BMW M2: 1 year ownership review

Elena
6 days ago
9 min read

It’s time to rate the M2!

If you remember the Dubai rentals’ ratings, I’ll use the same rating system as a base, but I’ll include a new category - good for the track. My M2 is HEAVILY modified for the track, so it’s only fair to have this new addition.

First things first - I’ve only been a fan of the brand for a very brief period of time, in 2007, when the M3 cabriolet in silver was my dream car for a couple of months. But I grew up. I do respect BMW as a brand, but I don’t necessarily like it. Same goes for all big German brands. I don’t like Porsche and I don’t like Mercedes. Surprise, I know. I do love the S-Class, the S Coupe, the SL 65, SLK GTR and I respect their level of involvement in the making of the SLR. But that’s it. You would ask “Why?”, right?! Because German brands overcomplicate everything. And they do it for the ego, because they can and because they want to. No practical reason whatsoever. And I just can’t get behind this way of building and thinking. There are some instances, like the ones mentioned above, where overcomplicating results in a superior outcome. The best example would be the S Coupe. This car is so immaculately built, its quality surpasses that of a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. It’s such a stunning thing to drive, to own, to look at and IMO it’s the best all-round modern car and a future classic. I can’t praise it enough.

When you say “I like BMW”, I imagine you like the whole lineup. I look at it and I see so many misses and a very few hits. I genuinely like the M3 Touring. I miss the sedans and the wagons on the road. I love wagons, I call them “the cars of possibilities”, because you can do anything with a wagon - it can be your work car, you family car, you dog car, your cross-country car, you can even live in it. That’s how purposeful it is. And when you tell me I can get a performance wagon, I say “sign me up”. But then I keep looking at the lineup and I see something that doesn’t quite fit in, but at the same time it carries more of the BMW’s DNA in it than the rest of the offerings. It’s the M2.

When it first came out, your fav “car influencers” rushed to trash it. “It’s ugly”, no, you are. Historically speaking, if you’re after refinement - you’d go to Mercedes and if you’re after a sporty car - you’d go to BMW. There are some exceptions, but this was the general rule. What we’ve been witnessing is that BMW is focusing a lot on the aesthetics, trying to reach a broader audience like moms, dumb blondes and your grandma. Which is fair, money is money, who I am to judge, right?! But because of that focus on certain aesthetics, the purest BMW in years seems out of place. So, technically, your fav “car influencers” have the brain capacity to appreciate things of a dumb blonde. Sorry, not sorry, my turn to trash you. You’d be surprised how many people I’ve blocked because they either shared someone’s hateful opinion of the M2 or because they expressed it. A lot. To put it nicely - if you don’t like the M2, you don’t like cars. It’s my current day litmus test.

Now, let’s get serious. What is it? It’s the approachable and friendly German Mustang. It’s considered to be the most basic of all Ms. But basic is good. “Basic” translates to there’s a lot of room to make it yours. It also means cheap-ish, which translate to easier to obtain. Nothing bad about being basic! The six categories the most basic M will be judged on are: good as daily, performance, good for the track, driver’s satisfaction, looks and value for money.

In the first category - good as a daily - I’m going to judge it in its stock version and also in its current heavily modified version. The thing I require the most from my dailies is the good UX. This is where the M2 fails massively. It has the worst infotainment of all cars currently in the garage. Connecting to it sometimes requires witchcraft, even though in some cases possessing inhumane powers was not enough. It has switched off the engine randomly couple of times, where that was unnecessary and without giving any indication. And then there’s the clicky-click ritual, where you need to press buttons and switch modes in order to start driving. I’m coming from very analog cars like the SLR, the 720S and the Mustang - all you need to do is start the engine and you’re good to go - no rituals whatsoever. So, minus points in this category solely because it pisses me off even before I can even start driving. I believe this experience is very much universal in all models after 2018 by the German brands. The last technologically advanced modern car that benefits from that, without compromising the UX, is the S63 AMG. Everything from the germans went downhill since. If you’ve driven mostly modern cars, you would say “What’s your problem?”, but I do have a problem and I’m taking valuable points because of the bad UX. In its stock version, once you’re past the annoying rituals, the M2 is an excellent daily. It’s very specious - I’m taking it for grocery runs and it does the job every time. It’s also the current dog car and an adult male Rottweiler can lay in the back seats without any troubles. The seats are very comfortable, too. I don’t mind the leather quality and all of the plastic inside considering the price of the car. The major thing I believe can be a drawback for some - the ride quality. I’m used to harsh ride quality, so I won’t be taking points for that, but it is harsh. And now, in its modified version, it’s harsher. It wouldn’t be my car of choice for longer road trips. Now, my M2 is lower, with negative camber and comes with an aggressive aero. I still don’t have any issues using it as a daily. It’s very unusual for it to scrape, so, overall I can take it anywhere in its current version. It does attract a lot of attention, tho. People are taking photos all the time and it can be annoying. It’s pretty heavy for such a small and sporty car, so you need to take the weight into consideration, because from the inside it doesn’t give any indication about its actual curb weight.

