special have four-wheel drive? We’ve driven enough of the breed now to know the answer’s positive, and this G82 hammers the point home. Engage MDM, activating 4WD Sport in the process, and this car balances tenacity and playfulness as well as any 1.7-tonne coupe ever needs to on the road. It’s telling that I never yearn to try RWD mode – though perhaps the conditions, far from the summer glow in BMW’s press imagery, play their part.
In truth, I begin to embrace the wet weather and it's fun to just shunt around slowly on bumpy lanes, feeling the power shift around the chassis as traction ebbs and flows. The feeling is akin to the mighty R35 Nissan GT-R, in fact, whose frequent shuffling of torque was so deliciously tangible even at crawling speeds. The diffs don’t clunk as much here and it’s nowhere near as physical – but the constant stream of feedback on a sodden road has a spooky familiarity.
The gnarlier suspension plays its part, too. The car sparks up in Comfort mode and already feels firm, but as your speeds build, it’s natural to start delving into Sport and Sport Plus. The damping always feels long in its travel and terse in its reactions, but its acuteness seems to build as your trust in the car deepens. And, presumably, your inputs soften.
As ever, it’s fun to mix ‘n’ match its various drive parameters. You’ll likely assign two favoured setups to its M1 and M2 buttons – one for when your favourite corner briefly punctuates a staid commute home, the other for more prolonged, intense exploration of the car’s abilities – but being able to leave everything in Comfort and just crank up the sharpness of its eight-speed auto ‘box (chasing some of the aggression lost against the old seven-speed DCT) is fun, too. That the car is still firm, focused and thrilling with everything left in Comfort either makes a nonsense of the whole thing or tells you it’s smartly fettled right out the box. Choosing a 4S over a Cup 2 or 2R probably favours a less committed approach anyway.
The highlight of this, and indeed any, G82 is its front end. While the steering doesn't brim with feel, its weight is exquisite and the front axle flicks eagerly into corners unburdened yet without flightiness, ensuring your trust in the M4 starts at those kidney grilles and swells backwards like it’s a big hot hatch. The more aggressive new camber likely helps there. There’s a nice linearity to its power delivery, too, despite the CS’s extra boost. In a world of obscenely quick EVs this feels like a car where you can use quite a lot of its performance, quite a lot of the time. A point proven by easy stumbles into the upper limit of second gear in manual mode.
Downsides? The M4 is a big car these days, as Matt pointed out, a feeling its oversized steering wheel rim feels emblematic of. This CS is no easier to place on a typical moorland road than its stablemates and you’ll thud over cats’ eyes on empty, narrow stretches, eager to grab a few spare inches of tarmac in the absence oncoming traffic. It’s also hard to square its price and experience with each other on a day like today; I’d be going no quicker and having no more fun in a stock M4 away from a bone-dry trackday. Or would I? The yellow headlights are a joy, occasionally reflected back at me from glassy wet roads, while the interior has some suitably gauche flourishes to at least visually underscore the extra financial outlay. A sense of the special pervades the whole thing.
Which also means it shouts louder at onlookers, too, and the attention it attracts is something you must quickly make your peace with. It’s not a home run, then, nor an instant M Division hall of famer. Neither of those facts keeps it from being brilliant, too.
SPECIFICATION | BMW M4 CS (G82)
Engine: 2,993cc, twin-turbo straight-six
Transmission: 8-speed auto, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 550@6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@2,750-5,950rpm
0-62mph: 3.4sec
Top speed: 188mph
Weight: 1,760kg DIN, 1,835kg EU
MPG: 27.7 (WLTP)
CO2: 232g/km (WLTP)
Price: £117,100
I think I'm over the grill now, but as above don't think I'd want the lipstick still.
. Stupid looking front, the back looks like it's been trodden on and squished and quite a price tag.
I don't know if it's just me getting old but so many premium cars seem to be ugly. What happened to the designers who turned out the E38, E39, E46?
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