M2 review : The new daily/track car
Well, well, well…
I don’t even know how to set the mood for this one. Maybe this is the mood - the unknown. That’s how I feel about BMW. I’ve driven a few rentals, I have friends who drive ‘em, but this is the first time I get to experience the life with a BMW. I’m an AMG girl to the core and yet everyone I know who’s into sport’s cars is absolutely hyped about the M2. And life is too short not to widen your horizons… so here we are, “sleeping with the enemy”.
Obviously it had to be in blue, in Zandvoort Blue. I suddenly know the specific shade of blue of a BMW, look at me! LMAO. And it’s pronounced Be-Em-Ve, not Be-Em-Double-u. I knew my German will come in handy eventually. Bayerische Motoren Werke, let’s see what you got.
What we got here is the “new M2” / G87. Many consider it as the return to the classic BMW design/vibe. We’ve seen the monstrosities that BMW has produced recently and, indeed, the M2 feels like a breath of fresh air. And not only within the BMW lineup. Most of the “bigger” car manufacturers cater Asia and this can be witnessed in the design language. BMW is not an exception. We’ve seen the electric 7 series that is absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion. The i3 - a cool city car, but it’s ugly as fuck. You’ll never catch me in one. The new M5 is a fucking whale. We got a whale in the garage already in the face of the AMG S63. The M4 CSL - the current holy grail - costs almost as much as a second-hand McLaren and we all know which one I’m choosing for the money. I’m going for the McLaren any day. The M3 is an instant classic, but only if you can live with the way the new one looks. I can’t. So this leaves me with the M2. And I’m pleased at once.
I’m so happy that this model is doing so great. I’m hoping the BMW design department is taking notes. THIS is what people want. Give us more of THIS!
The fact that me - the SLR girl, the AMG/Mercedes-Benz girl, the McLaren girl - likes the M2, speaks volumes about how good it is. But is it? Is it really good? (haha, I got you) I guess we’ll find out.
*Every car that I review is compared to everything I’ve been exposed to in the past. The M2 will be a track/daily car, but at the moment it’s only a daily, so I’ll be comparing it to my Mustang GT occasionally. Once it evolves past the daily and turns into a track car, there will be a separate review. In order to write this review, I’ve been driving it for weeks now and these are mostly my first impressions.
The M2 is offered as a manual as well, which is brilliant. This one is an auto due to the fact it’ll be driven on tracks. On paper, we’re talking about 480HP, taking 4.1 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h. It’s powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-litre BMW S58 straight-six engine. RWD - obviously. The price starts at around 67.000 EUR, depending on your spec. The second-hand market price starts at around 62.000EUR. A very unique price territory for a sport’s car. Almost as if it’s in the Mustang GT price territory, almost.
Let’s begin with the looks - absolutely gorgeous from every angle you look at it. Jose Casas has done a fantastic job. It’s nostalgic, fun, “childish", expressive - exactly how a sport’s car should look like. It reminds me of die-cast toy cars in a good way. Let’s say it out loud - it looks like a toy, which makes it objectively cute. It’s also fairly noticeable. It’s an immediate attention grabber in the sea of SUVs and Teslas. That Zandvoort Blue is iconic and makes the M2 look like a candy in the grey/silver SUV traffic. It looks like it goes fast and it does - it’s the fastest car in the compact segment on Nordschleife. .
The interior on the other hand looks and feels cheap. I don’t mind it, though! You buy this car for specific reasons and the fancy interior is at the bottom of the priority list. The seats at the front are comfortable with endless adjustments to make it yours. Lots of plastic really and as someone who has never lived with a BMW for more than a few days prior this, it does take some time to adjust and to get used to the “touch screen lifestyle”.