The performance is great, even as a stock car. The S58 straight-six twin-turbo 3l engine produces just slightly over 450hp to the rear. I know that we live in a world of power delusion, in which only the cars above 900hp are considered powerful, but 450+hp is plenty. Trust me, it’s more than what the average person will ever experience. The average car on the road has 200hp, so double that and add some more and you have the M2. Sounds reasonably enough to me. 0 to 100 is not bad either - 4.3 seconds for the manual and 4.1s. for the auto transmission. I’m not someone who obsesses over numbers, so this means nothing to me. In its current modified state, this M2 has over 700hp. That’s a serious update from the stock power and you can feel the difference. It’s still heavy and that’s something you have to live with. While the handling is fantastic, the weight can surprise you. Like I said, it’s an easy and fun car to drive and one can easily forget it’s still 1700kg. Don’t. The fact that it’s heavy, RWD and comes with plenty of power - this combination can and will bite inexperienced drivers. I’m generally happy with the power package and I’m used to driving similar power-to-weight ratio cars - the Mustang GT is in the same boat, so I won’t take points for that in this category, but I will in the next one - is it a track-worthy car?

Yes, it is track worthy, but only if you love the M2 and you’re a huge BMW fan. What I mean by that is it took tens of thousands of euros to make it a good track proposition. It takes a certain level of commitment and love for the car to pour that amount of money into it. So, keep that in mind, if you see it as a track car. To make it competitive, it’ll cost you half of the value of the car. And that’s the universal experience - go to any BMW forum and you’ll hear the same conclusions. Note that the bill will grow, because some parts will fail. Overall, I believe it’s a good track car, if you commit to it. Otherwise - no. It’s slow and heavy, a bit too German to be great on the track straight from the factory.

The driver’s satisfaction is high. Once I’m past the infotainment nightmare, it’s a fun and lovely thing to drive. I enjoy it, it brings a smile on my face and that’s how I know it touched my soul. It’s everything I would want from a daily fun car. It’s not a McLaren, it’s not a Mustang, but the fun factor stays high. It takes some getting used to the fact that its personality is not immediately exposed. In the Mustang all it takes is for the engine to start and you know what it is about. The M2 is a bit shy and takes some warming up to show its true colours. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it falls behind the Mustang in this category and the Mustang is the cheaper car. It took me some months to figure out the personality of the M2. If it comes down to choosing between the two in this category, I’m taking the Mustang 100%. The M2 still delivers solid emotions and memorable drives, but it does come second.

Now I’m moving on to the most controversial category - the looks. It looks like a candy in a good way. Looks fun and unpretentious, qualities I respect in cars. The Zandvoort blue is stunning and it matches the personality of this car. No wonder this was the exclusive colour of choice from BMW. They nailed it. It looks honest - exactly how a fun sports car should look. Nothing unnecessary, again - that’s something I respect. At this price point, I’m not mad at the interior either. It’s exactly what one would expect. They did try to make it look a bit premium and I think they succeeded. I hate the touchscreen, tho. If it came without it, I would have been happy. I prefer buttons over screens and the screen is big in the M2 and yes, you have to use it in order to maximise the potential. But I think it looks great and I’m giving a lot of points here.

Does the M2 give you enough bang for the buck tho? If you drive it stock and buy it second-hand - yes.

This is also the fastest depreciating car I’ve ever owned. A new and strange experience for me. At this point, after all of the modifications, I can’t sell it even if I wanted to. It won’t make sense. So, mind that it can be a huge money pit, if you decide to make it a track car. I’m kind of stuck with it in a way, which can contribute to feeling unhappy with it. If you decide to keep it stock, you will be happier. Most cars are prone to depreciation, so this is not the M2’s fault. That’s something you need to worry about, if you’re looking into flipping it one day. I don’t buy cars with that mentality, so it doesn’t really bother me.

Overall, I believe the M2 is a rare offering that represents true enthusiasm. It’s honest/basic, it’s pure, it’s fun, it’s sporty and it looks like a candy. I love it. I wish it had more competition from other manufacturers, because THIS is what we want. I want more of the M2’s DNA. Unfortunately for the M2, this puts it in direct completion with the Mustang - price- and power-wise. The Mustang wins in all categories, but the track one, in which the M2 also comes unprepared. It is unfortunate, because the M2 has it all, but the bravado and the enthusiasm of a Mustang. Like I said, I’m choosing the Mustang any day, but I’m beyond happy that BMW listened and delivered. I totally respect going against the stream for the sake of the car enthusiasm in times when manufacturers care less and less about us.

The M2 is a love letter to us all.