The fact that the Cirrus is viewed as such a potential handfull is more a example of how truly pathetic the modern standard of pilot training has become than anything else.
The BRS has been fitted, in my opinion, to minimise the exposure of the manufacturers to the US penchant for product liability law suits. If fewer people die in their product there will be fewer law suites from the family...and the few there are can be defended with.."But we fited a parachute that could have saved them and they didn't use it..or they didn't use it until it was too late..etc"
As far as modern civvy jet handling at high mach numbers is concerned?
They handle beautifully...on the B767 I currently fly we cruise at Barber Pole...exceeding barber pole (MMO) occassions a beeper alert and nothing else...the handling is so benign they don't even have Mach trim.
I took a falcon corporate jet to M0.90 once on a test flight...the normal limit (MMO) being M0.865...slight buffet and had to push bloody hard against the mach trim but that was it.
Modern passenger jets don't have the levels of automation they have because the aircraft are hard to handfly, they are easy to hand fly. Busy, crowded airspace, complex SIDs and STARs and allowing for the lowest common denominator airline pilot is the driver behind ever more clever airliner automagics.