I mean that. I’m coming from a Mustang GT redneck spec - no big touch screens, no EU safety features … just raw power. You start the engine and then you drive, that’s it. Pretty much a rare experience nowadays and it’s one of the many reasons why I love my Mustang and I’ll never part ways with it. The M2 on the other hand, it’s a whole ritual to get to the driving part. You open the door, you sit and then the M2 asks you to select an ID (there’s a guest option too). Once you select your ID, the car adjusts to your preferred settings. But here comes the catch. It remembers the “boomer” settings and not the important ones. By important I mean the speed limit warning - who needs that in an M2?! And the bane of my existence - the lane departure warning. I fucking HATE them. On the AMG S63 the lane departure warning is a button you hold for 2 seconds and then it’s off. On the M2 you have to click, click, click .. and then click.. and then it’s off. I hate it. And if you have to stop at a gas station, get ready to start the clicking ritual once again. I know BMW has to satisfy the EU "road safety” regulations, but wtf?! Why in the M2? Who’s the target for this model? My mother? I don’t want my car to scream at me when I go above the speed limit. And I rarely drive within the speed limit. Everyone is like: “Oh, you’ll get used to it.”. What if I don’t want to? Why do we have to lose the emotion of driving at the expense of some shitty drivers?! They gonna crash anyways eventually. The safety features are a placebo. They can’t and they won’t make someone a better driver. The opposite - they give a false feeling of safety and reliability. So, minus points for the UX.
Just like any modern AMGs and Ms, the M2’s personality will resurface once challenged. It’s tame and chill, but when you start driving it more performance-y, the M awakens. My Mustang is the opposite - tons of personality the second you start it. Maybe this comes down to your personal preference, but to me - personally, I can live with both. I don’t mind the in your face American muscle, but I also like the German way of doing performance.
In terms of noise presence - the stock M2 is not that loud. It has the typical BMW exhaust sounds, nothing out of the ordinary here. It sounds good, but It’s whispering next to the Mustang (equipped with an aftermarket exhaust). Again - down to your preference and where you live. I love a loud presence, but only if it enhances the personality of the car and not change it completely. The M2 will be going in for a lot of modifications in the upcoming months - including the exhaust. Gonna put a wing on it too, just bear with me, it’ll look like a track car soon.
Let’s go back to the personality. It’s not only evident when you go fast. It corners brilliantly. The weight distribution is sublime, the M2 feels light and agile. It feels like a sport’s car. It gives you the confidence to throw it around and then suddenly it shows you yet another side of its personality - its playfulness. One thing I noticed is how forgiving it is. Obviously if you make a big mistake, you’ll regret that just like in any other RWD car. My Mustang on the other hand is unforgiving. It can snap at any given moment without a warning - certain conditions contribute more, but generally it’s rather unpredictable when and how bad it’s going to be when it snaps. Because it will snap, been there, done that, survived it couple of times, the car is whole still, I’m whole. So, these two are very different when it comes to naughtiness. Both require confidence, but overconfidence will most likely end you in a ditch in both of them. In the Mustang the probability is 100%. In the M2 - a 50/50 chance. But the M2 is very forgiving as a daily. You can have moments of thrill and then the car corrects them and goes back to business. I like it, it’s what I’m looking for in a daily car - to make my A to B fun. The M2 is all about the fun part.
Other things I’m impressed with are the trunk space and the visibility. I love a sport’s car trunk, there is something about it that I just can’t explain. I love using the sport’s cars to go grocery shopping, literally living the fantasy. It’s fun, it makes me happy.
Some letdowns - the finishing quality and panel gaps. From the paint to the engine bay, there are reminders of its price point. I can’t complain and I won’t. I simply don’t care about these things. Not the type of a person that looks at every detail and will change their mind if there’s a paint bubble here and there.
Overall, a fantastic sport’s car. If you can give it a try, do it. You might find your perfect daily fun car. Everyone should have a daily fun car. Not everything has to be serious and pretentious. 67k is still a lot of money, but at this price point, nothing comes close. Only the Mustang, at least on paper, in reality - it’s a different animal. The M2 represents everything a sport’s car should be (minus the boomer UX). BMW should take notes.