diff --git a/tests/vm/Makefile.include b/tests/vm/Makefile.include
index 8cccfaf95d..ad35c6e7a1 100644
--- a/tests/vm/Makefile.include
+++ b/tests/vm/Makefile.include
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ endif
 	@echo '    EXTRA_CONFIGURE_OPTS="..."'
 	@echo "    J=[0..9]*            	 - Override the -jN parameter for make commands"
 	@echo "    DEBUG=1              	 - Enable verbose output on host and interactive debugging"
+	@echo "    LOG_CONSOLE=1        	 - Log console to file in: ~/.cache/qemu-vm "
 	@echo "    V=1				 - Enable verbose ouput on host and guest commands"
 	@echo "    QEMU_LOCAL=1                 - Use QEMU binary local to this build."
 	@echo "    QEMU=/path/to/qemu		 - Change path to QEMU binary"
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ $(IMAGES_DIR)/%.img:	$(SRC_PATH)/tests/vm/% \
 		$(if $(GENISOIMAGE),--genisoimage $(GENISOIMAGE)) \
 		$(if $(QEMU_LOCAL),--build-path $(BUILD_DIR)) \
 		$(if $(EFI_AARCH64),--efi-aarch64 $(EFI_AARCH64)) \
+		$(if $(LOG_CONSOLE),--log-console) \
 		--image "$@" \
 		--force \
 		--build-image $@, \
@@ -91,6 +93,7 @@ vm-build-%: $(IMAGES_DIR)/%.img
 		$(if $(V),--verbose) \
 		$(if $(QEMU_LOCAL),--build-path $(BUILD_DIR)) \
 		$(if $(EFI_AARCH64),--efi-aarch64 $(EFI_AARCH64)) \
+		$(if $(LOG_CONSOLE),--log-console) \
 		--image "$<" \
 		$(if $(BUILD_TARGET),--build-target $(BUILD_TARGET)) \
 		--snapshot \
@@ -114,6 +117,7 @@ vm-boot-ssh-%: $(IMAGES_DIR)/%.img
 		$(if $(V)$(DEBUG), --debug) \
 		$(if $(QEMU_LOCAL),--build-path $(BUILD_DIR)) \
 		$(if $(EFI_AARCH64),--efi-aarch64 $(EFI_AARCH64)) \
+		$(if $(LOG_CONSOLE),--log-console) \
 		--image "$<" \
 		--interactive \
 		false, \
diff --git a/tests/vm/basevm.py b/tests/vm/basevm.py
index b9d828423b..64dbe64326 100644
--- a/tests/vm/basevm.py
+++ b/tests/vm/basevm.py
@@ -117,6 +117,11 @@ class BaseVM(object):
              "w").write(self._config['ssh_pub_key'])
 
         self.debug = args.debug
+        self._console_log_path = None
+        if args.log_console:
+                self._console_log_path = \
+                         os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~/.cache/qemu-vm"),
+                                      "{}.install.log".format(self.name))
         self._stderr = sys.stderr
         self._devnull = open(os.devnull, "w")
         if self.debug:
@@ -271,7 +276,9 @@ class BaseVM(object):
         args += self._data_args + extra_args + self._config['extra_args']
         logging.debug("QEMU args: %s", " ".join(args))
         qemu_path = get_qemu_path(self.arch, self._build_path)
-        guest = QEMUMachine(binary=qemu_path, args=args)
+        guest = QEMUMachine(binary=qemu_path, args=args,
+                            console_log=self._console_log_path,
+                            drain_console=True)
         guest.set_machine(self._config['machine'])
         guest.set_console()
         try:
@@ -285,6 +292,8 @@ class BaseVM(object):
             raise
         atexit.register(self.shutdown)
         self._guest = guest
+        # Init console so we can start consuming the chars.
+        self.console_init()
         usernet_info = guest.qmp("human-monitor-command",
                                  command_line="info usernet")
         self.ssh_port = None
@@ -296,7 +305,9 @@ class BaseVM(object):
             raise Exception("Cannot find ssh port from 'info usernet':\n%s" % \
                             usernet_info)
 
-    def console_init(self, timeout = 120):
+    def console_init(self, timeout = None):
+        if timeout == None:
+            timeout = self.socket_timeout
         vm = self._guest
         vm.console_socket.settimeout(timeout)
         self.console_raw_path = os.path.join(vm._temp_dir,
@@ -578,6 +589,8 @@ def parse_args(vmcls):
     parser.add_option("--efi-aarch64",
                       default="/usr/share/qemu-efi-aarch64/QEMU_EFI.fd",
                       help="Path to efi image for aarch64 VMs.")
+    parser.add_option("--log-console", action="store_true",
+                      help="Log console to file.")
     parser.disable_interspersed_args()
     return parser.parse_args()
 
