I have had 3 F80's, including a San Marino CS that I put almost 40k miles on in 2 1/2 years. I traded the CS in on a new 21 X3M comp.
It was a mistake on my part. It was the worst riding car I have ever had, the side to side motions were horrible. Had a few Night at the Roxbury moments
It lacked torque below 3k rpm bad. It was just not for me. I could tell the S58 would rock in a lighter package though. Maybe they fixed the two things in the LCI? only kept it for 2 months. Found a G80 and traded it.
Now the G80 feels buttoned down compared to the CS. Traction is night and day better than any F80 I owned. It almost feels awd if you don't floor it from a stop. It will not just snap out like the CS. Much much more grip. S58 in this application is perfection. It feels way faster up top compared to the CS. If you look at dynos it makes around 100whp more at 7k rpm than the S55.
Turn in also feels faster. It just overall feels more direct than the CS to me. With much better tuned damper and springs. They almost feel like mangna ride dampers to me? I miss the Alcantara wheel though.
I can understand the auto vs dct debate. It's a fraction slower to down shift. Up shift is about as fast to me. It's less visceral but it is more abruptly tuned than the X3M comp was. Over all thought DCT is much more fun to shift in the CS. It feels much more race car like, if you know what I mean.
I also prefer the M mode HUD in the F80, for some reason both X3M and G80 distract my eyes at night.
As for looks I like them both. Of course the G80 makes the F80 look a bit dated. I like San Marino better than Tanazinite blue on the G80.
Over all I think the F80CS is one of the best looking sedans BMW ever produced. It feels more on edge and wild than the G80 but not as serious in its execution. Now I just need to try the F90 someday
If someone could rotate those 2 pics I would appreciate it. Not sure whe they post sideways... Thanks